President Asks Nasdem to Supervise Labor-intensive Program

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked cadres of the National Democrat (NasDem) Party to supervise the implementation of Cash Labor-Intensive Program using village funds, starting in 2018.

"Cash Labor-Intensive Program is to be launched to open jobs for all the people. I ask Nasdem cadres in branches and units of Nasdem across the country to supervise the implementation of the program," Jokowi stated in his direction at the opening ceremony of the Fourth National Working Meeting of the Nasdem Party at JIExpo Kemayoran, in Jakarta, on Wednesday night.

The president stated that the village funds, as much as Rp20 trillion in 2015, Rp47 trillion in 2016, and Rp60 trillion in 2017, have been provided in the last three years.

"Actually, what were the funds for? Where did they go? We want the circulation of money to become bigger among the grassroots in villages and in the regions," he noted.

But people in the village would expect a job after its development. Finally, the government decided that half of the village funds that are managed by the ministries should be used for the development of labor-intensive program.

"I have ordered that village funds next year in the Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Transportation, and Ministry of Maritime should be used for the development of labor-intensive program in order to open jobs for the people," he remarked.

ANTARA