TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said that rural infrastructure has become a foundation of development for Indonesia.

"In fact, what I like the most is the readiness in infrastructure of villages, because it is the basic foundation for development all over the country, comprising 74 thousand villages," Jokowi stated here on Saturday when speaking about priorities of village fund usage.

Jokowi, on the occasion, was accompanied by First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo; Village, Disadvantaged and Transmigration Minister Eko Putro Sandjojo; and East Java Governor Soekarwo, among others.

He remarked that he was pleased to receive reports about the village fund usage in East Java Province.

East Java`s village funds amounted to Rp19.8 trillion and its realization reached 99 percent, according to Soekarwo.

If more money is being circulated in villages, the welfare of local villagers will be much more improved, Soekarwo noted.

Since 2015, the Jokowi Administration has disbursed Rp257 trillion of village funds, comprising Rp20.7 trillion in 2015, Rp47 trillion in 2016, Rp60 trillion in 2017, Rp60 trillion in 2018, and Rp70 trillion in 2019.

"It means that the public watch is just the first four-year stage, and there are a lot more big works that we have to do. Therefore, it will be increased more in 2020, and still better in 2021 and in 2022, because this is the foundation for the country`s progress. The basic is in villages," Jokowi explained.

ANTARA