Local govts urget to protect investor interests

Local govts urget to protect investor interests

The central government has ordered local administrations to
protect the interests of foreign investors by extending a helping
hand to settle disputes, including those related to property
ownership, said Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

"As long as the ownership of the land is legal, the local
administration should favor the investors. They (the local
government) should give a guarantee to foreign investors in their
areas," said Kalla in a press briefing.

Aside from the "classic" problems confronting investors, such
as illegal fees, corrupt bureaucracy and weak law enforcement,
uncertainty in property ownership is now becoming more of an
issue, especially for investors engaging in businesses related
with forestry, agriculture and infrastructure.

Kalla said that the government acknowledged land disputes in
several areas, such as in Papua and Kalimantan, which involved
the operations of foreign investors, where local people often
claimed that the place was ancestral land which should not be
used for commercial means.

A recent decision by the government in issuing a presidential
regulation on land acquisition for public interests has received
largely a negative reaction, exacerbated by provocations by a
number of political parties and non-governmental organizations.

The government says that the regulation is needed to speed up
infrastructure projects of benefit to the public in order to
address road congestion and distribution problems that may
prevent the economy from growing at a targeted level of 6.5
percent annually. -- JP