Barriers to the Handover and Implementation of Village Government Authority: A Case Study of Fafinesu B Village, Timor Tengah Utara District, Indonesia

The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers to the handover of Fifinesu B village government authority as mandated in Law No. 6/2014 by Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) district government and to its implementation at the village level. Data were collected from participants using in-depth interview method. Purposive sampling technique was employed to recruit the participants, and data analysis was conducted using a thematic data analysis framework. The study results indicated that lack of communication and socialisation of Law No. 6/2014 and lack of initiative of the Chief of the district, were the barriers to the handover of Fafinesu B village government authority by the district government, hence hampered its implementation at the village level. Limited human resource at the village government level was also a factor supportive of the delay of the handover of the village government authority. Disposition such as lack of commitment of the leaders at district government level to implementing the mandate of the Law, and bureaucratic structure which is inflexible and does not provide clear command and coordination line, were also associated with the delay of the handover of village government authority and its implementation. Lack of collaboration among the district government departments responsible for implementing the mandate of the Law, was an added hindering factor for the handover of the village government authority and its implementation. These findings indicate that there is need for communication and socialisation of the Law and collaboration among departments at district level, and for supporting human resource of the village government to ensure that the authority is implemented as mandated in the Law.