[Kabar-indonesia] Regions must help economy: SBY

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
November 3, 2006

Regions must help economy: SBY

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday that local
administrations must share the responsibility of defeating
corruption and improving the country's economy by bringing
in investors.

The President cited cumbersome local regulations arising
from the 1999 autonomy law.

"Devolution of authority does not mean the decentralization
of corruption ... each and every province and regency must
do all it can to make sure decentralization does not lead to
more corruption," he said at the opening of the Indonesian
Regional Investment Forum, which ends Friday.

>From multiple taxation to complicated bureaucratic
procedures, many local regulations have discouraged
investors, despite efforts by the central government to lure
them in.

Investors have complained that they end up spending
significant amounts of money on levies, fees and bribes at
the regional level.

The President said the government had scrapped more than 506
local regulations, revised 148 and was scrutinizing 824 more
that are believed to be a source of legal uncertainty to
investors.

He added that the government had signed Investment
Protection Agreements with 60 countries, as well as enacting
a free foreign capital policy and guaranteeing there would
be no nationalization.

"Local governments must show an open, embracing and
assertive attitude toward private capital, including foreign
investment. Governments must attract private capital with
the aggressiveness of politicians attracting voters," he
said.

In his annual address last August in front of the Regional
Representatives Council, which hosts the forum, Yudhoyono
instructed local leaders to coordinate with the Justice and
Human Rights Ministry before issuing any regulations.

The President urged local leaders to quickly determine their
areas' strongest selling points, to ensure that no regions
lag behind in economic progress.

During the pre-1999 centralized era, development was heavily
focused in Java, leading to a massive gap between the
densely-populated island and other provinces.

The President called on local administrations to improve
their human capital to help propel the economy.
He also warned investors not to overlook their corporate
social responsibility to provide jobs, increase local
skills, protect the environment and empower the community.

Non-governmental organizations often accuse investors here,
particularly in the mining sector, of abandoning their
responsibility to local communities in the pursuit of
profit.

Protesters in Papua blocked roads and clashed with
authorities in February after illegal miners were shot on
the property of American mining firm PT Freeport.

The incident led to rallies nationwide, as protesters
accused the company of overlooking the poverty of local
people around the mine.

------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
------------------------------------------