Discussing Integrative Development Model

A meeting attended by the Institute for Good Governance and Regional Development, the Directorate-General of Village and Community Empowerment (Ditjen PMD) of Ministry of Home Affairs, and Center for Village Empowerment Studies (Puspadeta) of Satya Wacana Christian University has been held on Friday, 25 June 2010, in Bina Darma Training Center, Salatiga.

The meeting was to discuss the subject of integrative development model. This discussion is a part of process in arranging strategic ways that will be implemented by Ditjen PMD in developing the community facilitators’ competencies, as well as continuing the National Program for Community Empowerment (PNPM) Mandiri.

Maizil Rahmadi from Ditjen PMD expected critiques toward the ruling regime that makes benefit of the national empowerment program merely for political imaging, whereas Kutut Suwondo from Puspadeta proposed two main focuses for the sake of PNPM Mandiri, which are environmental conservation and poverty reduction.

During the discussion, Eka Simanjuntak from IGGRD has brought to mind the need of making the same concept of community empowerment in order to abridge the programs’ approach to the local levels, based on the communities’ needs.

According to Prabawa Eka Soesanta from Ditjen PMD, his organization’s action in community empowerment all this time has not been based on a firm concept yet. Currently, Ditjen PMD only reconstructs the empowerment concept to fit the social context in local levels.

“The measure now is whether the empowerment program is beneficial for the communities or not,” Prabawa said.

Ditjen PMD is now working to shift the PNPM Mandiri status from ad-hoc governmental program to the regular program that is really independent.

Prabawa asked the universities to organize a forum involving Indonesian regents to support the independence of PNPM Mandiri and resuscitate them to empower their villages.

“This discussion is an early step. It needs to be followed up by the concerned actors and institutions,” Eka Simanjuntak said.

Ferry Karwur recommended that concepts resulted from this discussion are going to be elaborated even further by Puspadeta to determine an ideal empowerment model for the village communities.

By admin in News on 28 Jun 2010