Mining companies fail to help locals
JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Mining Professionals blames increasing unrest occurring at many mining operations across the country on the failure of many mining companies to carry out their community development programs.
The association's chairman Herman Afif Kusumo said on Saturday the government and the country's mining industry should now give more serious attention at community development. Otherwise, unrest could be further on the rise to trouble a larger number of mining operations.
Herman made the statement in response to the unrest that has rocked several mining operations lately.
Hundreds of illegal miners at the Pongkor gold mine in Bogor went on a rampage on Thursday, destroying and burning facilities and property of state-controlled, publicly listed general mining company PT Aneka Tambang, which owns the mine.
The riot was triggered by an unsubstantiated rumor that one of the illegal miners had been shot dead by the company's security guard.
The Pongkor gold mine has for a long time been troubled by illegal mining activities by residents and outsiders. Many illegal miners have been killed in the tunnels of the fields due to a lack of safety equipment.
State coal mining company PT Bukit Asam is also facing serious troubles following an increase in the number of illegal miners exploiting its coal reserves in West Sumatra and South Sumatra.
"If illegal miners already dare to plunder the reserves of state mining companies, how vulnerable will private mining companies be?" he asked.
"The country's mining industry is facing gloomy days," Herman said.
Herman believed the illegal mining activities were rooted in the fact that mining companies had failed to give enough opportunities for residents in the surrounding area to increase their welfare with their presence.
Under their contracts, mining companies are obliged to carry out community development. But, since there are no detailed instructions from the government on the matter, mining companies make and carry out their own programs, mostly to create friendly ties with local residents.
Herman called on the Ministry of Mines and Energy to set up a directorate, supervising community development programs given the necessity of the matter.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy's Director General of Mining Rozik B. Soetjipto had said earlier that under the eighth generation Contract of Work (COW), which is currently being drafted by the ministry, mining companies would be obliged to pay more serious attention to community development.
The eighth generation COW will stipulate, among others, that mining companies have to formulate their community development programs during feasibility study to be approved by the government.
Mining analyst Rachman Wiriosudarmo, who is also president of the mining community development consulting firm Ecomine Integrated Community Development Programs, said mining companies should adjust their community development programs to the government's and the aspirations of local people.
"The community development programs should help local residents benefit from the presence of mining companies and make them able to be economically independent in the post-mining era," Rachman told The Jakarta Post.
Rachman, supporting Rozik's idea, said mining companies should be obliged to formulate their community development programs during feasibility studies when they also have to make an environmental impact analysis.
He called on mining companies to hire experienced consultants to formulate their community development programs, as they do with environmental impact analysis. (jsk)