Government asked to disburse mining royalties directly to regency coffers

The Budget Commission of the Legislative Council of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province has asked the Ministry of Finance to disburse the royalty payment from mining company Newmont Nusa Tenggara directly to regency authorities.

"We want the royalty from Newmont to be paid directly to accounts of regency governments, not through the provincial administration," Muhammad Amin, the head of the budget commission said during a meeting with NTB governor Harun Al Rasyid.

Newmont pays its royalties to the central government through the central bank, and the ministry of finance, which is responsible for the money, disburses all the portion that must go to the provincial and regency authorities to the account of the provincial administration in a local bank.

Amin said that the disbursement of the royalties through the provincial administration often causes a problem because the regency administration could not use the money immediately. "The money is often kept in the bank for certain period of tike before being transferred to the regency," he said.

PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NTT), which started the commercial production of its gold mine in Batuhijau, West Nusatenggara (NTB) province late last year, has paid billions of rupiah in royalties to the government.

The local government receives about 80 percent of the royalties. The money received by the local administration then disburses to regency administrations according to percentage stipulated in the mining regulation.

The budget commission members said that they would also soon meet the minister of finance in Jakarta to speed up the process of the royalty payment. (*)