CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Effectiveness of Direct Village Fund Cash Assistance for Poor Communities Affected by Covid-19 in Air Pikat Village, Bermani Ulu District, Rejang Lebong Regency

By Hero Kartomi

INTRODUCTION

As we know at the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a world health problem. This case began with information from the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31 2019 which stated that there was a pneumonia cluster case with unclear etiology in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. This case continued to grow until there were reports of deaths and imports outside China. On January 30, 2020, WHO designated COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)/ World Public Health Emergency (KKMMD). On February 12 2020, WHO officially designated this novel coronavirus disease in humans as Coronavirus Disease (COVID19).

On March 2 2020 Indonesia reported 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19. On March 11 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has not only had an impact on health, but also on social and economic conditions. In the short term, the impact on health is demonstrated by the death rate for victims in Indonesia which reached 8.9 percent. In terms of the economy, this pandemic has caused a decline in domestic economic activity, which does not rule out the possibility of reducing welfare
public. In the medium term, economic growth is projected to only be in the range of -0.4 percent to 2.3 percent—a significant decrease compared to the previous year's growth rate of 5 percent.

The outbreak has hit many business sectors, causing layoffs and reducing labor absorption. If this condition is not anticipated properly, it is estimated that social instability could occur. In the long term, the gap between income groups will widen, in each region and between cities and villages will increase, and have an impact on intergenerational poverty.

The Covid-19 pandemic is putting pressure on the economy from various angles, including the village economy. However, the impact of the weak economy is felt very strongly in the village level community. With the economic and social resources they have, especially the village revenue budget, villages can contribute to handling the economic impact of Covid-19. Village funds are on-budget allocations that can be used directly to support efforts to reduce the economic impact of Covid-19 at the household and village level.

Some of the advantages of village funds include budget allocations available in the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget; can be made into a rapid action program that can be started immediately; can complement other programs to minimize social and economic impacts; does not require a new system so that village officials can immediately move because they already understand the existing system; can be directed at building the legitimacy and credibility of village governments through local problem solving; and the availability of monitoring, evaluation and accountability systems that can be optimized to ensure accountability.

The issuance of Perppu no. 1/2020 provides new instruments to minimize the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the village economy. In Article 2 Paragraph (1) letter (i) of the regulation, it is stated that it is necessary to prioritize the use of budget allocations for certain activities (refocusing), adjust allocations, and/or cut/postpone the distribution of budget transfers to regions and village funds, with certain criteria. Furthermore, in the explanation of the Perppu, it is stated that what is meant by "prioritizing the use of village funds" is that village funds can be used, among other things, for direct cash assistance for poor people in villages and activities to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The village fund budget in 2020 is set at IDR 72 trillion. For BLT-D needs, we are allocated 20-30 percent of the total village funds. The implementation of BLT-D can be implemented for at least six months with the target beneficiaries being households. This target is relevant to set considering that most national programs related to social assistance refer to beneficiaries at the household level, such as the Family Hope Program, Non-Cash Food Assistance, and Temporary Community Direct Assistance/Direct Cash Assistance.

Recently, Village Heads have been confused by the list of village residents who are entitled to receive Direct Village Fund Cash Assistance (BLT DD). The reason is that in many villages the number of BLT recipients who meet the criteria may not be commensurate with the budget allocation taken from village funds. because the number of BLT recipients is much greater than the available budget. This new social safety net targets 11 million families with a total budget of IDR
22.4 trillion taken from the total 2020 village fund allocation of IDR 71.19 trillion. The amount of funds prepared by each village varies, ranging from 25-35%, depending on the amount of village funds received this year.

