Government Regulation on Ground Water Confirmed

After a somewhat long and tortuous journey the government has confirmed and issued a Regulation on Ground Water. This Regulation is No. 43 of 2008. The Regulation has been in force since the date of its confirmation, 23 May 2008.

The need for this Regulation was that the following Articles from the Law on Water Resources (Law No. 7 of 2004) regulate the exploitation and management of ground water, specifically Articles 10, 12(3), 13(5), 37(3), 58(2), and 59.

The rationale for the Regulation is that ground water plays a critical role in the sustaining of life generally but more importantly is that it sustains the life of the broader community. The Regulation provides for the taking of an inventory of ground water resources while promoting conservation and sustainable management of the resource for the long-term.

Recent debate on the need to more strictly regulate ground water usage is that experts have stated that parts of Jakarta have sunk up to 1.5 meters over the last decade because of the unregulated pillaging of Jakarta’s ground water. It is expected that further subsidiary legislation at the local level will see an increase in fees and levies on those that use ground water as their primary water source.

Ground water policy has a national, provincial, and municipal element in that each of the distinct government levels has a degree of policy control over the water resources. Nevertheless, it is clear that provincial and municipal policies will not be permitted to run counter to any national ground water policy determined by the Central Government.

Generally, ground water management will cover aspects of planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, conservation, and exploitation. The terms themselves are self-explanatory and need to be as some of them are only briefly regulated in the Regulation. However, other provisions are much more comprehensive such as the taking of an inventory of ground water resources which states that the inventory process will include mapping, examination, research, exploration, and evaluation of the data obtained.

The Regulation also stipulates licensing provisions; who needs a license, what licenses are to be granted, and the procedures for securing a license.

Public Order in Jakarta - One for the Ages!

Sneaking in under the radar is the new Government of Jakarta Regional Regulation on Public Order. The impact of this Regulation will be heavily dependent on enforcement of its somewhat draconian provisions because without adequate law enforcement it is likely to go the way of other public order ordinances, irrelevancy. The public needs to be aware of these provisions for no other reason than the many practices that Jakartans have taken for granted are no subject to severe criminal penalties and fines. Ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse.

The reality of the Regulation is that law enforcement must be more serious in enforcing the provisions as failure to do so would make a mockery of the stiff penalties. Nevertheless, the reality exists that the new and revised provisions are a potential income boon for police officers and other law enforcement officials prepared to accept “compensatory payments” in lieu of issuing a formal citation.

For long-term residents of the capital, the Regulation may be amusing in that perversely funny kind of a way as just about everyone will be able to recall an incident where they have breached these new provisions themselves and question whether the serious penalties and fines provided by the Regulation will be sufficient incentive to change their behaviors. The provisions of the Regulation will not only require a commitment to compliance but will demand a more significant cultural shift in acknowledging what is acceptable public behavior and what is not.

The examples are too numerous to list in this ILB however there are some notable mentions that must be made:

• jay walking is prohibited;
• public buses must stop at bus stops and people must board at bus stops;
• no road closures without permission;
• people can not offer themselves as “jockeys” to assist others in avoiding 3 in 1 traffic provisions;
• vehicle operators are prohibited from employing the services of jockeys;
• areas under bridges and overpasses cannot be used for any purpose except with the permission of the Governor;
• nobody is permitted to direct traffic unless they have permission to do so; and
• no illegal parking fares are to be collected or demanded.
  

Article 9 makes it an offence for passengers on public transport to dispose of rubbish, dispose of their chewing gum, spit, or smoke. Enforcement is clearly the key on the success of these provisions.

All pet owners need to take note that the Regulation requires them to register their pets with the appropriate authorities.
The Regulation also in effect prohibits prostitution by making it an offence to be a prostitute or a pimp and also an offence to use the services of a prostitute or pimp. However, more interesting is that the Regulation outlaws beggars, buskers, hawkers, and windscreen cleaners, which is a move that is decidedly anti-poor particularly when there is not a concurrent program to provide alternative sources of work or income.

Fines range from between IDR 100,000 and IDR 20 million and terms of detention range from 10 days to 180 days depending on the seriousness of the offence.
The Regulation repeals Regional Government Regulation No. 11 of 1988. The Regulation was approved and signed on 10 September 2007 but as yet has not been allocated a number.

