Secretary general of mining Djoko Darmono to be replaced soon: source

The secretary general of mining of the ministry of mineral resources and energy Djoko Darmono is expected to be replaced soon. A source told Petromindo.com that the government decree on Djoko?s dismissal had already been issued by the state secretary recently.

But the source said that there was no information yet on who would replace Djoko, who was appointed into the position by the then minister of mineral resources and energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto in 1997.

Djoko is known to be a close friend of Kuntoro. The former was earlier linked to the case of misuse in the so-called coal royalty fund. According to the law, the fund, paid by coal mining companies, must be used only to activities related to the development of the national coal industry and environmental protection. But the ministry used part of the funds to purchase three office buildings in the prime area in Jakarta. Kuntoro defended the decision to invest the funds in the property.(R. Amoros)