In its report, the Ombudsman discussed Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia’s negligence not to exercise his authority to sign approval for the proposed RKAB.

The ministry, however, has insisted that the RKAB report had been responsibly made and in accordance with good governance principles.

Tri Winarno, Director General of Mineral and Coal at the ESDM Ministry, said the ministry is open to criticism from any parties, including the Ombudsman, in its effort to strengthen good governance in the mining sector.

"This regulatory improvement is part of our measures to ensure the RKAB licensing process runs transparently and provides legal certainty for all stakeholders," Tri said on Friday, December 27, 2024.

Ombudsman has maintained that regulation is needed as a legal basis in delegating government’s authorities and presidential regulations.

RKAB approval mechanism

The ESDM  ministry said that the RKAB approval mechanism for the Production Operation stage has been given for a period of three years through a digitization system, namely e-RKAB, as regulated through several regulations.

They include Government Regulation (PP) No. 25/2024 on Amendments to PP No. 96/2021, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation (Permen) No. 10/2023, and Budget Costs and Procedures for Reporting the Implementation of Mineral and Coal Mining Business Activities.

The ESDM ministry cited that the authority to issue the RKAB by the Director General of Mineral and Coal does not have to come directly from the attributing authority of the Government Regulation/Presidential Regulation.

Based on Law No. 30/2014 on Government Administration, the delegation of authority can be done through attribution, elegation, and/or mandate.

Therefore, the Minister of ESDM, which has the authority to issue the RKAB based on the provisions of Article 177 of PP No. 96/2021 on the Implementation of Mineral and Coal Mining Business Activities, can issue a mandate to the Director General of Mineral and Coal/Acting Director General of Mineral and Coall, as currently stated in ESDM Minister Regulation No. 7/2020 and ESDM Mimnister Regulation No. 10/2023.

ESDM ministry also conveyed delegation pf authority through PP/Presidential Regulation. According to them, if it is associated with the hierarchy of laws and regulations, it is appropriate to provide regulation on delegation and mandate for issuing RKAB to the Director General of Mineral and Coal through regulations at the Ministerial level (Permen) as is customary for delegation that has been known in various agencies today.

Meanwhile, direct delegation to the Director General through PP/Perpres is considered to have the potential to exceed the contents of the PP/Perpres which provide governance arrangements at the Presidential and Ministerial levels.