Red And White Village Cooperatives Can Manage Minerba Mining

Minister of Cooperatives, Budi Arie Setiadi (Photo: Doc. VOI)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Cooperatives, Budi Arie Setiadi, ensured that the Red and White Village Cooperatives could participate in managing mineral and coal mines. This is in line with the ratification of the Draft Law (RUU) regarding the fourth amendment to Law No. 4 of 2009 concerning Mineral and Coal Mining which allows cooperatives to participate in managing mines.

"According to the mineral and coal law, it is permissible. Minerba laws are allowed, lho, cooperatives," Budi Arie told the media crew at the Cooperative Ministry Building, Tuesday, March 11.

For this reason, Budi opens opportunities for cooperatives around mining concessions such as Kalimantan and Sulawesi to participate in managing mining which is a commodity around their territory.

So that later, he said, people around the mining area can enjoy and not only become spectators.

"Village residents, it's time for villagers not to become spectators. So villagers must enjoy all the resources in the village. If they have coal, villagers must get it. Don't just let the people of the city get prosperity," explained Budi Arie.

Budi said that the Red and White Cooperative will become an instrument for equitable economics, especially the people's economy, so that it can certainly manage mineral and coal mining.

"That's right. So it's a matter of mining co-operation, it's okay. There's already a law," said Budi.

Just so you know, Kemenkop continues to move quickly in the context of establishing 70,000 Village Cooperatives (Kop Des) Merah Putih as an effort to strengthen the village economy and resolve various problems that occur in rural areas.

Budi said, because to manage mining requires a lot of money, cooperatives have a multi-party cooperative concept that allows cooperation with other parties.

"There can be a multi-party cooperative concept. Cooperatives can cooperate with other parties. It can be private, it can be cooperative, it can be SOE government. There is a cooperative concept working together," Budi told the media crew at the Ministry of Cooperatives Building, Thursday, March 6.

However, until now there has not been a single cooperative that has volunteered to manage the mine. Budi admitted that he was sure that there would be many cooperatives interested in managing mines.

"Not yet. But there have been a lot of people talking. Just wait. I'm sure the enthusiasm is high. This is consolidation again," said Budi.