Legislator says Red and White Village Cooperatives can alleviate poverty and grow village economies

Lebak Regency DPRD member Medi Juanda stated that the Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP) initiated by President Prabowo Subianto can accelerate poverty alleviation, grow the village economy, and create jobs. “The KDMP is designed to accelerate poverty alleviation, grow the economy, and create new jobs for village communities,” Medi said in a statement in Lebak on Wednesday. The presence of the KDMP is certain to drive the economy of village communities, despite ongoing debates regarding the cooperative’s implementation. However, the cooperative has the potential to bring benefits to MSME players, making it easier for them to obtain relatively safe capital, and can also control staple goods prices and cut overly long distribution chains, so that prices are controlled and affordable for people in villages. The KDMP can also create new jobs, empower community-based economies, and encourage local economic growth in villages. Furthermore, he said the existence of the KDMP can also curb urbanisation, so that more young people are interested in developing businesses in villages. Nevertheless, challenges and risks for the cooperative also exist, such as becoming dormant after inauguration, the risk of non-performing loans to banks, potential irregularities, and a lack of management transparency. In addition, weak supervision creates opportunities for corrupt practices and gratification. “We hope these issues can be anticipated and that there is no abuse of authority in the cooperative’s management,” said the NasDem Party politician from Lebak. According to him, the KDMP is truly a pro-people and equitable programme, so its benefits are great for village communities, provided that the cooperatives formed are not monopolised by a select group of people but must involve the entire village community. “We hope this programme runs well and empowers the village economy,” he stressed. Meanwhile, the Acting Head of the Lebak Regency Cooperatives and SMEs Office, Imam Suangsa, said that 78 KDMP units are already operating in the area and can drive local economic turnover as well as absorb new workers for the community. The businesses managed by these cooperatives cover seven business units, including cooperative offices, staple goods procurement kiosks, savings and loan kiosks, village health clinics, village pharmacies, warehousing or cold storage systems, and logistics facilities. “We appreciate the cooperatives that are already running and able to improve the economy, so that the welfare of the local community is relatively good, ultimately being able to alleviate poverty,” he explained.