JAKARTA (VOA) —
RI Ombudsman member Dadan S. Suharmawijaya said his agency had carried out a rapid study regarding village governance in the appointment and dismissal of village officials. This study was motivated by public complaints which reached 947 reports related to villages in 2020-2022, 40 percent of which concerned the appointment and dismissal of village officials.
As a result, the Indonesian Ombudsman found the potential for maladministration in the appointment and dismissal of village officials in various regions of Indonesia.
“Therefore, there needs to be improvements in village government administration in the appointment and dismissal of village officials,” said Dadan in Jakarta, Thursday (7/9).
Dadan added that there were a number of factors that influenced the dismissal of village officials. These include the election of village heads, supervision is not yet optimal, and there are no technical regulations regarding the appointment and dismissal of village officials.
ASN took part in the flag ceremony. The results of the Indonesian Ombudsman’s rapid study regarding village governance found the potential for maladministration in the appointment and dismissal of village officials. (Photo: Illustration/PR PANRB)
According to Dadan, the appointment and dismissal of village officials is regulated in the Village Law. However, the differences in the stages of dismissal in law, government regulations, and regulations of the Minister of Home Affairs give rise to the potential for maladministration or unprocedural actions and abuse of authority.
“The mandate for the authority to appoint and dismiss village officials in the Village Law is clearly the authority of the village head. However, consultation and recommendations from the sub-district head are required. However, in its implementation, the reference for the consultation materials and the basis for the sub-district head’s recommendations is not explained,” he said.
The Ombudsman noted that the dismissal of village officials occurred in almost all regions. The six areas with the highest cases occurred in Gorontalo Regency, Merangin Regency, North Lampung Regency, Mamuju Regency, South Minahasa Regency and Takalar Regency.
The Ombudsman has also provided suggestions for improvements to the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri), including asking the ministry to include stages for dismissing village officials in the Permendagri so that they comply with the law. This also includes creating guidelines for resolving complaints about the appointment and dismissal of village officials.
A number of traditional women and children bring offerings the day before the annual “Pasola” tradition in Ratenggaro Village, Sumba, March 21 2014. (Photo: AFP)
Implementation of Complex Village Government
Responding to this, the Director General of Village Government Development at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Eko Prasetyanto Purnomo Putro, appreciated the study and findings from the Indonesian Ombudsman. However, he said that the implementation of village government is quite complex because the number is quite large, namely 75,265 villages spread across 7,000 sub-districts.
Apart from that, he said, the regulations governing the dismissal of village officials are quite complete, starting from laws, regional regulations to village regulations.
“It’s very complete, but how can this be conveyed to the field so that there is a common understanding. This is not easy and we have experienced it,” said Eko Prasetyanto.
Eko added that the Village Law now limits the role of the village head to appointing and dismissing village officials. This is because the village head is required to consult with the sub-district head first. This is different from previous regulations which gave full authority to the village head to appoint or dismiss village officials.
According to Eko, the Village Law is in the process of being revised in the DPR so that input from the Ombudsman can be used as study material for revising the law. However, this input and study needs to be considered more carefully so that the quality of the village in the future can be better. Apart from that, the Ministry of Home Affairs will hold exercises to increase village capacity involving 66 thousand villages until 2024. (sm/em)