'Developer must be held to promise'

JAKARTA (JP): The city council urged the city administration yesterday to closely monitor the use of the third floor of a 28- story shopping center in Mangga Dua, West Jakarta, which has been set aside by the building's owner for small-scale traders.

Abdulgani H. Abdullah, the chairman of the council's Commission B, which is responsible for financial affairs, told reporters at his office that the small traders, who are currently operating in the streets adjacent to the shopping complex, should be given first priority when it comes to allocating floor space in the building.

"The city administration must monitor any possibility of the floor space being sold ... (and must prevent) any trade of floor space permits," he said.

"All forms of manipulation must be prevented, if the city administration does not want to fail in its program to improve small-scale traders' welfare," he added.

Abdulgani said that PT Agung Sedayu Propertindo, the owner of the building, promised recently to hand over the 1,433 square meters constituting the third floor of the building for use by small-scale traders.

He said tha the provision of the space is in line with the gubernatorial decree No. 240/1983, which stipulates that developers should reserve 20 percent of floor space developed for commercial purposes for use by street vendors.

The shopping center project is expected to be completed by early next year.

Abdulgani said that the developer has also paid Rp 832 million (US$378,181) to the city administration in lieu of providing the space for small traders in other sections of the complex.

Hasan Dasy, another member of Commission B, said that, in theory, developers must hand over the floor space and that cash payments are not a permissible alternative. However, because of technical problems, the city administration is forced to receive compensation in cash, he said.

He said that both the council and the city administration preferred floor space to cash, because the former is ready for use.

"But the most important thing is that the money is used for the improvement of the welfare of small-scale traders," he added. (32)