Mining sector not yet ready for regional autonomy
Wednesday, June 7 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo B. Yudhoyono admitted on Tuesday that the necessary infrastructure regulations in the mining industry to facilitate the implementation of the new laws on regional autonomy and inter government fiscal balance were not yet ready.
"The regulations are not yet ready, so we're afraid that there would be a misperception among the regions in managing the mining sector," Susilo told the House of Representatives commission VIII as quoted by the Neraca daily.
The new law No. 22 and No. 25/1999 on regional autonomy and inter government fiscal balance would give provincial and district administration greater power in managing local natural resources as well as greater revenue portion from the resources.
The law is supposed to be implemented in January 2001.
But Susilo said that for the mining sector, his office had yet to complete the necessary regulations which would be an integral part of the law No. 22 and 25.
He said that the regulations would as guidelines on the distribution of mining revenues among regencies, provinces, and the central government.
According to the new law on inter government fiscal balance, the regional government are entitled to receive 15 percent of the regional revenue from oil, while the remaining 85 percent goes to the central government.
Three percent of the 15 percent should go to the provincial administration, while the remainder goes to the regencies.
For gas revenue, the distribution was 30 percent for regional governments, and 70 percent for the central government.
But for the mining sector, 80 percent goes to the regional government and only 20 percent to the central government.
Susilo also said that there were other obstacles in relation to the transfer of power from the central government to the regional government. He pointed out that there were a number of cases where the regency and the provincial governments were still in conflict on the implementation of the autonomy laws.
"The central government guidelines are needed to resolve the differing perceptions among the regions across Indonesia about how to manage mining and energy industry," Susilo said.(*)