House to summon Ginandjar Kartasasmita

The House of Representatives will summon former coordinating minister for trade and finance Ginandjar Kartasasmita to clarify the US$290 million claim made by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government's agency which provides a guarantee to American investments overseas, Suara Pembaruan reported on Monday.

Husni Thamrin, a member of the Commission VII of the House, said that Ginandjar, who headed the special team for the supervision of the government-funded large-scale projects, would be asked to clarify the government's position in dealing with the claim.

"We hope Ginandjar will be able to attend the hearing which is scheduled to be held on July 6," he said.

The House's initiative to summon the former coordinating minister was made following a statement made by Minister of Investment and State Enterprises Rozi Munir recently that the government had yet made the decision whether or not it would pay the claim although the deadline made by OPIC had been expired.

OPIC made the claim after the United States-based California Energy won the legal suit against the government for unilaterally delaying the construction of its Dieng and Patuha power projects at the international arbitrary agency. The agency agreed to settle the claim and later asked the Indonesian government to reimburse the funds it paid to California Energy.

However, the Indonesian government rejected the payment and it instead contested the company's legal fight at the local court. (*)