Minister warns against privatization delay<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi warned on
\nWednesday that the country could not afford the luxury of
\ndelaying the privatization program as it was competing with time
\nto meet a difficult target.<\/p>\n
But he said that his office was willing to meet with the House
\nof Representatives (DPR) to discuss the privatization program
\namid mounting calls from legislators for a delay.<\/p>\n
\"About the delay, of course it can be discussed again with the
\nDPR,\" he was quoted by Antara as saying, following a meeting
\nbetween senior economic ministers and Vice President Hamzah Haz.<\/p>\n
Laksamana said that, to achieve the 2002 privatization target,
\nthe government should work hard and have the courage to take
\nbreakthrough measures.<\/p>\n
He added that market momentum was crucial to ensure a
\nsuccessful sale of state assets.<\/p>\n
The government plans to raise around Rp 6.5 trillion (about
\nUS$650 million) in privatization proceeds this year in a bid to
\nhelp plug the 2002 state budget deficit. The House has actually
\napproved this target.<\/p>\n
The privatization program is also one of the country's key
\neconomic reform programs essential to help revive the confidence
\nof investors and donors in the ailing economy.<\/p>\n
Laksamana's office is shortly expected to issue a list of the
\nstate-owned enterprises that are to be privatized this year.<\/p>\n
Last year, the government only raised around Rp 3.5 trillion
\nin privatization proceeds, much lower than the Rp 6.5 trillion
\ntarget, due to massive protests from various quarters.<\/p>\n
And now, opposition to the government privatization program
\nintensifies again.<\/p>\n
Some legislators want the government to delay the
\nprivatization program until a law governing the program has been
\npassed by the House to help ensure maximum benefit to the state
\nand avoid corruption in the process.<\/p>\n
The government has proposed a draft of the law to the House
\nbut the latter had yet to debate it.<\/p>\n
There have been suggestions that the past sales of state
\nassets have not been conducted properly causing the country to be
\nunable to gain optimum proceeds.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, a group of employees of state-owned cement maker PT
\nSemen Gresik held a rally at Laksamana's office on Wednesday to
\npressure the government to drop plans to sell a 51 percent stake
\nin the company to the Mexican cement giant Cemex SA de CV.<\/p>\n
The protesters argue that if the government proceeds with the
\nprivatization program, it would no longer have control over the
\nsupply of domestic cement, raising concerns of a possible sharp
\nhike in cement prices.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Tuesday, thousands of employees held a strike for
\nsimilar reasons. The strike caused publicly listed Semen Gresik
\nto suffer some Rp 1.8 billion in losses.<\/p>\n
The employees plan to strike again if the government does not
\ndrop the planned sale.<\/p>\n
The Semen Gresik sale plan was supposed to be completed late
\nlast year, but opposition from various quarters forced the
\ngovernment to delay. The government now expects to be able to
\ncomplete the divestment program in March this year.<\/p>",
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