Council asks PD Pasar Jaya to improve its management

JAKARTA (JP): In search of a greater contribution from PD Pasar Jaya to the city's revenue, City Council Commission B on Economic Affairs called on the administration on Tuesday to improve the management of the city-owned market operator.

"We (commission members) believe that PD Pasar Jaya's management lacks professionalism in managing its assets," Dani Anwar, commission B secretary, said during a plenary session between city officials and the council's five commissions.

He said that with assets of over Rp 1 trillion (US$117.6 million), the market operator should have contributed a significant share to the previous 1999 to 2000 city budget.

"PD Pasar Jaya was expected to contribute Rp 3 billion to the city's revenue, but only delivered Rp 2.4 billion, or about 78 percent of the target," he said.

Commission B members earlier blamed the market operator's failure to achieve the target on its inability to manage the revenue sources at the markets under its supervision.

Currently, PD Pasar Jaya manages 151 markets throughout the capital. The markets secure revenue from, among others, leased shops, spaces and parking lots.

Dani accused the market operator of lacking seriousness in eradicating rampant corruption, collusion and nepotism practices within the company.

"We have received some 100 letters of complaint from representatives of the kiosk owners in various markets under PD Pasar Jaya's supervision, protesting high market fees, illegal levies, disorderliness and poor sanitation in the markets," he said.

He cited the minimum parking spaces for tenants and visitors as an example of the markets' disorderliness.

"Most of the parking lots have been leased to small traders," he said.

Besides PD Pasar Jaya, the commission also revealed similar poor management at the city's Pulogadung Industrial and Resettlement Area (BPLIP) in East Jakarta, which failed to achieve its targeted contribution for the 1999 to 2000 city budget.

Commission members told BPLIP Pulogadung to settle the ongoing dispute with its tenants over the ownership status of the plots they currently occupied and to take firm action against notorious tenants who had not paid leasing fees, saying that both factors had affected its contribution to the city revenue of only Rp 30 million, from the targeted Rp 111.9 million.

Dani said the commission expected that city-owned companies and agencies could boost the city's economic growth ahead of the implementation of regional autonomy next year.

"Commission B, therefore, has suggested the need to improve the quality of the city's human resources, including their entrepreneurship and business-oriented skills," he said.

Separately, Governor Sutiyoso vowed to resolve problems of the ailing city-owned companies by liquidating those with bad debts and merging those of similar businesses.

"I have instructed deputy governor of economic affairs to prepare a list of city-owned and jointly-owned companies," he told Antara, adding that the planned liquidation was expected to be completed by 2001. (06)