Accountability and Transparency of Allocated Village Funds

Abstract

This research focuses on the accountability of monetary funds allocated to villages and the factors which inhibit the good management of the funds by village leaders. The main contribution of this research is to outline the process of the management of Allocated Village Funds (AVF) by village leaders and to ensure that the management is both transparent and has accountability. This research used the qualitative approach. The data collection was done through interviews, observation of procedures and research of documentation collected by the regional government. The triangulation method was used to ensure the reliability of the research. The outcome of this research is expected to benefit the government of Bengkalis Regency in helping to improve the accountability and management of the AVF. This research was done in the villages of the Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province, Indonesia. Interviews were conducted with the leaders of the villages, the village secretaries and the village treasurers. The result of this research showed that the funds were managed well by the villages who were obedient to government regulations, transparent, accountable, followed judicial processes, distributed funds appropriately and benefited the villagers in Bengkalis Regency. However, there was one significant factor found that inhibited the implementation and management of AVF and that was the inadequacy of human personnel (village leaders and government officials). Other factors that could also hinder the implementation and management of the funds were the processing time for the disbursement of the funds to the villages and the lack of training of village leaders.