Village Development

By Drs. J.E Hosio, M.Si. M..Th

A. Background

The implementation of special autonomy (OTSUS) for Papua province as regulated in UU No.21 Year 2001 gave wider authority to Papua local government and the people. On top of that, OTSUS implementation is a basic alteration of government system from centralised, bureaucratic and uniformed, to decentralised, transparent and based on local requirements.

Government regulations on decentralisation through UU Number 32 Year 2004 and fiscal decentralisation through UU Number 33 Year 2004 are in line with OTSUS policy for Papua local government and the people to administer themselves in Papua within the framework of United Nation of Republic of Indonesia.

UU No.21 Year 2001 on OTSUS for Papua, especially Article 15 and 34, gives wider autonomy to Papua local government in managing Papua’s special budget to ensure effective spending for the welfare of Papuans.

This wider autonomy comes with bigger responsibility for Papua local government and its people. Participation from all levels of Papuans is expected. Thus, reformation pillars to conduct government and fiscal of democracy, decentralisation and people’s participation are the basis and goal in conducting Village Development Programme.

With wider authority to self manage based on local’s aspiration and need, in 2007, Papua government started to allocate direct fund from OTSUS to give to villages in Block Grant on average IDR100,000,000 per village. This direct grant is important since:

1. Prior, community institutions in regencies and villages has not been able to effectively operate due to limited human resources or operational fund.;
2. Prior, community segments in regencies and villages such as families, businesses and associations for example Village Community (Bamuskam), Community and Religious Associations have not participated effectively in each and ever process of development due to lack of opportunity and role;
3. No continuity of government aid in terms of policy, programme and funding;
4. It will provide more authority and trust to local people to decide their own need, discuss and implement activities with accountability, provided with necessary aids and technical support.
5. It is a form of trust and support towards people as the subject of development.
6. It supports Village Homecoming Programme (Program Turun Desa) conducted before and has managed to motivate people to develop their villages.

B. Goal

1. General purpose

To accelerate poverty abolishment creating independent community from development concept focusing on food and nutrition, healthcare, education, economy, community, gender equality and basic infrastructure.

2. Special purpose

1. To improve individual, family and community, including the women, in the villages of Papua on their knowledge, manners and skills.
2. To realise social, economic, political, legal and cultural aspects of Papuans in villages for better quality of live.
3. To improve Papuans’ quality of live, including the women, in food and nutrition, healthcare, local economy and basic infrastructure.
4. To improve communities’ potential and capacity in each governmental decision making, from planning, implementation, supervision and sustaining process.
5. To improve the abilities of community organisations in facilitating community empowerment process for development programme.
6. To ensure supply of villagers basic necessities through programmes in food and nutrition, local economy, healthcare, education and basic infrastructure.

C. Programme’s Target and Location

1.      The programme main recipients are poor people according to the locals. Decisions are made through Community Planning Process.

2.      The programme main location is the whole village. Those villages that have registered or legalised through related regulation considering the number of villagers. Other villagers not yet registered or not enough villagers will have to join main villages.

D. Principles of Village Development Programme

1. Empowerment

In implementing Village Development Programme, the potential and capacity of villagers should be improved towards independence.

      

2. Support for Indigenous Papuans

Each of the implementation process and result is focused to improve the native Papuans’ quality of live.

3. Basic Rights Protection

Improving native Papuans’ quality of live requires basic rights protection of Papuans income sources.

4. Transparency

Every item related to this programme should be transparent and known by villagers, if need be, also by larger community. This will ensure accountability for each action.

Transparency will enable villagers to:

1. Decide on activities and budget management.
2. Receive full and continuous information regarding the programme.
3. Care about and get involved in development process.
4. Supervise and control programme implementation.
5. Improve trust amongst people.

Several activities to improve transparency:

1. Build and maximise information network with community figures, community associations and government.
2. Proliferation on programme information and development to villagers through official announcements at religious bodies, Tim Tiga Tungku, Village Guardian and Coordination Team using formal and informal avenues.

5. Participation

1. Participation here is the active involvement of each element of the village community starting from planning, implementation, supervision, continuity and expansion of programme for the poor and women.
2. One form of participation is the involvement of decision making in village activity suggestion and funding after previously agreed meetings.               

6. Decentralisation

The programme to provide autonomy and full accountability to villagers to manage their own programme independently. The autonomy and accountability include:

1. Understanding the programme’s cause, goal, principle, mechanism and instruction properly and accurately with programme being implemented and supervised by everyone. 
2. Planning, implementation and management of activities through Community Planning process funded by the programme.
3. Receive support during implementation of the whole programme activity.
4. Funding management.
5. Sustain and grow implemented activities.

7. Healthy Competition

1. Every villagers (both men and women) has the same opportunity to give suggestion through Community Planning process. These suggestions will then be competed on village level to win funding and reach the best choice of needed activities.
2. The competition will start from community groups, indigenous race, men and women, to select the most beneficial programme for village level. 
3. The competition also aims at avoiding domination by an individual or group for its own gain.
4. Prioritise discussion in decision making process.

8. Collective Learning 

Village Development Programme is an integrated and continuous empowerment process of collective learning between community, partner, government and other participants to create independent community of:

1. Improved understanding, perspective, knowledge and skills in the community with respective partners.
2. Partners learning different cultures, characters and values from local community.
3. Government’s role is to support the policy based on learning process result and to facilitate its proliferation for other villages to learn.

Source : Papua Barat dalam Realitas Politik NKRI by Drs. Jusach Eddy Hosio, M.Si. (free translation)