Regencies vow to facilitate mining investment, demand direct payment of royalties
Friday, July 6 2001 - 01:51 AM WIB
Apkasi chairman Syaukany HR, also the regent of Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, disclosed the promise for better services for mining investors at the Regents Meet Investors forum hosted by Petromindo.com in Gran Melia Hotel Jakarta on Thursday.
Syaukany said that Apkasi wanted to dispel widespread concerns among investors that increased regional autonomy would add burdens to investors as each regencies would likely impose various new levies with their increasing power.
"In fact, not all regencies will be like that," Syaukany said.
Meanwhile, the regents also demanded that the central government disburse per month, instead of once in every six months, the fund of local administrations' income portion from royalties, land rent, and other levies from mining businesses.
They contended that with the current system of two times disbursement of funds in a year, it inflicted losses to local administration because they have to go through a long process that often involve bribery to disburse the fund. Worse still, the interest income from the fund is not paid to local administration.
Meanwhile, the secretary of the Directorate General of Geology and Mineral Resources at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Sukhyar, said that local administrations should also improve their responsibility in terms of guarding their own areas from possible environmental destruction and other law violations by mining companies.
He noted that local administrations should also prepare regulations to force mining companies operating in their areas to pay more attention to community development program and environmental protections, so that when those companies end their operations, they would not left local people in limbo and environmental destruction behind.
He noted that mining operations in six mining concessions would end in 2003 due to depleting reserves, and this would bring consequences, in terms of economic development for local people in the surrounding areas and also environmental protection. Sukhyar, however, mentioned only two of the six mining concessions, namely Newmont Minahasa and Halmahera.
As for the central government, Sukhyar said, it would soon prepare supporting regulations so that local administrations could force mining companies to pay more attention to economic development of local people, environmental protection and others.
He said that the government was currently working on a draft regulation to replace PP No. 32/1992 on mining that had been viewed by many to have been obsolete with the implementation of autonomy law. In addition, the government is also working on mining bill to replace Law No. 11/1967 on mining so that it would be in conformation with regional autonomy laws. (Godang)