Suherdjoko, Banjarnegara, Central Java – The Central Java administration has launched the Anti-corruption Villages program in 29 regencies and municipalities in a bid to boost corruption eradication in the province.
Governor Ganjar Pranowo said the villages had committed to, among other things, implement budget transparency, ease of public service and digital bureaucracy adjustments.
"I thank the village chiefs, we're kicking off these 29 villages," he said at the launching ceremony in Banjarnegara on Thursday.
Ganjar said the launching was part of the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) Anti-corruption Villages campaign in 2023.
Previously, the KPK had named 10 model villages across the archipelago, including Banyubiru village in Semarang regency.
Ganjar hoped that the 29 villages would be a model for the province's 7,809 villages.
Earlier this year, Transparency International (TI) said Indonesia is among Asian countries facing a complex challenge of grand corruption, which is the abuse of high-level power that benefits the few at the expense of many and can destroy whole sectors, create recession and end democracies.
In such cases mere technical intervention, useful in addressing petty corruption, were not enough, the organization noted.
TI warns that addressing grand corruption requires the systematic dismantling of rent-seeking structures and dishonest cultures that public officials use to pocket public funds. (dre)