During a two day visit to Bangka-Belitung province at the weekend, Indonesia’s new president Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called for a new plan to combat illegal mining and boost tin prices. The President inaugurated new port facilities at Tanjung Batu, Belitung island on Saturday and visited the PT Tinindo Inter Nusa smelter in Pangkalpinang, Bangka on Sunday.
Local news media reported that Jokowi stressed the importance of Indonesia having long-term strategies which ensure better management of tin mining and smelting in Bangka and Belitung. Such strategies are expected to enable the country to curb rampant exports of tin from the two islands.
“We have to control illegal tin businesses. Smaller scale people’s mines should be managed by their ‘step fathers’ namely private firms and state companies,” Jokowi noted. People’s tin mining businesses can eventually developed into legal entities like cooperatives and companies. Jokowi said the government would use reports from Babel Governor Rustam Effendi and all the data and information from his own observation to evaluate and analyse the condition of tin mining in the province. The government will then introduce new policies to deal with it. “Smuggling will be part of the evaluation,” Jokowi noted.
As well as the Governor, the President was also accompanied on his visit by Transportation Minister Ignatius Jonan, Economy Coordinating Minister Sofyan Djalil, Health Minister Nila Moeloek, Industry Minister Saleh Husin, and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Frangky Sibarani.
