Coordination lax in explosives' supervision<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Defense, which is authorized to issue licenses
\nfor local companies to import, manufacture and sell explosives,
\nsaid on Tuesday that it could not fully exercise its supervisory
\nrole over the business due to a lack of coordination with the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
Under Presidential Decree No. 125\/1999, the ministry is
\ncharged with issuing licenses for companies to operate in the
\nexplosives business, while daily supervision of the licensed
\ncompanies' operations is the responsibility of the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) and the police.<\/p>\n
Under the prevailing regulations, the military can buy the
\nexplosives itself, but civilians must first get permission from
\nthe police before doing so.<\/p>\n
\"We can't oversee how the police do their job as they are not
\nsubordinate to us hierarchically,\" Brig. Gen. F.X. Hadi Waluyo,
\nthe ministry's director of technology and industry, said in an
\nexclusive interview on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Hadi said the government had, in fact, set strict requirements
\nfor the purchase of explosives by civilians.<\/p>\n
Under the current regulations, the buyer is required to obtain
\napproval from at least six government offices, including the
\nlocal subdistrict head, district police head, regent and
\ngovernor, before applying to National Police Headquarters for a
\npermit to buy explosives.<\/p>\n
But, he said, the ministry had been informed that the police
\nhad issued licenses for a number of small firms to act as
\nmiddlemen to shorten the licensing process.<\/p>\n
\"We are really concerned about this situation as there is no
\nlegal basis for the police to issue such licenses,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post has been pushing the police for days to
\nexplain their supervision mechanisms for explosives' sales, but
\nto no avail thus far.<\/p>\n
To date, the ministry has issued business licenses to nine
\ncompanies to engage in the explosives business, namely state-
\nowned PT Pindad and PT Dahana, PT Multi Nitrotama Kimia, PT
\nTridaya Esta, PT Armindo Utama, PT Pupuk Kaltim, PT Inti Celulose
\nUtama Indonesia, PT Trifita Perkasa and PT Asa Karya Multi
\nPratama.<\/p>\n
It is in the process of issuing a license to another company,
\nPT Pani, to manufacture ammonium nitrate-based explosives and
\ndetonators.<\/p>\n
Public concern over the explosives business has been on the
\nrise following numerous bomb attacks in the country over the past
\nseveral years. Police data shows that there have been 66 bomb
\nattacks across the country since 1998.<\/p>\n
Calls for tighter control over the explosives business have
\nbeen increasing following the Bali bomb blast that killed more
\nthan 190 people more than three weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Hadi admitted that there was no system for the ministry to
\naudit the explosives business.<\/p>\n
\"There are no audits. We only receive their (explosives
\ncompanies) monthly and annual reports on their activities,\" said
\nHadi.<\/p>\n
Based on a ministerial decree, the ministry set up a team in
\n2000 to examine the explosives' stocks and facilities of all the
\nlicensed companies. The team consists of representatives from the
\nministry, the police, the military, the Ministry of Finance, the
\nMinistry of Industry and Trade, the Office of the State Minister
\nfor the Environment, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of
\nCommunications and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.<\/p>\n
However, the team has yet to reveal the results of its
\ninspections.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/coordination-lax-in-explosives-supervision-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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