South Sumatra: A Coal-Rich Province with the Highest Poverty Rate

According to data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Indonesia's coal reserves are most abundant in East Kalimantan, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and Jambi.

Combined, these five provinces held verified coal reserves of 28.3 billion tons at the end of 2023, equivalent to 94% of the national total.

These coal-rich provinces generally have relatively low poverty rates.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the national poverty rate in March 2024 reached 9.03%.

Meanwhile, the poverty rate in East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and Jambi ranged from only 4% to 7%.

However, South Sumatra is an exception, with a poverty rate of 10.97%, higher than the national average.

The Ministry of ESDM states that South Sumatra's high poverty rate is an anomaly or deviation.

"There is an anomaly in the management of natural resources in several regions of Indonesia, where areas rich in natural resources have quite high poverty rates, one of which is South Sumatra," said M. Idris F. Sihite, Expert Staff to the Minister of ESDM, in a press release (July 20, 2024).

"The anomaly that is clearly visible before us is South Sumatra, which has the second-largest coal reserves in Indonesia at 9.3 billion tons, with coal production in 2023 reaching 104.68 million tons, and generating state revenue of Rp9.898 trillion, yet it has not been able to reduce the poverty rate in this province," he said.

According to Idris, this is due to the prevalence of illegal mining in South Sumatra.

He also stated that the anomaly in natural resource management must be stopped through comprehensive and sustainable efforts from various parties, including the government, businesses, civil society, and academics.

"This is our collective homework to address this issue, whether the management of natural resources is in line with the objectives of Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, namely for the greatest prosperity of the people," said Idris.