Customs to Address Permit Process After Swiss Builder Goes Viral
Jakarta. The customs office has vowed to improve communication among agencies in an effort to reduce the time needed to clear permits and swelling storage and demurrage fees, a senior official said on Friday (30/09).
The move comes after Swiss national Toni Rüttimann took his story public. Rüttimann's humanitarian efforts in the country may soon come to an end with inefficiencies in the ports exhausting his resources.
Rüttimann's story went viral after prominent University of Indonesia sociologist and lecturer Imam B. Prasodjo shared a post on his Facebook account on Tuesday which was soon shared more than 2,200 times.
Heru Pambdui, director general of customs and excise at the Finance Ministry, said the agency will use their presence at every port and gate in the country to help other ministries and agencies speed up the processing of checking imported goods.
"In a way we connect both sides between the ministries or agencies that issue the permits and the importers," he said.
Rüttimann has been building bridges in rural communities to provide safer access for food, healthcare and education for the last three years. During this time he has been traveling to Indonesia's most remote areas and working with local men to construct the suspension bridges, Imam said in his post.
Rüttimann and his teams have built at least 61 suspension bridges across all of Java, Sulawesi, North Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara so far. Building materials have been procured from donations and often need to be shipped from overseas, which requires document verification from several ministries and physical inspections.
Three containers of donated cables arrived at Tanjung Priok port July 16 but are yet to be released. Rüttimann has been charged a fee for overtime storage of around Rp 196 million ($15,000).
The directorate general of customs and excise at Tanjung Priok port and the Public Works and Housing Ministry will cover the costs, Public Works Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said, as quote by news portal Detik.com.
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