Businessmen want to regain permits

Businessmen want to regain permits

JAKARTA (JP): Kebayoran Baru businesspeople demanded on Friday
that the Jakarta administration allow them to reopen their
businesses in areas zoned for residential use.

A group of 10 people, representing more than 500
businesspeople from the Kebayoran Baru Businessmen Association
(P2KB), attempted and failed to meet with city councilors.

They told journalists they had the "necessary permits",
including building permits and business permits, to operate their
businesses.

Soeryo Soedibyo, P2KB secretary, said the South Jakarta
mayoralty's spatial planning in the Kebayoran Baru district
needed review.

The Kebayoran Baru residential area was designed in the 1950s
as a satellite town for Jakarta. But the rapid development of the
capital turned the area into one of the most upmarket locations
in the city.

According to administration regulations, businesses are not
allowed to operate in residential areas.

Many businesses have been sealed off for violating the
regulations. However, the administration has become the target of
criticism for being inconsistent and discriminative in enforcing
the regulations.

Poor coordination among agencies and institutions issuing
permits have been blamed for many of the inconsistencies.

Home owners in the area said many businesses were allowed to
remain open despite the fact they were located in residential
areas.

"We had a permit for the house and the business, still the
city administration closed our business," said Soeryo, whose cafe
on Jl. Pela Raya was shut down last year.

"When we applied for the (business) permit at the mayoralty's
City Tourism Agency, we were not informed about the spatial
planning of the subdistrict," he said.

Association chairman D. Nawolo Baskoro said sealing off
houses being used for commercial purposes was not an appropriate
policy.

"How about the 25,000 people employed by the businesses? How
about our billions of rupiah investment? We also pay taxes to the
government," said Nawolo. His Tea Box Cafe on Jl. Wijaya II was
sealed off last year.

Nawolo said about 300 out of 500 businesses in Kebayoran Baru
had been sealed by the South Jakarta mayoralty since early this
year.

Most of the businesses were cafes, restaurants, bars and
karaoke halls, art galleries and furniture shops, located in
zoned residential areas, said Nawolo.

He said the businesspeople needed more lenient regulations
which would accommodate their aspirations.

He also said the businesspeople were demanding more areas be
made available for businesses.

Discriminative

Soeryo reiterated that the enforcement of the regulations was
inconsistent. "Some places were sealed off, while some others
were left open. Some of the business owners were summoned by the
district court and were told to pay a Rp 50,000 fine, and they
were allowed to reopen their businesses after that."

Separately, the head of the building supervisory agency at
the South Jakarta mayoralty, Agus Irawan, said so far only 30
houses had been sealed off for being used for commercial
purposes, and 53 house owners had been tried at the South Jakarta
District Court.

"We always apply the standard procedures," said Agus.

The head of tourism agency at the mayoralty, Tatang S.
Sumantri, said his office had never issued a business permit for
commercial activities in Kebayoran Baru. He was referring to
claims by some businesspeople that they had legal business
permits issued by the administration.

He said his office recorded 224 unlicensed businesses in
Kebayoran Baru, adding that business registration permits also
were issued by the City Health Agency. (07)