House-saving scheme for workers planned<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government is planning to implement a
\nsavings scheme to aid low-income employees of private companies
\nin purchasing their own homes, Minister of Public Housing Akbar
\nTanjung said yesterday.<\/p>\n
He told reporters after meeting with President Soeharto at
\nMerdeka? Palace that the planned saving scheme would be
\nimplemented for those with a monthly income of less than Rp
\n500,000 (US$224).<\/p>\n
Tanjung met with the President to report on the preparedness
\nof the Indonesian delegation for the UN Conference of Human
\nSettlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul, Turkey from June 3-14.
\nTanjung will lead the delegation.<\/p>\n
Housing will be one of the conference's main issues.<\/p>\n
In his response to the planned saving scheme, Soeharto said it
\nshould not be compulsory. The workers should save the money
\nvoluntarily and the funds should be used for the benefit of the
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
The President also stressed that fund management must be open
\nand transparent, Tanjung said.<\/p>\n
The office of the Minister of Public Housing, in cooperation
\nwith the Management Institute of the School of Economics at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, has conducted a study on the house
\nsaving scheme for the employees of private companies, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The conclusion is that the employees are able to save a
\ncertain amount of money in accordance with their income. For
\nexample, an employee with a Rp 150,000 (US$63.8) monthly income
\ncan save up to Rp 4,700,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Employees earning less than Rp 500,000 want the saving scheme
\nbecause they will be unable to buy a house with their salaries
\nalone, Tanjung said. He added that most of them live in rented
\nhouses.<\/p>\n
The government started implementing the house saving scheme
\nfor civil servants in 1992. Since September 1993, 115,000 civil
\nservants have enjoyed housing loans generated from the savings,
\naccording to Tanjung.<\/p>\n
Tanjung said that to help provide houses for low-income
\nworkers, the government has reduced or even wiped out the permit
\nfees to build low-cost houses.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, during a discussion on housing, Suyono, an
\nassistant to the Minister of Public Housing, said that people in
\nurban areas can't afford houses because of skyrocketing land
\nprices.<\/p>\n
\"Their incomes are too low compared to the prices of homes,\"
\nhe said in a discussion held at the United Nations Information
\nCenter yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"The prices of houses in Indonesia are more or less similar to
\nthose in Singapore, while the income of Singaporeans is 20 times
\nhigher than Indonesians,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Due to limited land, the government is promoting the vertical
\nhousing program, which also aims at improving slums. The
\ngovernment has given a lot of subsidies because of the high
\nconstruction costs of apartment houses, he pointed out.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, low-income people prefer slums to apartments,
\nSuyono said.<\/p>\n
Therefore, private developers are encouraged to build luxury
\napartments in the hope that once the wealthy have started to live
\nin apartments, others will follow in their footsteps.<\/p>\n
Budhy Tjahjati, deputy chairperson of the National Development
\nPlanning Board, said that low-income people do not like
\napartments because their designs were made without considering
\nthe social aspects.<\/p>\n
\"Low-income people are very communal. They need to be
\ntogether. Maybe we should broaden the alleys. Maybe we need to
\nbuild rooms where they can get together,\" she said. (sim)<\/p>",
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