Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s decade-long leadership has resulted in an increase in villagers’ income, a senior government official said.

Jokowi is about to end his 10-year presidency this October. Indonesia is an archipelagic country consisting of tens of thousands of villages. As president, Jokowi emphasizes infrastructure development as a means to grow the economy.

The massive construction of infrastructures such as roads and tollways connect one region to the other has become a boon to Indonesians -- not just those in major cities, but also the ones in the country’s villages, according to Ivanovich Agusta, the head of the government’s village development agency. Ivanovich recently revealed that a villager could now earn around Rp 1.3 million (around $85.81) a month.

“[Infrastructure development] has improved the movement of goods and people. The average monthly income of villagers has increased from Rp 900,000 to over Rp 1 million, precisely Rp 1.3 million,” Ivanovich said.

Jokowi's 10-Year Legacy: Village Road Development Transforms Rural Economies

“The road construction across the archipelago --from Sabang to Merauke-- has jumped by 35-fold. Even if the road itself is small, these roads have reached 75,000 villages,” he said.

The current monthly income for villagers has also jumped from 2014 levels or during the start of Jokowi’s tenure. At the time, the average villager could only earn Rp 500,000 a month. According to Ivanovich, Jokowi has succeeded in improving village access and its economy.

Every year, the government allocates some state money to villages in a funding scheme known as “village funds”.  Ivanovich said that the village fund would grow steadily despite the shift in presidency to Jokowi’s successor Prabowo Subianto this October.  He added that the village fund allocation was “non-negotiable”. 

“The law mandates that the central government should set aside 10 percent of the state money allocated for the sub-national governments to the villages. … Even the finance minister already decided that they would reduce the regional government’s funds if they give less than 10 percent to the villages,” Ivanovich said.

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