Babel (BERITAPOLITIK.ONLINE) — The economy of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province is threatened with a drastic decline due to the ongoing legal process. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province shows a significant decrease in exports in January 2024, reaching 82.55% or only US$29.79 million compared to the previous month, December 2023, which was US$170.64 million.
The plummeting export value of Babel is primarily due to the absence of tin exports during January 2024, despite tin being one of Babel’s main export commodities.
The decline in tin exports has the potential to seriously impact the economic growth of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province. This can be seen from the economic growth slowdown in Babel in 2023, which only reached 4.38% compared to the previous 4.40%. The mining sector also experienced a slowdown in growth rate of -1.20% in 2023.
The legal process involving the tin industry players in Bangka Belitung, particularly the case of environmental damage causing a state loss of Rp 271 trillion, is one of the main factors causing the decline in Babel’s economic performance. Calculations by IPB Professor, Prof. Bambang Hero Saharjo, show that the losses due to environmental damage allegedly occurred in the tin commodity trade in the IUP PT Timah Tbk area from 2015 to 2022 amounted to Rp 271.06 trillion.
This condition forced the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung)of the Republic of Indonesia to detain 13 suspects in the last month, including former Directors of PT Timah and other tin smelter company managements.
This detention not only affects the economy of Babel but also raises concerns about Indonesia’s tin supply globally. The majority of tin sales are for export, with all tin companies tied to contracts with foreign buyers. Threats of penalties from foreign buyers loom over the Babel tin industry, giving the impression of “adding insult to injury.”
However, there is a different view from Prof. Andri Gunawan Wibisana from the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia (FH UI). According to him, environmental damage in mining areas does not automatically cause state losses or corruption. A similar opinion was also expressed by Legal Expert of the University of Muhammadiyah Jakarta (UMJ), Chairul Huda, who emphasized that to prove the state’s economic losses, an audit from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) is required. So, there is still doubt as to whether environmental damage from former mines can be considered a state loss in the form of ecological damage.
