No perks, no village chief

No perks, no village chief

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie SM is
concerned that fewer people will want to become village chiefs
because the perks, such as the provision of free land, are no
longer available.

Yogie said Monday at least 600 villages across the country do
not have a village chief because they now have to work on a
voluntary basis since the government can no longer provide
financial incentives.

He said in Java people are traditionally more interested in
becoming a village chief if they are provided land, traditionally
known as tanah bengkok, which the village chief and his family
can cultivate as a source of income.

They can either exploit the land themselves or lease it for as
long as they hold the post of village chief.

"The absence of tanah bengkok in other provinces is one of the
reasons people are attracted to the position," Yogie said Monday
in Tarakan, East Kalimantan.

But the situation is changing, especially in less-developed
villages in Java. The position of village chief has become less
attractive for villagers because they can earn more money by
working as laborers in big cities such as Jakarta.

Sunyoto, head of village affairs at the Tegal regency in
Central Java, said recently that the free land was no longer
attractive for villagers.

He said a village could now provide five hectares of land at
the most.

"From the land, they can sometimes only earn Rp 100,000
(US$17.80) each year," Sunyoto said.

He said about 172 chief positions are vacant in Tegal alone
because people prefer to work in big cities which is more
promising.

"Becoming a village chief is more of a social function,
because they do not receive any payment either from the
government or from the village," said Sunyoto.

Yogie said his ministry will launch a massive campaign to
attract more people to serve their village and not just think
about money.

"We will do our best to fulfill the 600 vacant positions,"
Yogie said. (prb)