Without strong control and improved governance, extending the term of office of village heads is counterproductive

The new provisions include the term of office for village chiefs, which is now eight years and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. Previously, the term of office for village chiefs was set for six years, but they could serve a maximum of three terms.

Executive Director of the Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of Regional Autonomy (KPPOD) Herman N Suparman, on Friday (29/3/2024), assessed that the extension of the village head's term to eight years will not necessarily solve issues in the village.

Also read: Revision of Village Law Ratified by DPR, Village Head's Term of Office Becomes Eight Years

According to Herman, extending the term of office will make village heads feel like they have great authority. He also sees the extension of the village head's term of office as counterproductive to democratization efforts in the village.

Herman said that village leadership is indeed an important aspect of village development. However, the village will get the maximum benefit from extending the term of office of the village head when the leader of the village government is qualified.

"The cases of misappropriation of village funds, which according to Indonesia Corruption Watch or ICW involve many village heads, provide a picture that not all village heads have integrity," said Herman.

Also read: Extension of the Village Head's Term of Office Ahead of the Election is Considered Highly Important

Quoting ICW data, cases of corruption in village funds have increased ninefold during the period of 2015-2021. Corruption in village funds was 21 cases in 2015 and then increased to 154 cases in 2021.

ICW noted that the village fund disbursed by the government during 2015-2021 reached IDR 400.1 trillion. During that period, there were 592 corruption cases at the village level, involving 729 suspects. As a result of these corrupt practices, the state incurred losses of up to IDR 433.8 billion.

Cases of embezzlement of village funds, which according to Indonesia Corruption Watch or ICW involve many village heads, indicate that not all village heads have integrity.

Therefore, according to Herman based on KPPOD studies and learning from the Village Development Index (IDM), what is needed currently is good village governance. This governance should involve strengthened planning, budgeting, and implementation of development.

Also read: Prone to Corruption, Supervision on the Use of Village Funds Must Be Strengthened

In addition, the role of the Village Consultative Body (BPD) in monitoring the performance of the village head must be optimized. Community control must also be strong, involving civil society, universities, and mass media.

"The function of the BPD is very strategic, especially because the village head has many problems related to corruption cases," he said.

Herman believes that in the future, a mechanism for selecting village leaders who are capable of identifying high-quality village leaders needs to be found. In village development, including the use of village funds, ways to increase the participation of all village residents in planning, implementation, and reporting also need to be explored.

"The figure of a village head must have both capacity and integrity. We are talking about abilities that can strengthen leadership, management, and technocracy. After all, the village head leads the annual work planning. Most importantly, they need to have integrity, in terms of maintaining accountability," he said.

Agreement between the DPR and the government

Earlier, the Chairman of the DPR, Puan Maharani, stated that the period of the village chief's term lasting for eight years was the best agreement for everyone. Although initially proposed for a nine-year term, through a lengthy process involving all parties, the DPR and the government agreed to a term of eight years for the village chief.

"The dynamics in the field during the revision process are plentiful. God willing, this is the best way forward. It can be useful not only for the village apparatus but also for the welfare of the village," said Puan.

Also read: Ten Years of the Village Law

As is known, the second amendment to the Village Law was an initiative proposal from the DPR. The draft amendment to the Village Law was passed as an initiative bill by the DPR at the plenary session on July 11 2023. Furthermore, the Village Bill was passed into law on Thursday (28/3/2024).

Several new rules are set forth in the changes to the Village Law. One of them is that the village head's term of office will be eight years and may be elected for a maximum of two terms (Article 39). Previously, the village head's term of office was set for six years, but could serve for a maximum of three terms.

Also read: Apdesi Demands Extension of Village Head's Term of Office

The new regulation for village chief positions is actually lower than the previous proposal by the DPR. In the draft of the Village Law Bill prepared by the Legislation Body of the DPR, village chief positions were proposed for a period of nine years.

Another provision that has been altered is related to village revenue sources. Article 72 stipulates that one of the village's revenue sources is the village fund allocation.

Previously, the allocation of village funds was regulated to a minimum of 10 percent of the balance funds received by regencies/cities in the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) after deducting special allocation funds (DAK). Currently, the allocation of village funds is at least 10 percent of the general allocation funds (DAU) and revenue sharing funds received by regencies/cities in the APBD.