North Maluku Governor: Village Success is Key to National Government Programmes
North Maluku Governor Sherly Tjoanda Laos has stated that regional governments must support village heads in managing village funds. Speaking on the ‘Jaga Desa’ podcast launched by Abpednas, she asserted that the success of all government programmes, from the presidential to the district level, ultimately depends on the village level. ‘If the village succeeds, the district, city, province, and country also succeed,’ she said during the podcast, viewed on Saturday, 27 June 2026.
Sherly cited North Maluku as an example, which has 1,187 villages and sub-districts where 60 per cent of the population are farmers and 20 per cent are fishermen, with livelihoods centred on coconut, clove, and nutmeg. She argued that good management of village funds involves allocating them to build farm roads, which allows harvests to be transported out more cheaply and quickly, thereby improving farmers’ terms of trade and income.
She noted that the regional government’s function is primarily supervisory, as the authority to use village fund budgets lies with the village head. Sherly proposed that regional governments apply the ‘4D’ principle: listen, use data, provide assistance, and maintain discipline. She explained that to solve a problem, one must understand its root cause by listening and using data to produce the right solution, which must then be accompanied by consistent and disciplined assistance to ensure proper execution.
Sherly also expressed appreciation for the ‘Jaga Desa’ (Guard the Village) programme, an application that allows the Attorney General’s Office to monitor the utilisation of village funds. She stated that the programme’s goal is mitigation and prevention, ensuring village fund management is administratively complete, transparent, and accountable, while also serving as a communication channel for village heads to report any misconduct directly to the central authorities. She added that the role of the Village Consultative Body (BPD), represented by the Abpednas association, is equally crucial in accommodating community aspirations, formulating village regulations, and overseeing village funds to ensure they are not only administratively correct but also beneficial for solving community problems.