Most Jakartans can afford proper housing: Official<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): City administration officials said yesterday
\nthat most Jakarta residents can afford proper housing.<\/p>\n
\"It's just a matter of choice,\" M. Yanis, head of the Central
\nJakarta mayoralty's public relations department, told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Ability depends very much on one's legal status and the legal
\nstatus of one's land, he said. Squatters, migrant workers and
\nillegal residents are not the mayoralty's responsibility.<\/p>\n
According to Yanis, most Jakartans earn more than Rp 5,200 per
\nday, which is the daily minimum wage stipulated by the
\ngovernment. With this, he said, Jakartans should be able to
\nafford the subsidized housing and other forms of housing
\navailable.<\/p>\n
But many Jakartans, especially those from low income families,
\nhave sold their land rights to those who can afford the units.
\nIn the Central Jakarta district of Bendungan Hilir, for example,
\nmost of the 375 residents, whose shanties were destroyed by fire
\nlast year, have sold their land to the city for apartment
\nbuildings.<\/p>\n
Yanis said many people who appear to live an impoverished life
\nin the city are actually quite wealthy in their hometowns, to
\nwhere they generally transfer all their wealth.<\/p>\n
\"Many people minimize spending while maximizing gain,
\npreferring to live in slums as a way to minimize rent,\" Yanis
\nadded. \"Some of them can actually afford big houses back in their
\nhometowns.\"<\/p>\n
\"If we look at demographics, only about 10 percent of
\nJakarta's residents live below the poverty line,\" Yanis said.<\/p>\n
According to Yanis, the purpose of urban renewal is to bring
\ndevelopment in the capital up to par with cities in the more
\nadvanced countries in the world.<\/p>\n
The government said those residents whose houses were
\ndemolished as a result of \"urban renewal\" will be given first
\ncrack at new apartment units.<\/p>\n
Building apartments is part of the government's ongoing plan
\nto reduce the number of slum areas in the city. Compensation for
\nlands lost depends on a number things, including the location and
\nlegal status of he property as well as the legal status of those
\nsituated on the land. (14)<\/p>",
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