NTB Disburses Rp 12.9 Billion for Thematic Village Empowerment Programme

A total of 43 villages across West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) have received disbursements amounting to Rp 12.9 billion for the Desa Berdaya Tematik (Thematic Empowered Village) programme as of early August 2026. Each village has been allocated Rp 300 million, but the funds cannot be utilised immediately. Baiq Nelly Yuniarti, Head of the NTB Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda), stated that the villages must first hold village consultations (musyawarah desa) before they can proceed with spending. “The money has been transferred, but they still need to conduct the musdes and complete the process. Spending Rp 300 million should not take long,” she said in Mataram on Wednesday. The 43 recipient villages are spread across all regencies and municipalities in NTB. For urban wards, a different mechanism applies, with funds first transferred to the regional treasury before being channelled to the wards. The provincial government aims to cover 257 villages under the programme in 2026. Nelly expressed confidence that the disbursement target will be met on schedule, despite administrative hurdles in the proposal submission process. “The target is 257 villages this year. It must be achieved because the funds have to be disbursed. What is slowing things down is that some village proposals are not yet compliant,” she stressed. She urged village administrations to prepare proposals carefully and avoid copying documents from other villages. All budget plans will be strictly verified by the relevant technical departments. The NTB provincial government has allocated a total budget of Rp 128 billion for the Desa Berdaya Tematik programme in 2026. The flagship initiative of Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal and Deputy Governor Indah Dhamayanti Putri aims to provide Rp 300 million per village to boost the agriculture, livestock, and tourism sectors.