First Quarter 2018, Village Fund Absorption Rp 10 Trillion

The Ministry of Finance released data showing that the absorption of village funds in the first quarter of 2018 reached Rp 10.3 trillion, or 17.1% of the total budget of Rp 60 trillion. This figure is higher than the same quarter of the previous year, which reached only Rp 7.1 trillion, or approximately 15% of the allocation.

The increased absorption of funds was driven by the acceleration of cash-for-work program implementation since the beginning of the year. As is known, President Joko Widodo stipulated that village funds be focused on labor-intensive projects starting in January 2018, thus benefiting the villagers. This is not only for purchasing building materials, but also for paying worker wages.

In the 2018 State Budget (APBN), the government allocated Rp 60 trillion for village funds, the same as the previous year. Last year, the village fund allocation was Rp 800.4 million per village for 74,910 villages. Last year's village fund absorption reached 98.26%.

(Read Databoks: Village Fund Absorption Continues to Increase)