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Govt to involve clerics in monitoring village funds
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Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Marwan Jafar (second right) gives a sermon at the closing of a Koran recital event at Baiturrahim Mosque in Banda Aceh on May 8. (Antara/Ampelsa)
T
he Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry will involve local clerics to help monitor the trillions of rupiah in village funds disbursed by the central government and to prevent the funds being misused.
Clerics and religious leaders will play a key role in the government's national development plans, including supervising the usage of village funds in their respective areas, Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Marwan Jafar said over the weekend.
The clerics will play an active role in village discussions, especially in the formulation of mid-term village development plans, activities, budgets and expenses.
"In the village discussions, clerics as people's role models can give input relating to development plans in the villages," Marwan said at an event in Gedongan, Cirebon regency, West Java, on Saturday, as reported by kompas.com on Monday.
The government expects the clerics' involvement will be effective in improving the use of village funds.
The government increased village funds to Rp 47 trillion (US$3.5 billion) this year, double last year's budget of Rp 20.8 trillion, for more than 74,000 villages across the country.
The budget increase aims to bolster and accelerate development in villages in terms of economics, productivity and human resources, which would also support national development, Marwan added.
However, the hefty budget is prone to graft, with several cases of village funds being misused by village chiefs. (rin)
