4 Years of P3PD Successfully Developing Creative and Innovative Village Officials

The Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka administration has also placed great importance on villages in their "Asta Cita" program. In point 6, they emphasize the importance of building from the village and from the ground up to ensure economic equality and combat poverty.

This focus on strengthening villages aligns with the initial vision set by President Joko Widodo. The President has reaffirmed his commitment to building Indonesia from the periphery, one of which is through strengthening villages. In principle, villages and urban neighborhoods (kelurahan) hold a crucial role because they are at the forefront of development and directly in people’s lives.

The government has also initiated various programs aimed at building villages. This is demonstrated by the issuance of Undang-undang No. 6/2014 on Villages, which was revised into Undang-undang No. 3/2024. Through this regulation, villages are no longer just ordinary communities but have become an integral part of the governmental system.

“The second initiative is the establishment of village and disadvantaged area institutions. And third, most importantly, is the village budget,” said Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian.

The Home Affairs Minister is also encouraging the strengthening of villages as new economic hubs that are vibrant and not dependent on urban labor. Villages are expected to create jobs, contribute to development, and support the vision of "Indonesia Emas 2045."

To accomplish this, village heads need to develop skills, including entrepreneurship, which can increase regional income (PAD) and village income (PADes). “The key is that village heads must have skills, not just be strong leaders. Strong leaders have power and followers, but they also need a vision for where they want to take the village,” he said.

Recognizing these challenges, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (Kemendes-PDTT), the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs (PMK), the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, and the Ministry of Finance, designed the Village Government and Development Strengthening Program (P3PD).

P3PD was launched in 2020 and concluded this year. The program aims to strengthen village institutional capacity to improve the quality of village spending. The P3PD training covers basic training for village officials, village boundary demarcation and affirmation, training on village financial and asset management applications, strengthening Village Consultative Bodies (BPD), strengthening the PKK (Family Welfare Empowerment), strengthening village cooperation, strengthening village community and customary institutions, and strengthening village health centers (Posyandu).

In addition to village heads, according to Edi Cahyono, the Acting Director of Deconcentration, Delegated Tasks, and Cooperation at the Directorate General of Regional Administration of the Ministry of Home Affairs, P3PD also trained subdistrict heads. The training targeted 1,007 subdistricts from 60 districts in 10 provinces. The training provided guidance for subdistrict heads as village mentors to improve the quality of village spending.

During the pre-test, Edi explained, many subdistrict heads did not fully understand their role in guiding villages toward better quality spending. “However, after the post-test, we saw clear improvements. Subdistrict play a strategic role through cross-sectoral coordination at the subdistrict level in what we call the 'Common House' framework,” he said.

Time-Saving Impact

P3PD is considered successful in cutting the time needed to enhance the capacity of village officials by decades. For example, in East Java (Jatim), according to the Provincial Head of the Village Empowerment Agency (PMD), the regional budget (APBD) could only train 500 village officials per year.

“Through P3PD, East Java was able to train 15,000 village officials. That’s 15,000 compared to 500, which means P3PD cut 30 years off the training timeline for village officials in East Java,” said Director General of Village Government at the Ministry of Home Affairs, La Ode Ahmad P Bolombo, in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, on Wednesday (16/10).

On this occasion, La Ode praised the enthusiasm of the village officials (gampong) in Aceh. The province at the westernmost tip of Sumatra sent the largest number of participants for training, surpassing the numbers from provinces in Java. He also hoped that they would continue to sharpen their knowledge through the online learning management system (LMS).

If village governments can build themselves up as local governments do, La Ode is confident that each village will be able to face digital development challenges. “If the village shines, the region will shine,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Village Empowerment Agency (DPMG) in Aceh, Aznal Zahri, said that this training was a solution for village officials to improve their performance, motivation, and dedication. “There were participants aged 65, and even some in their 20s. But those aged 65 were incredibly enthusiastic, attending every session throughout the four-day training,” said Aznal.

Developing New Areas

Sabtu Kene, the village head of Oba in North Oba Subdistrict, Tidore Islands, North Maluku, said he was now more confident in developing the beach tourism area around his village.

This area, known as Muara Oba Beach, offers views of the islands of Tidore and Ternate, which were once featured on Indonesia's Rp1,000 banknote. “After attending the P3PD training, I became more inspired to develop the beach as a tourist destination,” said Sabtu Kene.

One suggestion he implemented from the P3PD training was adding entertainment options that were previously unavailable at Muara Oba Beach. The training also made the village officials of Oba feel more connected to and invested in what they were working on.

A similar sentiment was shared by Wahyu Nugroho, the village head of Sambirejo in Central Java. According to him, his villagers are no longer just passive spectators when investors come in. He successfully created a new spatial plan involving the local community in village development.

The first thing he did in early 2024 was coordinate with officials to determine the village

boundaries. The goal was to identify the potential of Sambirejo Village.

Coincidentally, Sambirejo is famous for its temples, including Candi Ijo, Candi Barong, Candi Nigiri, Candi Duwung, and Sumur Bandung. These landmarks have attracted many investors interested in developing their businesses in the village. “When a village has its own plan, investment will follow,” he said.*)

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