City not sold on street vendors site
City not sold on street vendors site
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Agency
admitted its failure to accommodate around 147,000 registered
street vendors, and those unregistered, laying the blame on the
cash-strapped budget and limited space.
Agency head Samsul Hilaltaha revealed to The Jakarta Post on
Wednesday the problems that the agency had faced.
"The taxable value of the property (NJOP) rises every year so
that we can't afford the land. Last year, we had to return the
allotted funds for land procurement because we didn't find land
of a reasonable price," he said, declining to name the amount.
The number of street vendors has been on the rise,
particularly since the economic crisis hit the country, resulting
in increasing unemployment figures. The situation has been
worsened by the high influx of people to the capital to find
jobs.
"Most migrants arriving in the city lack skills. That's why
the informal sector -- including becoming a street vendors -- is
the most realistic alternative for them," Samsul said.
The administration recorded in 2002 that there were over
147,000 registered street vendors.
"The actual figure, of course, is higher than our data. Many
street vendors are unregistered, including street hawkers,"
Samsul said.
Governor Sutiyoso told the City Council earlier on Tuesday
that his administration had set up 22 locations across the
capital for street vendors. The locations are situated in Bintaro
subdistrict in South Jakarta and in Makasar district and
Cililitan subdistricts in East Jakarta.
"We still lack locations for street vendors," he said.
The 22 locations can only accommodate 6,609 vendors. They will
set up a cooperative unit in each location and organize and
manage the locations by themselves.
Besides the official locations, the administration also
tolerates the presence of street vendors at 320 locations in five
municipalities in the capital. A total of 14,243 street vendors
can be accommodated in the locations.
According to Samsul, some locations are situated in strategic
areas, including a line of semi-permanent kiosks along Jl.
Surabaya in Menteng, Central Jakarta. The location, which street
vendors are not prohibited from occupying, is close to the
official residences of the President and vice president.
"Due to our budget constraint and limited space to accommodate
street vendors, we allow them to operate there. But the locations
are subject to annual evaluation," he said.
Once the administration managed to find locations that were
more suitable than the existing ones, the vendors would be
evicted, he explained.
"Every year, the governor issues a gubernatorial decree to
renew the regulation on the use of the locations," said Samsul.
Street vendors are among the administration's eviction
targets. Many of them occupy sections of the street in prime
locations, such as around Tanah Abang and Senen markets in
Central Jakarta. The vendors claimed they paid public order
officers for "permits" to conduct business there.