"Yes, they (village cooperatives) will play a role in this program, including in gathering data on rural residents in need of housing," he remarked in Jakarta on Monday.
He commended the Ministry of Housing and Settlement Areas (PKP) for its willingness to empower cooperatives through this housing initiative.
The minister explained that the cooperatives' involvement in the three million homes program would complement their primary responsibilities of offering staple commodities, fertilizers, pharmaceutical products, medical services, savings and loan services, and storage services.
"Village cooperatives will be assigned a wide range of tasks, including organizing rural residents. In this way, these business entities will contribute to stimulating rural economies," he remarked.
Although the cooperatives’ involvement has been confirmed, Setiadi underlined that his ministry and the PKP Ministry have yet to initiate talks on the collaboration’s implementation scheme.
He noted that the government's current focus lies in optimizing the establishment and operations of around 80 thousand cooperatives under the Red and White Village Cooperatives program.
Earlier, on June 23, PKP Deputy Minister Fahri Hamzah announced the government’s plan to involve Red and White Village Cooperatives in his ministry’s housing projects, including the renovation of two million houses by December this year.
"We intend to empower Red and White Village Cooperatives so they can contribute to the housing renovation program as suppliers of construction materials,” he remarked in Jakarta.
He highlighted that the government had allocated Rp43.6 trillion (over US$2.6 billion) for the initiative, with each home renovation receiving Rp21.8 million in funding.
Of that amount, Rp1.8 million is set aside for training and administrative purposes, Rp2.5 million for direct homeowner assistance, and Rp17.5 million for purchasing construction materials from cooperatives.
He also spoke of having coordinated with Deputy Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono to implement the plan.
“He is currently developing the necessary system, and we will work together to address the technical aspects,” Hamzah stated.
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Translator: Maria C, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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