Papuan Resource Review Team Proposes Formation of Special Task Force
The Review Team of the Natural Resource Management Policy for Economic Development in Papua has recommended the formation of a special task force for Papua and West Papua provinces. Its task is to supervise development programs in the two provinces.
The cross-ministry review team, which is chaired by the Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency, found that many national and local government programs in Papua and West Papua have failed to achieve their goals. The reason is that most of these programs go their own way, are not integrated, and do not complement each other.
Integrated supervision is needed to monitor development in Papua. The Minister of National Development Planning Sofyan Djalil said that the government has allocated a total of IDR 61 trillion for Papua and West Papua in the 2016 State Budget.The money will not bring maximum benefit to the Papuan people and economy without proper supervision.
"The special task force will only supervise, so the BPKP (Finance and Development Supervisory Agency) can be a member,” he said after attending the 2016 National Consumer Day in the Banteng Field, Jakarta, Tuesday (26/4). (Read: Rich in Kalimantan, Poor in Papua)
The task force will refocus the development programs in Papua. The current development issue in the region is the different approaches used by the national and the local governments. National government programs target undeveloped, natural areas, which are easier to develop, while local government takes the opposite approach.
The formation of a special task force was proposed at a cross-ministry meeting in the office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan. The discussion will continue at a closed meeting in the presidential office in the near future. (Read: Widodo Forms Papuan Natural Resource Management Team)
The review team also made recommendations on other matters related to the mining sector. They recommended extending the term of borrow-to-use permits for forest areas for mining surveys in Papua to take into account its difficult geographical conditions. More time is needed to conduct preliminary studies of mineral potential in these areas.
Sofyan said that the extension of the permits is expected to entice investors to explore the mineral resource and other mining potentials in Papua. “We think that the duration of the (borrow-to-use) permit is not effective for exploration activities,” he said.
A regulation of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry that deems forests at a certain elevation conservation areas has also hampered mining exploration, because the average elevation of forests in Papua is 1,000 - 2,000 metres above sea level. (Read: Many Question Budget of Papuan Natural Resource Management Team)
