Politics and the role of Kepala Desa

Elected leader, Kepala Desa
The arrangement with elected leaders, Kepala Desa, in Nggela began in 1962. The Kepala Desa is elected every fifth year, but from 2007 there are new rules with elections every sixth year.

The Kepala Desa is elected for the sub-village. Each village elects one representative, and then they have an election between these. On the election all the inhabitants at the age of 17 or older have to vote in a secret election. There are usually 4-5 candidates. The current Kepala Kesa is independent of political parties. The tasks of Kepala Desa are mainly to improve the conditions in the village.

After the economic crisis in 1997, there have been some development programmes set up by the government. To improve the economic growth and the domestic economy, farmers learn about productive agriculture. It is also possible for the farmers to borrow a small loan if they need money for agriculture.

There are examples of corruption in this region. A problem is that the government doesn’t distribute enough money to the districts, and a lot of the money disappears on the way.

Politics and ordinary citizens
A big problem is the lack of interest in politics. The main problem is that the people are interested in politics only when it is in their favour and affects them personally.

Politicians sometimes bribe the ordinary citizens by making promises they sometimes can’t keep. In 2006 they were for instance promised a generator by the politicians. It is important that groups and associations in civil society can confront public officials or politicians if they are being corrupt. The lack of interest keeps them from getting information in matters of importance. Therefore it is important that students, women, men, and church members can strengthen the interest in politics in order to create positive development.

When we did our interviews with the locals, freedom of speech was not a matter of course. When we asked if there had been any changes in the society after the fall of Shafto in 1998, one woman asked if she would go to prison if she spoke her mind. After the Suhartos fall, many expressed a sense of despair. The cost of rice suddenly increased from 1200 to 3000 Rupiah per kilo. When the price was low, they could sell the rice for a higher price on the markets. Others on the other hand expressed a sense of relief. They now have roads, which were not present when Suharto was in power.

Among some of the important leaders in the area are the Romo, Kepala Adat, and Kepala Desa. We were informed that the Kepala Desa has more power than the other leaders. But because he only keeps the role for six years, and due to the amount of land controlled by the Kepala Adat, and the influence of the priest, we got the impression that it was a pretty close race between the three power figures.

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