The provisions and mechanisms for data collection and implementation of BLT DD are contained in the Minister of Village Regulation Number 6 of 2020 which was issued on April 14 2020 concerning amendments to the regulation of the Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Areas and Transmigration Number 11 of 2019 concerning priority use of village funds in 2020. This regulation amends the Minister of Village Regulation Number 11 of 2019 concerning Priority Use of Village Funds for the 2020 Fiscal Year. Article 8A in this regulation stipulates several conditions for recipients of assistance, such as families who have lost their livelihoods or jobs, have not been recorded as receiving any assistance
social, as well as having family members who are vulnerable to chronic or chronic illness.

Air Pikat Village, Bermani Ulu District, Rejang Lebong Regency is one of the villages in Indonesia whose people have been impacted by the economy due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the people in this village work as farmers who market their agricultural products in the city. In the last 4 months, the turnover of agricultural products such as coffee and rice has decreased and this has resulted in lower purchasing prices for their agricultural products. With this regulation, the village government has budgeted direct assistance funds of 25% of the total village budget that will be received.

The criteria for prospective families who are entitled to receive village BLT are poor or underprivileged families who live in the village concerned. Apart from that, it must be ensured that prospective recipients of social assistance are not included in the recipients of the Family Hope Program (PKH), Basic Food Cards and Pre-Employment Cards. Data collection on prospective village BLT recipients will consider Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) from the Ministry of Social Affairs
(Ministry of Social Affairs). From the observations of researchers in the field regarding the effectiveness of direct cash assistance from village funds for poor communities affected by Covid-19, researchers saw many questions arising from the community, including:

1. What are the criteria for BLT DD recipients?
2. What is the data collection process? Does it use existing Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) or is it re-data
3. Does data collection refer to the 14 poverty criteria set by the Central Statistics Agency?
4. Where do we complain if there are problems related to data collection and distribution of BLT DD; What about several heads of families (KK) who live in the same house but don't have their own family card;

So far, the disbursement of direct cash assistance funds has been given by the government to the community which has been carried out by the Air Pikat village government, Bermani Ulu District and has been implemented but there are still various problems such as the existence of recipients of aid funds who are actually not worthy of receiving them but are receiving them, and conversely there are those who look worthy but are not receiving them, inaccurate recipient data.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Effectiveness Concept

To obtain a clear picture of effectiveness, several concepts of effectiveness will be presented below. In terms of effectiveness, F. Drucker in Sugiyono (2010:23) states that effectiveness is the basis for achieving success. Furthermore, Fremont E. Kas (in Sugiyono, 2010: 23) stated that effectiveness is related to the degree of achievement of goals both explicitly and implicitly, namely how far the plan can be implemented and how far the goal is achieved.

Effectiveness is a condition that implies the occurrence of a desired effect or consequence. If someone performs an action with a specific purpose or has the desired intention, then that person is said to be effective (Gie 2006:149). Effective in the Big Indonesian Dictionary means being able to bring results, being effective. Handoko believes (2008:7) that effectiveness is the ability to choose the right goals or equipment to achieve the goals that have been set.

According to Harbani Pasolong (2012:51) effectiveness basically comes from the word "effect" and is used in this term as a cause and effect relationship. Effectiveness can be viewed as a cause of other variables. Effectiveness means that pre-planned goals are achieved achieved or in other words the target is achieved because of the activity process.

Direct Cash Assistance Program

According to Wynandin Imawan (2008:8) the Direct Cash Assistance Program is one of the poverty reduction programs implemented by the Indonesian Government among many poverty reduction programs which are divided into three clusters. The Direct Cash Assistance Program is included in cluster I, namely the Social Assistance and Protection Program. Included in cluster I are the Poor Rice Program (Raskin), the Family Hope Program (PKH), the Community Health Insurance Program (Jamkesmas), and the Student Scholarship Program.
The direct cash assistance (BLT) program is a policy issued by the government which has certain goals and reasons. This program appears as a manifestation of government action containing certain values, which is aimed at solving public problems by utilizing available resources. The public problem in question is the problem of poverty.