Coastal Management

As an archipelago State it is surprising that Indonesia has never had specific legislation in place to manage such a vast and potentially long-term sustainable economic resource. The basic numbers here of 17,504 islands and more than 81,000 km of coastline serve to highlight the huge economic potential of proper and effective coastal management. The current legislative framework sees Indonesia’s vast coastal resources fall under Law No. 84 of 1992 on Spatial Planning.

Unfortunately, the Spatial Planning Law has focused almost exclusively on land-based spatial planning at the expense of any serious contemplation of Indonesia’s vast coastal resources. Commission IV of the House of Representatives (DPR) is currently debating the Bill on Coastal Management and if the Bill successfully passes the DPR then the new regulatory framework for coastal management will provide clearer mechanisms for the exploitation of coastal resources and legal certainty for investors. The exploitation of Indonesia’s coastal resources is expected to generate trillions of Rupiah in the future.

In the absence of a national regulatory framework on coastal management the regions have attempted to compensate for this deficiency by issuing Regional Regulations. To date 6 Regions have issued regulations; Gorontalo Province, Southeast Sualwesi Province, West Tanjungjabung Municipality, East Kotawaringin Municipality, Maros Municipality, and Gorontalo Municipality.

The Bill is comprehensive and addresses not only the exploitation of coastal resources but also issues of conservation, reclamation, and rehabilitation. The rights and access of the community is also regulated, as are the criminal sanctions for breach of the provisions. These criminal sanctions provide for fines up to IDR 2 billion and terms of imprisonment of up to 10 years.

The need for a specific coastal management law is likely to drive the passage of this Bill through the DPR.

Monorail to Nowhere...

The Minister of Finance (MoF) has issued Regulation No. 30/PMK.02/2007 to facilitate the implementation of Presidential Regulation No. 103 of 2006, particularly as it relates to the guidelines for implementing the government’s guarantee for additional borrowings by the government of Jakarta to ensure the completion of the Jakarta monorail project.

The provision of the guarantee is conditional on the fulfillment of certain conditions. The first of these conditions is that the guarantee must be approved by the House of Representatives (DPR) and will be accounted for in the State budget. The Jakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) must approve the agreed guarantee, make provisions in the Regional budget for the agreed guarantee, and produce a verifiable report relating to the daily capacity of the monorail project.

The guarantee will cover passenger shortfall to an agreed maximum expenditure. The passenger shortfall in dollar terms cannot exceed USD 11.25 million per annum over a five-year period. It must also be noted that the Central Government’s shortfall obligations only kick-in after the Jakarta Government has made their proportional payments on the agreed shortfall level.

The Closing Provisions of the Regulation are explicit in stating that within 36 months of this Regulation being signed the monorail project must be in commercial operation with a capacity of 270,000 passengers per day. This is a critical provision because any failure to be in commercial operation within 3 years will render the guarantee void.

This Regulation has been in force since 15 March 2007.

National Holidays 2008

As is done every year the Ministers of Labor and Transmigration (Menteri Tenaga Kerja dan Transmigrasi), Religion (Menteri Agama), and State Administrative Reforms (Menteri Negara Pendayagunaan Apartur Negara) have issued a Joint Decision (Decision) to stipulate the National Holidays and Group Leave for 2008. Also similar each year is the premise for the issue of this Decision; to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of working days and to increase productivity over periods of national holidays.

The Decision sees an increase in the total number of days that employees will be able to take off from 19 days in 2007 to 23 days in 2008. These 23 days comprise of 15 days of National Holidays and 8 days of Group or Joint Leave. The joint leave is to be counted against annual leave and in accordance with prevailing laws and regulations. However, with most employees enjoying an annual quota of just 12 days annual leave then there is a possibility that they may only have 4 days annual leave to use at their own discretion as the rest is regulated by the Government as Group Leave.

The exact dates of Ramadhan, Idul Fitri, and Idul Adha are to be determined by the Minister of Religion at a later date. These dates will then be announced in a specific Minister of Religion Regulation enacted for that purpose.

The Decision includes an Attachment that lists the National Holidays and Group Leave for 2008. The Decision was issued on 30 May 2007.