Forestry ministry rejects request to transfer funds<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Forestry and Plantations has
\nturned down the request from the Ministry of Finance to transfer
\nthe Rp 1.1 trillion (about US$78.57 million) in forestry funds
\nraised before March 31 this year to the state treasury.<\/p>\n
The ministry's Secretary General Oetomo S. said the transfer
\nof the money to the state treasury would drain all his office's
\nfinancial resources to finance the ongoing reforestation program.<\/p>\n
According to the initial agreement, he said, the reforestation
\nfunds that must be kept at the treasury office would be limited
\nto those raised after April 1 in order to comply with the
\ngovernment's decision to include the funds in the state budget.<\/p>\n
\"If we have to transfer all the reforestation funds we
\nreceived, how can we finance our projects? The government would
\nhave to find other sources to finance the projects. Besides, they
\ncan not guarantee that the funds in the state treasury will be
\nreturned to the forests,\" Oetomo told journalists.<\/p>\n
He said the funds and the interest collected by the ministry
\nbefore April 1 have been allocated to finance the development of
\ntimber estates and the ministry's reforestation and land
\nrehabilitation programs until the year 2000.<\/p>\n
This amounted to around Rp 1.1 trillion, consisting of Rp
\n927.6 billion of reforestation funds and Rp 147.4 billion of
\ninterest. This money is kept in the Ministry of Forestry's
\naccounts in several state banks.<\/p>\n
Oetomo said that the finance minister's request conflicted
\nwith that received from the state secretary, in which the
\ntransfer of the reforestation funds to the state secretary is
\nlimited only to those raised after March 31, the closing date of
\nthe fiscal year.<\/p>\n
He said the reforestation funds collected by his office from
\nApril 1 until mid June amounted to over Rp 300 billion.<\/p>\n
The reforestation fund is a mandatory fee imposed by the
\ngovernment on forest concessionaires to ensure that forests are
\nmanaged in an environmentally sustainable manner. The size of the
\nfees depends on the volume and type of timber felled.<\/p>\n
Starting April 1, the reforestation funds are accounted for in
\nthe state budget as non-tax receipts. Previously, the funds were
\ntransferred into the Ministry of Forestry's accounts. The
\nallocation and use of the funds were governed by presidential
\ndecree.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Minister of Forestry and Plantations Muslimin
\nNasution said separately yesterday that the ministry has secured
\nRp 330 billion in reforestation funds allocated for PT Kiani
\nLestari and urea pill fertilizer producer PT Ario Seto Wijoyo.<\/p>\n
He said that the ministry has taken back the Rp 250 billion
\nfund allocated for PT Kiani Lestari -- a company owned by
\nMohammad \"Bob\" Hasan, a long-time crony of former President
\nSoeharto -- for its pulp and paper factory in East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Muslimin said that the ministry has also secured Rp 80 billion
\nfunds allocated for PT Ario Seto.<\/p>\n
Former president Soeharto, during his tenure in power, issued
\nseveral decrees ordering the Minister of Forestry to allocate
\nreforestation funds to various projects run by his family members
\nand cronies which were not related to forest development. (gis)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/forestry-ministry-rejects-request-to-transfer-funds-1447893297",
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