Jokowi – President Jokowi was carried out another cabinet reshuffle at the end of his two-month remaining period. One of them is changing the seat of Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), which was previously held by Arifin Tasrif and is now handed over to Bahlil Lahadalia. Bahlil’s inauguration as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources was carried out together with two other new ministers at the State Palace on Monday, August 19, 2024.
Aryanto Nugroho, National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia’s coalition said that this cabinet’s reshuffle had political overtones. Meanwhile, the position of Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources is an important and strategic one, especially in relation to the governance of the energy and natural resources sector in Indonesia, especially in the context of Indonesia in the current energy transition period.
As the new Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Minister Bahlil must be able to answer public pessimism with his vision, work, and integrity for the remainder of this government’s term. Moreover, it is suspected that the change in the seat of Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources is due to the consequences of the current political situation, not based on efforts to improve energy and natural resource governance.
PWYP Indonesia urges Minister Bahlil to focus on and optimize the work that is his responsibility. “We all know that Minister Bahlil is a strong candidate for one of the general chairs of a political party. After being inaugurated, we urge Minister Bahlil to focus on improving the governance of the natural resources energy sector,” he said.
According to him, focusing on tasks related to his ministry became very important and very difficult at the end of President Jokowi’s administration. “There are many tasks waiting for Minister Bahlil. That is why we encourage and remind the new minister to focus on his work as a minister,” stressed Aryanto.
PWYP Indonesia also emphasized that the remaining two months of this administration are very crucial, not only for completing the work tasks of the cabinet under President Jokowi. However, it also becomes a “bridge” for future work in the government.
There are at least eight tasks that Minister Bahlil must carry out in these two months, namely:
- Laying the foundation for accelerating a just energy transition.
- Ensure that there are no false solutions in the energy transition in Indonesia, for example, by creating the term of “new energy”, to make room for the use of nuclear, CCS/CCUS technology in the oil and gas industry, and coal gasification.
- Break out regulatory and policy barriers to the development of renewable energy, both central and regional.
- Strengthening transparency and accountability in the oil and gas, mineral, and coal mining sectors. As we know, in the last 3 years, many officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources have been arrested by law enforcement officers due to a number of corruption cases.
- Clarify downstream strategies that are in line with the development of environmentally friendly energy and climate crisis prevention strategies.
- Strengthening guidance and supervision is a prerequisite for digitizing licensing.
- Controlling the reckless production of coal and critical minerals. The reason is that current coal production is very far from the RUEN target, and this is not in line with the spirit of energy transition. The increasing demand for critical minerals means that exploitation will become increasingly massive. This is a threat to the environment and people’s living spaces.
- Mainstream and strengthen Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) in all value chains in the ESDM sector, including environmental protection and respect for human rights.
“At least, these are the tasks that await Minister Bahlil at his desk as the new Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources. Because this is the challenge of improving the governance of the energy and natural resources sector now and in the future,” said Aryanto.
Contact Person:
Aryanto Nugroho
National Coordinator of PWYP Indonesia
aryanto@pwypindonesia.org