Minister welcomes plan to audit reforestation funds<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry and Plantations Muslimin
\nNasution hailed yesterday the government's decision to appoint a
\npublic accounting firm to audit reforestation funds collected
\nfrom timber companies.<\/p>\n
The minister said the involvement of public accountants in
\nauditing the reforestation funds would make his ministry's job
\neasier in finding any deviation of funds.<\/p>\n
\"The audit will ensure more transparency in the collection and
\nuse of the reforestation funds,\" Muslimin told journalists at his
\noffice.<\/p>\n
The new supplementary memorandum of economic and financial
\npolicies signed by the government with the International Monetary
\nFund Thursday stipulates that the government has to complete
\ninternational standard audits of reforestation funds by the end
\nof this year.<\/p>\n
The IMF requires the reforestation funds, including the
\ninterest, to be managed within the state budget and to be used to
\ndevelop forests and rejuvenate critical land.<\/p>\n
The reforestation funds are collected as mandatory fees
\nimposed by the government on forest concessionaires to ensure
\nthat forests are managed in an environmentally sustainable
\nmanner. The size of a fee depends on the volume and type of
\ntimber felled.<\/p>\n
Starting April 1, the reforestation funds are accounted for in
\nthe state budget as nontax receipts. Previously, the funds were
\ntransferred into the Ministry of Forestry's bank account. The
\nallocation and use of the funds were governed by presidential
\ndecree.<\/p>\n
Muslimin said the ministry had no problem with the finance
\nminister's request to transfer all reforestation funds collected
\nfrom the timber companies to the state treasury.<\/p>\n
\"Our question is whether there is any guarantee that the funds
\nwill be returned to the forests? So we are still negotiating with
\nthe Ministry of Finance to establish a mechanism which will
\nensure that the funds will be used for forest development,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In another issue, Muslimin said his office was still
\nconsidering whether to increase the dollar rate for reforestation
\nfees to Rp 10,000 from Rp 5,000 due to a continued drop in the
\ncountry's currency and to adjust the revised state budget.<\/p>\n
But he declined to explain if the new dollar rate would affect
\nunpaid reforestation fees for 1997.<\/p>\n
Reforestation fees are currently set between US$12 and $16 per
\ncubic meter depending on the type of tree, but payments are made
\nin rupiah.<\/p>\n
In 1996, the government collected Rp 880 billion in
\nreforestation funds. This fiscal year, it is expected to total
\nRp 1.6 trillion. (gis)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-welcomes-plan-to-audit-reforestation-funds-1447893297",
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