Rawasari Timur traders will get no compensation<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta mayor Abdul Kahfi said yesterday
\nthat there will be no compensation for traders of Rawasari Timur,
\nCentral Jakarta, whose houses will be demolished to make way for
\nthe construction of public facilities.<\/p>\n
\"The mayoralty will not give any compensation for the second
\ntime because we gave it to the traders in 1989,\" Abdul Kahfi told
\nreporters on the steps of city hall, adding that he did not
\nremember the number of families who had been compensated.<\/p>\n
Thirty traders from the market went to the City Council for
\nthe second time yesterday to protest the South Jakarta
\nmayoralty's plan to demolish their houses today.<\/p>\n
\"We received the third demolition letter which said that the
\nCempaka Putih district is going to demolish our houses tomorrow,\"
\nSyaifulman, spokesperson of the delegation, told the City
\nCouncil's Commission A which is in charge of government, security
\nand public order affairs.<\/p>\n
The letter said that the land on which the traders built their
\nhouses and shops belongs to the city administration and is
\nearmarked for public purposes, such as sidewalks, parks and
\ngutters.<\/p>\n
The residents said that they are willing to leave the site as
\nlong as they receive compensation from the Central Jakarta
\nmayoralty.<\/p>\n
The residents claimed that most of them have stayed on the
\nsite for a long time. \"I have been opening my shop and living
\nthere for 20 years,\" Syaifulman said.<\/p>\n
Sitorus, another trader, said that they initially lived in the
\narea as ordinary settlers before converting their houses in
\nstages into shops in line with the increasing number of
\nneighbors.<\/p>\n
Last year, they said, seven families received compensation
\nranging from Rp 1.5 million (US$688) to Rp 7 million depending on
\nthe width of their houses.<\/p>\n
The figure contradicts the mayor's statement that all
\nresidents received the money.<\/p>\n
Mistake<\/p>\n
Kahfi admitted that his office made a mistake in allowing the
\ntraders who have received money to remain at the site after
\nreceiving the compensation in 1989.<\/p>\n
\"We have appropriated the land and paid compensation to the
\nresidents in 1989,\" Kahfi reiterated, adding, \"This is our
\nmistake because we did not construct fences to protect the land
\nafter the compensation was paid.\"<\/p>\n
He also said that an increasing number of newcomers are
\nresiding at the site.<\/p>\n
Kahfi said his mayoralty actually had offered these traders
\nthe opportunity to move to the Rawa Kerbau market, but that this
\noffer was turned down.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the commission M. Aman noted that based on
\nresidents' complaints, the Central Jakarta mayoralty made two
\nmistakes: First they did not quickly demolish the shops to
\nrelocate traders to the Rawa Kerbau market.<\/p>\n
\"The second is that the residents in the area are required to
\npay land and building taxes, which assumed that the mayoralty
\nhad legally recognized the existence of their buildings,\" Aman
\nsaid. (yns)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rawasari-timur-traders-will-get-no-compensation-1447893297",
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