BANDA ACEH – Civil society coalition for transparency and accountability in the governance of oil and gas extractive resources, mining and natural resources Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia claims the mining sector (extractive) is one of the most problematic leading sectors in all provinces of Indonesia, especially related to the issuance of mining business licenses.
“All this time, the regional head who issued the added business license. Often companies cannot be held accountable for NPWP payments, land rent, or post-mining reclamation costs. From a total of 11,000 permits issued by the government, only 5,000 permits comply with applicable regulations, “said Arianto, an activist from PYWP Indonesia after holding a discussion in collaboration with the Aceh Anti-Corruption Movement (GeRAK), on Spatial Planning and Transparent Licensing Mechanisms for Forest-Based Extractive Industries. and Land in Aceh Province, Tuesday (07/22/14) at the Hermes Palace Hotel Banda Aceh.
In Aceh, Arianto said the regulation of permits has also increased every year let alone he continued, the Aceh government also has specificities, such as the Mining Qanun including Law “Law No. 11 of 2006 concerning the Government of Aceh.
“So the permit was issued not only will encourage regional revenue from the mining sector, but the government must also evaluate and analyze, especially the impact arising from the mining business,” explained Arianto
Meanwhile, the Head of the Aceh Anti-Corruption Movement (GeRAK) Advocacy and Corruption Division, Hayatuddin Tanjung, assessed that there were still processes for issuing permits for mining companies that did not meet the mechanism according to the prevailing laws and regulations. This is based on the results of the Aceh GeRAK study in several regions in the province of Aceh, specifically, in the extractive sector, the issuance of permits for the mining business of the local government has not fully involved the stakeholders in the mining business.
“The permit issuance process did not go through a technical mechanism involving all stakeholders, in this case, the Forest Service, the plantation office and the Mining Service in the distribution of tasks. We see these offices not sitting together in connection with the permits issued, so we consider this to be prone to fraud and administrative violations, “said Hayatuddin Tanjung
Regarding the process of issuing permits for the mining sector in Aceh, Hayatuddin explained that his party urged the government to issue mining business licenses to involve all leading sectors, especially the community components in the mining area.
“The role of the government must be more efficient in conducting socialization in the community, especially regarding business licenses, mining revenues, post-mining reclamation costs, and social issues provided by companies,” added Hayatuddin.
If the government does not aggressively conduct publications and publications related to the mining business, added Hayatuddin, the community will assess the mining business as not good and considered detrimental to the community so that this will have an impact on the poor management of the mining sector carried out by the government.
Meanwhile, Head of the Mineral and Coal Mining Division of the Aceh Province Mining and Energy Office (Distamben) said that if companies were found to be in violation of applicable regulations, the government would impose administrative sanctions, including permanently terminating companies “mining companies operating in Aceh.
“The warning is indeed through several stages, ranging from reprimands to permanent dismissals,” explained Mahdinur
According to Mahdinur, some companies in Aceh did not fulfill their obligations, such as paying reclamation security deposits and there were also companies that did not pay land rent.
“The mining business permit was issued by the regional head, the provincial Distamben only conducts guidance and supervision, if there is a violation found, we can only remind the district, because the one issuing the permit is the district,” he added. (Saradi Wantona)
Source: Aceh Online