The recent Freeport polemic has attracted a lot of attention from various groups, especially policy makers. Change of Contract of Work (KK) to IUPK along with renegotiation of policies related to divestment of PT shares. Freeport Indonesia raises a number of questions about who benefits from this mining investment. Therefore, Thursday (9/3), the PolGov Research Center and the Global Engagement Office FISIPOL UGM held a public discussion entitled "Negotiation Politics in Mining Investment: Benefits and Welfare for Whom?" located in the Auditorium of the UGM FISIPOL Digital Library.
The discussion guided by Hasrul Hanif (UGM DPP Lecturer) was also attended by, among others, Mukhlis, SE, Akt. (Tax Manager PT. Freeport Indonesia), Emanuel Bria (Asia Pacific Senior Officer – Natural Resource Governance Institute), Ir. Josaphat Rizal Primana, M.Sc (Director of Energy, Mineral and Mining Resources – Bappenas), and Ermy Ardhiyanti (Coordinator of the Extractive Industry Governance Division – Article 33.
During the discussion, discussions about the benefits and impacts of divestment on Indonesia's economy and welfare became the core of this discussion.
Mukhlis said that the negotiation process had been slow since 2009 between the Indonesian Government and PT. FI is because so far there has been no incentive from the state for companies to quickly carry out renegotiations, especially on points of agreement that are hampered by legal certainty. In addition, instead of making divestment the first step for the state to nationalize companies for the sake of the country's economic interests, divestment in Indonesia has so far been considered a failure due to its inability to produce a multiplier effect on the welfare of local communities. From the research results of the Article 33 Team, Ermy explained that the process of managing divested mining companies actually gave rise to corruption and rent-seeking at the local government level, rather than encouraging the development of the country's economy.
This discussion is aimed at exploring the perceptions of stakeholders such as the government, companies, NGOs and the academic community, with the hope that it can generate discourse and alternative solutions for resolving conflicts between PT. FI with the Indonesian Government. Furthermore, it is hoped that this public discussion can be a trigger for the scientific development of the academic community at Gadjah Mada University, especially the Department of Politics and Government which has a focus on resource governance. (Media Team/Irwan)
Photo Credit by UGM FISIPOL Media Team.
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