Cipinang traders reject 'irrational' renovation
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
About 100 vendors at the Cipinang rice market rejected on Wednesday a costly renovation plan they regarded as exorbitant and unreasonable, planned by the management of PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya.
"The renovation plan, which will cost about Rp 8 million (US$888.89) per square meter, is very irrational," said Fadjaruddin Tamar, head of the rice vendors' union in Cipinang Market.
The Cipinang rice market, located in East Jakarta and established in 1974, was at one time the largest rice market in Jakarta that also served as a distribution center to many places in the city.
According to President Director of Food Station Suhardi, the management was considering the renovation because of the fragile construction of the facilities, which were built 29 years ago when the market first opened.
The electrical installation was also said to be in poor condition, although refurbishment were made only last year. According to Fadjaruddin, this included the replacement of damaged electricity cables, while Suhardi said that last year's refurbishment only focused on the maintenance of visible electrical infrastructure.
An overall renovation is at present being planned, as advised by an independent technical consultant.
Suhardi said that the renovation costs would also include rental charges for the kiosks for the next 15 years. "The rental charges paid by the vendors up to the present will no longer be valid and should be renewed," he said.
Vendors said the current rice business was gloomy and they could not afford such high renovation costs.
"On average, the size of a kiosk is 24 square meters. So the renovation fee may run at about Rp 200 million per kiosk, and some vendors own several kiosks," said Fadjaruddin.
Fadjaruddin and other vendors said they actually owned their kiosks, so a renewal of rental charges was unnecessary. "I bought my store in 1974 for Rp 6,048,000 at that time," he said.
As proof, he showed a copy of the ownership document signed by the Food Station's head of project at that time, M.S. Ngabadi.
The current management, however, denied the validity of the document. Suhardi said that since the market opened in 1974, vendors had been paying regular fees for operation licenses, which the vendors were obliged to renew every two years.
The management challenged the vendors to take the ownership issue to court.
The vendors also complained about the poor service provided by the market's management.
"Most of the electric bulbs in the market's parking lot are broken, but the management has not replaced them. They just leave the area unlit," said a vendor. "The waste water in the gutters is horrible. It is dirty and the gutters are often clogged with trash."
The vendors are required to pay a maintenance and development fee of about Rp 200,000 (US$22.22) per month.
Suhardi said the fee will be used for sanitation management, security guards and lighting. Manager Nasyun Bagiono even admitted that the lighting at the market was Food Station's responsibility.
The city administration owned 75 percent of shares in PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya, while the remaining 25 percent was divided among several owners, some of whom were retired city officials, said Muhayat, spokesman for the administration.
Suhardi, however, denied that former officials owned shares in Food Station. "No, there are no retired officials of the Jakarta regional administration among the shareholders," he said.