Dealing with sidewalk vendors

Dealing with sidewalk vendors

From Warta Kota

Recently a raid was carried out to ensure that sidewalk
vendors would no longer use part of the highway and cause traffic
jams.

Unfortunately, in general, these vendors refuse to move to the
places that the city administration has allocated. They argue
that in their old locations they already have regular customers.

In such a situation, city officials usually resort to
coercion, sometimes accompanied by violence. Some places, in
Glodok for example, are cordoned off by a police line.

The question now is whether or not these sidewalk vendors will
return to their old trading locations. Or, will they play hide-
and-seek with the city administration?

In these circumstances, the city and also municipality
administrations in Jakarta should consistently pursue a policy
prohibiting sidewalk vendors from trading just where they please.
They should not wait until the number of sidewalk vendors at a
particular location has become a nuisance before taking action.
Doesn't the city administration have its own, unambiguous spatial
layout plan?

MULYADI WALUYO, Jakarta