WELFARE improvement has become the focus of the local government of West Kalimantan. The provincial government is working on it by accelerating village development to become Self-sufficient Villages (Desa Mandiri). Based on the report on Village Development Index (Indeks Desa Membangun/IDM) nationally in 2021, Governor Sutarmidji reported that in West Kalimantan, there are now 385 Self-sufficient Villages (Desa Mandiri), 456 Developed Villages (Desa Maju), 910 Developing Villages (Desa Berkembang) and 280 Disadvantaged Villages (Desa Tertinggal), making the province no longer has Very Disadvantaged Villages (Desa Sangat Tertinggal).
Governor Sutarmidji expressed his expectation for synergy with the High Prosecutor’s Office and the High Court to also provide supervision for villages in using the Village Fund (Dana Desa) properly. In addition, he also hopes for the synergy of the national military and police to participate in the village’s security and assist the community in building roads and clean water channels. The involvement of the private sector is also highlighted, especially from the group of palm oil companies in the province. On Thursday, 17 July 2021, during the signing of a joint agreement between the provincial government and the group of oil palm plantation companies in West Kalimantan, Governor Sutarmidji asked for a contribution from the group in the process of building Self-sufficient Villages, primarily in infrastructure facilitations such as roads to help accelerate the realisation of the improved welfare for people of West Kalimantan. Through synergy, the Governor believes that the province will be able to have 500 Self-sufficient Villages.
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