"The office term of the village apparatus cannot be equated with that of village heads because the position is different. Village head is a political position, while the village apparatus is not,” Iskandar explained here on Wednesday.
He said that currently, the revision of the Village Law only accommodates the demand for extending the village heads’ term to nine years, while issues related to the village apparatus will be addressed optimally later.
The Deputy Speaker guaranteed that there will be a better system for structuring village apparatus, including providing sufficient social security, in the Village Law revision.
According to him, village apparatus are an important part of village development, so he expects the revised law to increase their role as well as community participation in the implementation of state administration.
Earlier on Tuesday (January 17, 2023), thousands of village heads conveyed their demand to revise the Village Law in front of the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta.
One of their demands was the extension of village heads’ office term from six years to nine years.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) approved the proposal for extending the village heads' term to prevent more social conflicts that could interfere with village development.
Furthermore, President Widodo also welcomed the proposal for budget allocations for efforts to improve the quality of village human resources, which are often not covered by the village fund, politician and former House member Budiman Sudjatmiko said.
"I proposed a fund for village human resources, he (the President) agreed. Now, it is only about whether it has its own article (in the Village Law revision) or is being included in the government regulation (PP),” he added.
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Translator: Putu S, Kenzu
Editor: Sri Haryati
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