17 extra levies may be removed

17 extra levies may be removed

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah
said yesterday that at least 17 levies within his ministry may be
removed as part of the government's campaign to eliminate
excessive levies imposed on businesses.

Sjarifudin said the 17 levies were imposed on the sugar
business alone. He implied that there were other unnecessary
levies in other agrobusinesses overseen by the ministry.

"We will make a list of those levies and from there we can
determine which ones are unnecessary and can thus be removed," he
announced after installing new officials at the ministry and
state-owned companies.

Sjarifudin said he would meet next week with government
officials and executives of state-owned companies in the sugar
business to discuss problems they faced.

He acknowledged that there were many unnecessary levies
imposed in the implementation of sugar plantation nucleus
estates.

"These fees are very harmful and can easily disrupt sugar
production," he said.

Sjarifudin yesterday installed Erwin Soetirto as the
ministry's new director general of animal husbandry, replacing
Soehadji; Asbur as director for plant protection supervision,
replacing J. Ekowarso; Wahyudi Sugiyanto as head of the Center
for Standardization and Accreditation of the ministry's
agribusiness agency, replacing Achmad Suryana.

Sjarifudin also installed M. Sujud as the new president of the
state-owned Perum Sang Hyang Seri (SHS) rice seed company,
replacing Soemardhi; Endang Syaeful as SHS' director of finance
and administration, replacing Susilo Kusumo; Dody Hidayat as SHS'
director of production, replacing Z.S. Mawuntu; M. Munawir as
SHS' president commissioner; and A. Rifai Husein and Wachjoedi as
SHS' commissioners.

Sjarifudin also installed Soetriadji as the new president of
the state-owned PT Pertani farming company and P.M. Sudarsono and
Soemitro as Pertani's commissioners. (pwn)