Minister Yandri: Modern Retail Moratorium to Equalise Village Economies

Mataram (ANTARA) - The Minister for Villages and Underdeveloped Regions (Mendes PDT), Yandri Susanto, stated that the proposal for a moratorium on modern retail permits is a government effort to equalise village economies so that they are no longer concentrated solely in large investors. “Modern retail’s profits are 100 percent taken by investors, taken by business owners,” he said during the Provincial Musrenbang in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) in Mataram on Thursday. Yandri stated that the function of modern retail will be replaced by the presence of Merah Putih Village Cooperatives that run savings and loan businesses, LPG sales, basic necessities, logistics, up to pharmacies and clinics. The profits from the entire business cycle of the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives circulate in the village with a minimum composition of 20 percent becoming original village income and around 80 percent returning to the community in the form of direct economic benefits. “100 percent of the profits (from cooperatives) stay and flow in the village, so this becomes one way to overcome extreme poverty,” said Yandri. The government claims that the number of Merah Putih Village Cooperatives built is nearly 34,000 units, while the cooperatives that have completed 100 percent construction number nearly 5,500 units. Minister Yandri conveyed that all assets of the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives, from buildings, warehouses, to operational vehicles, become village property, not central government property. “All assets are handed over to the village. Buildings, outlets, warehouses, trucks, pick-up vehicles, or three-wheeled motorcycles become village assets,” he said.