Mining companies fail to help locals
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)