Analyst: 30,000 KDMP Manager Programme to Boost Short-Term Consumption
From an economic impact perspective, it is indeed true that placing 30,000 educated workers under a two-year contract scheme will create a short-term consumption boost in villages.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Analyst and researcher at the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia, Yusuf Rendy Manilet, believes the recruitment programme for 30,000 managers of Red and White Village Cooperatives (Kopdes Merah Putih) has the potential to drive rural community consumption in the short term.
He stated that placing educated workers under a two-year contract scheme will generate income flows to areas that have previously been relatively left behind in terms of access to finance and formal economic activities.
“From an economic impact perspective, it is indeed true that placing 30,000 educated workers under a two-year contract scheme will create a short-term consumption boost in villages,” he told ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.
Nevertheless, Yusuf views this impact within a broader context, as the programme is linked to a large-scale cooperative financing scheme.
He explained that with a credit ceiling of around Rp3 billion per cooperative and a target of tens of thousands of units, there is significant potential financing exposure, necessitating adequate risk management.
In this regard, he continued, the role of the managers is not merely as workers but also as operators of business units directly facing field business dynamics, while ensuring that cooperative funds are managed carefully and accountably to avoid future risks.
“At this point, those 30,000 managers are no longer just workers; they are operators of a very massive financing machine,” he said.
Yusuf added that if the cooperative business units do not operate optimally, there is a potential for bad debts that would not only be an issue at the institutional level but also risk burdening the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).
“This is no longer just about village empowerment, but about how the state takes on risks from economic activities that are not yet commercially mature,” he added.
Additionally, he highlighted the importance of maintaining balance with local business actors so that the presence of cooperatives does not disrupt the existing ecosystem in villages.
Furthermore, he emphasised that from an institutional perspective, strengthening cooperatives must still adhere to the basic principles as member-based organisations, including participation and joint ownership.
The government has officially opened recruitment for 30,000 positions as Kopdes Merah Putih managers. Registrations are open from 15-24 April 2026. Those who pass the selection will work under the state-owned enterprise PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara with a Fixed-Term Employment Agreement (PKWT) for two years.