REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) claimed that the poverty rate in villages had declined two folds compared with that in cities owing to the allocation of village funds. He said that some 1.2 million villagers have been freed from the shackles of poverty.

Jokowi made the remarks while addressing a function on highlighting the need to prioritize the utilization of the 2019 village funds and evaluation of development policy and empowerment of villagers in Banten Province. The function was attended by village heads, village mentors, officials of Village-owned Business Enterprises, integrated post cadres, teachers of early childhood education program, and Village Assembly Agency members.

In a written statement received on Monday, the village funds program, implemented by the government over the past four years, is a form of governmental attention to villages across the country. The president remarked that no less than Rp187 trillion of funds had currently been channeled for the development of villages in Indonesia.

"We have implemented the village funds program for about four years, amounting to Rp187 trillion. Additionally, next year, the village funds will amount to Rp70 trillion. What does this mean? This means that the government is giving significant attention to villages," the head of state noted.

Also read: Jokowi promises operational village fund available in 2019

Furthermore, a report by the Presidential Staff Office, citing the achievement of the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla government, indicated that the people had utilized the village funds in accordance with their needs to increase their productivity and improve the quality of life in villages.

The achievements included the construction of 6,932 village markets, 39,371 irrigation channels, and 1,028,225 bridges.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika