Indonesie Forum

The Indonesian Resources Studies (IRESS) said on Thursday that the government’s decision to give local administrations the power to issue mining permits to both local and foreign investors as part of the decentralization policy several years had brought more harm than good to the country.

Regional autonomy only benefitted local governments’ high-ranking officials who had often issued permits to certain companies for personal gain, the agency’s director, Marwan Batubara said.

According to him, local administrations should be stripped of their authority to issue permits to put the mining sector back on the right track.

Under the 2009 Mining Law, local administrations are allowed to issue mining permits. The new law has led to the issuance of thousands of mining permits, as local governments are trying to improve the economy of their regions. As many permits were not issued through proper procedures, overlapping had often occurred. A mining area can be owned by more than one company with different permits, a situation that has triggered disputes.