Poverty Concept

In general, the concept of poverty can be divided into two types, namely absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is a condition of a person's inability to fulfill minimum basic needs such as food, clothing, health, housing and education. Minimum basic needs are translated as financial measures in the form of money. The minimum value of basic needs is known as the poverty line. Residents whose income is below the poverty line are classified as poor.

Poverty is a condition where a person or group of people is unable to fulfill their basic rights to maintain and develop a dignified life (Bappenas, 2014). Basic rights include:

(a) meeting food needs,
(b) health, education, employment, housing, clean water, land, natural resources and
environment,
(c) a sense of security from treatment or threats of violence,
(d) the right to participate in social and political life. (Central Bureau of Statistics).

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research will use qualitative methods, (Moleong, 2010:78). The focus of this research is the effectiveness of direct cash assistance from village funds for poor communities in Air Pikat village, Bermani Ulu sub-district with indicators: Timeliness, Accuracy in making choices, and Target Accuracy. The data in this research consists of primary data and secondary data. Data sources consist of interviews, observations and documents and archives. The data analysis technique used is a qualitative descriptive data analysis technique where the type of data is in the form of information, both verbal and written, which is not numbers. Data is grouped to make it easier to filter which data is needed and which is not. After grouping the data, the author explains it in text form so that it is better understood. After that, conclusions are drawn from the data, so that they can answer the main research problem.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

General description of Air Pikat Village

Air Pikat is a village located in the administrative area of ​​Bermani Ulu sub-district, Rejang Lebong Regency, Bengkulu Province, Indonesia. This village is also known as Talang Simpang. The name Air Pikat is taken from the name of the river that flows in this village area which originates in the mountains to the west of the village. Most of the residents of this village are farmers whose main commodity is coffee. Apart from that, residents also have rice fields. This village is known for its natural atmosphere which is still cool, the air in the mornings and evenings is quite cold, as is typical of the air in mountainous areas. To reach this village, just drive (motorbike/car) for 45-60 minutes from Curup City (Regency Capital). The social structure is still very distinctive, dominated by the Serawai tribe (from South Bengkulu), but also in several hamlets (sub-villages) there are residents of the Rejang tribe.

