Governance Quality and the Village Budget Capacity Paradox in Road Development and Economic Empowerment

Abstract

Village funds are a key fiscal instrument for rural development in Indonesia, yet a larger village budget does not necessarily translate into better development outcomes. This study compares how the village budgets (APBDes) of Rajang Village and Letta Village, Lembang Subdistrict, Pinrang Regency, were used for road infrastructure and community economic empowerment in the 2024–2025 fiscal years. Effectiveness is defined operationally as targeting accuracy, coverage across hamlets, the condition and durability of physical outputs, and empowerment activities perceived by residents. A qualitative descriptive-comparative case study was employed, drawing on APBDes realization reports, field observation of village roads, and semi-structured interviews with twelve purposively selected informants (six per village). Data were analysed through coding and within-case and cross-case matrices following Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. Budget documents show that Rajang’s cumulative APBDes realization exceeded Letta’s by IDR 738.259 million over 2024–2025. Observations and informant accounts indicate that road improvements in Rajang were perceived as uneven and quickly deteriorating, while informants in Letta described a more selective, priority-based allocation. Empowerment activities in both villages were reported as running but not yet optimal. These findings suggest that, in these two cases, governance practices such as prioritisation, maintenance, and oversight appear more closely associated with perceived development quality than nominal budget size. Given the two-case design, the findings are analytical rather than statistically generalisable.