Mimika Regency to Establish Regional Public Company for Professional Clean Water Management

The Mimika Regency Government in Central Papua Province is committed to accelerating the establishment of a Regional Public Company (Perumda) to professionally manage clean water services for the community. Bupati Mimika Johannes Rettob stated on Monday that the local government is serious about forming the Perumda, with one key step being a recent benchmarking study at the Toya Wening Drinking Water Perumda in Surakarta, Central Java. “We want clean water in Mimika to be managed and operated professionally. We went to Solo and observed the Perumda there, learning from their preparations for clean water management,” Johannes said. Head of the Mimika Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency, Inosensius Yoga Pribadi, explained that prior to the study visit, the Mimika government had conducted a public consultation on the draft regional regulation concerning clean water and wastewater management with the Ministry of Home Affairs and other relevant institutions in Jakarta. “Initially, we consulted on the draft regulation with ministries and agencies in Jakarta, and only then proceeded to Solo for the benchmarking study,” he stated. The study was conducted at Perumda Toya Wening because it is considered a model institution in Indonesia for clean water and wastewater management. Many other regions have also studied its governance practices. “We were there to get an overview, as we are still in the process of drafting the regional regulation for the Perumda. We attended alongside the Bupati, the Mimika Public Works Agency, the Health Agency, and the Environmental Agency. Together, we observed the clean water management process in Solo,” he said. Yoga noted that the drafting of the regional regulation for the clean water Perumda is currently being prepared by the Indonesian drinking water network and its partners, with public consultations already held involving the Bupati and the Mimika Government. He expressed hope that the process would be completed soon so that the draft can be submitted to the Mimika Regional House of Representatives for deliberation and enactment. “The drafting process is still ongoing, with further public consultations planned, so that it can become a regional regulation providing a legal framework for clean water and wastewater management in Mimika. Hopefully, this can be finalised this year, so that when PT Freeport Indonesia hands over the clean water facilities it has built, there will already be a managing institution in place,” he said.