Jakarta – The government has begun placing Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK) in the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives (Kopdes) to strengthen cooperative operations in various regions. This assignment is expected to boost the performance of village cooperatives based on the principles of mutual cooperation, kinship, and community participation.
The Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (Menpan RB), Rini Widyantini, explained that there are currently around 81,147 village/sub-district cooperatives. With the need for 2–3 PPPK (Commissioned Officers) per cooperative, the total projected human resource requirement is approximately 243,441 people.
“Currently, there are around 81,147 village/sub-district cooperatives. If the Coordinating Minister for Food stated that around 2-3 people (PPPK) are needed, then the projected human resource requirement is around 243,441 people,” said Rini.
Rini stated that the initial phase of the assignment will utilize active PPPKs already in the region.
“The first scheme is to utilize existing PPPK (Community Employment Assistance Program), of which there are 255,000 throughout Indonesia. We’re utilizing the existing ones, as directed by the President, so they can get to work immediately,” he explained.
Based on initial mapping, approximately 23,000 PPPK (Community Empowerment) personnel have been prepared to fill positions within the Red and White Village Cooperatives (Kopdes) across various regions. Assignments are focused on technical personnel, with priority given to employees residing in the village or sub-district where the cooperative is located.
The Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (Menpan RB) asked regional governments through the Cooperatives Service and BKPSDM to coordinate to determine employee placement.
“The Cooperative Law also states that they must be domiciled there. We will need to conduct a thorough investigation, and the person concerned will certainly need to receive guidance and training,” Rini said.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, as Chair of the Red and White Village Cooperative National Task Force, emphasized that the existence of PPPK will ease the burden on village cooperatives.
“There are no monthly salaries (for cooperative administrators). That’s why the government is providing assistance through the PPPK (Community Empowerment Program),” he said.
Zulkifli also encouraged regional heads to place two to three PPPK in each village cooperative.
“The application will be placed in a village cooperative, and the government will pay, so the cooperative doesn’t have to pay,” he added.
With the support of PPPK personnel, Kopdes Merah Putih is expected to be able to strengthen its position as a village community business entity that can compete with state-owned enterprises and the private sector, while simultaneously improving the welfare of residents through more professional and sustainable business management.