▪Legal basis for 2020 Village Fund direct cash assistance
Legal Basis for Management of Direct Cash Assistance-Village Funds:
a. Law Number 2 of 2020 concerning Stipulation of Replacement Government Regulations
Law Number 1 of 2020 concerning State Financial Policy and System Stability
Finance for Handling the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic and/or in the Context
Facing Threats that Endanger the National Economy and/or System Stability
Finance Becomes Law.
b. PDTT Village Ministerial Regulation Number 6 of 2020 concerning Amendments to Ministerial Regulations
PDTT Village Number 11 of 2019 concerning Priority Use of Village Funds in 2020.
Regulations related to BLT-Village Funds can be seen in article 8, article 8A, and in
Attachments-1 and Attachments-2 are an inseparable part of the Ministerial Regulation
PDTT Village Number 6 of 2020.
c. PDTT Village Minister Regulation Number 7 of 2020 concerning the Second Amendment to
PDTT Village Minister Regulation Number 11 of 2019 concerning Priority Use of Village Funds.
d. Minister of Finance Regulation Number 40 of 2020 concerning Amendments to Regulations
Minister of Finance Number 205/PMK.07/2019 concerning Village Fund Management. Settings that
related to BLT-Village Funds can be seen in article 24 paragraph 2, article 24A, article 24B,
article 25A, article 25B, article 32, article 32A, article 34, article 35, article 47A, and article 50.
e. Minister of Finance Regulation Number 50/ PMK.07/2020 concerning the Second Amendment to the Top
Minister of Finance Regulation Number 205/PMK.07/2019 concerning Village Fund Management.
Regulations related to BLT-Village Funds can be seen in article 32A.
▪Effectiveness of direct Village Fund cash assistance for affected communities
Covid-19 in Air Pikat Village
The focus of this research is the effectiveness of direct Village Fund cash assistance to the community
poor in Air Pikat Village, Bermani Ulu District, Rejang Lebong Regency, by using
Makmur (2010) theory is used to assess effectiveness as an indicator. Regarding effectiveness as a theory
The main objective is to dissect existing problems, which are then explained through research results in
field as follows:
1. Timeliness
One indicator for assessing effectiveness is the determination of time to implement something
activities or programs, planning in determining the time is absolutely necessary
used appropriately will influence the effectiveness of a program in achieving its goals
Knowing the timing of distribution of direct cash assistance to village funds is explained first
regarding the mechanism for collecting data on potential Village Fund BLT recipients.
The mechanism and flow of data collection for potential BLT-Village Fund recipients can be determined by the Village itself
by following the established criteria, carrying out data collection transparently and fairly
can be legally accountable. Villages can use village data as a reference, as well
using DTKS as a reference for PKH, BNPT recipients, as well as employment service data for
identification of recipients of pre-employment card assistance. The following is the mechanism for collecting data on poor families
and vulnerable potential Village Fund BLT recipients and determining the results of data collection.
–Data Collection Process
1. Village officials prepare village data which includes village population profiles
based on age, welfare, education, health and disability.
2. The Village Head forms and gives assignment letters to Village Volunteers and/or
COVID-19 Task Force to collect data on poor families of potential recipients
BLT-Village Funds.
3. The minimum number of data collectors is 3 people and if there are more, they must be an odd number.
4. Collect data at the Neighborhood Unit (RT) or Community Unit (RW) level with
using the data collection form in Appendix 2, or at the hamlet level with
using the Village Against COVID-19 application. All data collection activities must
pay attention to health protocols.
–Consolidation and Verification Process
1. Village Volunteers and/or COVID-19 Task Force collect data collection results from RT, RW
or hamlet and verify and tabulate the data.
2. Village Volunteers and/or the COVID-19 Task Force ensure poor and vulnerable families such as
female heads of families, senior citizens, people with disabilities are a priority or not
may be missed.
3. Every time you verify poor families and identify poor and vulnerable families,
Village Volunteers and/or the COVID-19 Task Force need to take photos and
include the location of residence manually and digitally (share location) if
possible.
4. If a poor family is found to be a potential BLT-Village Fund recipient who does not have a Number
Population Identification Number (NIK), the data collector records it and gives it to the Kasi
government or special officers in the village, and then a Certificate is made
Domicile. Prospective recipients of BLT-Village Funds who only have this certificate
then recorded and informed to the village administration officer in the village if any.
5. New verification and data collection results are submitted by Village Volunteers and/or Task Force
COVID-19 to the Village Head.
To find out the timing of distribution of direct cash assistance to village funds in Air Pikat village
Bermani Ulu sub-district, Rejang Lebong district, researchers interviewed informants from village officials
Regarding the distribution of BLT-village funds he said:
"In connection with handling the impact of Covid 19, the village received assistance for the community
affected by Covid through a budget taken from village funds which are then called
In its distribution, village fund BLT mechanisms have been regulated from data collection to
distribution. The Village Fund BLT itself was distributed in two waves, namely the first wave
given in April (phase I), May (phase II), and June (phase III) each Rp. 600 thousand
per KPM per month. Meanwhile, the second wave was given in July (Phase IV), August
(Phase V), and September (Phase VI) each Rp. 300,000 per KPM per month. We as
village government, just follows what the central government decides. The effect
is that funds that should have been for development were diverted to handling the impact of Covid 19. So far
This timeliness in distribution is correct, because we follow the applicable mechanism
especially regarding data collection on people who are worthy or not worthy."

Researchers also interviewed community informant Mr. A.I. regarding his distribution timelines
say :

"The distribution of BLT - Village Funds that I know goes through a data collection mechanism first,
there is a team tasked with that, we are only asked to fill out a form and ask
Only the necessary data will be announced and the names of those entitled to receive funds will be announced
This is done by placing a sticker at home if you receive this assistance. I
including village fund BLT recipients of Rp. 600,000,- and for me this has gone well,
We have to pick it up at the designated post office by following the schedule and protocol
applicable. So for me the village government has worked optimally so that it can run smoothly
Good."

The information obtained was strengthened by direct observation in the field and followed by small discussions with several village communities who also received direct cash assistance from village funds. And the majority of people we met confirmed Mr. AI's statement. Where the data collection flow and mechanism have been carried out in accordance with applicable regulations. From the results of the interview, it can be concluded that from the indicators of timeliness the distribution of BLT village funds from stages I to Stage IV has gone well.

Determination in making choices

Determining a choice is not an easy matter and is also not just a guess but goes through a process, so that you can find the best among the good or the most honest among the honest.

Village Fund Direct Cash Assistance (BLT-Village Fund) is cash assistance to poor families in villages sourced from the Village Fund to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Village Fund BLT value is IDR 600,000 every month for each poor family that meets the criteria and is given for 3 (three) months and IDR 300,000 every month for the following three months. BLT-Village Funds are tax free. If the village's needs exceed the maximum provisions that can be allocated by the village, the Village Head can submit a proposal for additional Village Fund allocations for Direct Cash Assistance to the Regent/Mayor. The proposal must be accompanied by reasons for additional allocations in accordance with the decision of the Special Village Deliberation (Musbangun). In order to determine the choice of recipients who are worthy and unworthy recipients of BLT village funds, the village government must first follow the Validation and Determination Process of Data Collection Results. The process is as follows:

1. The Village Head facilitates the BPD to carry out special village meetings by inviting community representatives and other related parties to help verification and validation of data related to determining potential recipients of BLT-Village Funds.
2. Based on the results of these deliberations, the Village Head and BPD signed a list of poor families who would receive BLT-Village Funds. Referring to the list, the village distributed BLT-Village Funds for the first month.
3. The Village Head disseminates the approved list of prospective BLT-Village Fund recipients to the community either through information boards in each hamlet and/or in strategic and easily accessible places. Villages can also utilize the village website or Village Information System as a public information medium.
4. If there are complaints from the community regarding the list of potential recipients of BLT-Village Funds, then the village together with the BPD facilitates a village meeting to discuss the complaint and agree on a solution.

To find out whether the village government was correct in determining its choice of recipients of Direct Village Fund Cash Assistance in Air Pikat Village, the researcher conducted interviews with informants who were deemed capable of answering this question. Researchers interviewed the village official who is also part of the Covid 19 food task force in Air Pikat village, namely Mr. G.N. He said:

"In order to determine the right candidate for village fund BLT recipients, we have to follow the procedures that have been issued by the central government. One of the requirements for receiving village fund BLT is that the prospective recipient is not a participant in the Family Hope Program (PKH). The problem is that sometimes the village government does not detect people who have received PKH and does not acknowledge it. This goes back to the community, because previously we also socialized the requirements for recipients of the village fund BLT program. So it goes back to each community, especially in the midst of this pandemic, we have to help each other."

Based on the results of research using secondary data and interviews with competent informants, it was found that the number of recipients of phase I direct cash assistance from village funds in Air Pikat village was 108 heads of families, Rp. 600,000 and Rp. 300,000 in the second stage, the details of which can be seen in the following table:

Table of details of Village Fund BLT recipients in Talaitad Village

No	Take care	Amount	Phase I (Rp)	Phase II (Rp)
Recipient
1	I	24	Rp. 600,000	Rp. 300,000
2	II	31	Rp. 600,000	Rp. 300,000
3	III	26	Rp. 600,000	Rp. 300,000
4	IV	27	Rp. 600,000	Rp. 300,000

Source: Processed results of research data

Next, the researchers interviewed informants from the community who received BLT village funds to find out whether they were lucky