Jakarta Governor Pramono Vows Firm Action Against Illegal Waste Dumping, Refuses to Back Down

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung Wibowo has insisted he will not back down despite the many challenges involved in managing waste in the capital.

According to Pramono, many parties have already profited from the situation, but he will still act firmly to address waste management in Jakarta.

“To deal with this waste problem, it cannot be done with a magic trick. Many people have already enjoyed the benefits of it. Surely many will later attack me as governor, but I will not back down from cleaning up waste in Jakarta,” Pramono said at Jakarta City Hall on Wednesday.

He admitted he had seen footage of journalists being prevented from covering the illegal waste disposal site in Cilincing, North Jakarta.

Pramono stressed that the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) will provide assistance to journalists who wish to report from the location.

“I happened to watch it on TV One in the field. So, if you want to be accompanied, we will accompany you,” Pramono said.

The instruction follows the discovery of a waste pile covering approximately 5.8 hectares in the Jalan Reformasi/Inspeksi Kirana area, Nagrak, which operates outside the official waste management system of the Jakarta Provincial Government.

Pramono stressed that the location is not a waste disposal site managed by the Jakarta Environmental Agency (DLH).

Based on reports received by the Jakarta Provincial Government, the waste piled up at the location is suspected not to originate from household waste, but rather from commercial sector waste. The land used is also said to still be under an ownership dispute.

Pramono revealed that the majority of the illegally dumped waste comes from the hotel, restaurant and cafe (horeka) sector. The waste is transported by private operators who charge fees from customers, but is then dumped carelessly in the Nagrak area.

“The waste is located at PT Granito and the late Mrs Yusi as the waste dumping site. The waste collected is all from horeka: hotels, restaurants, cafes. So they receive fees for transporting the waste, but it is dumped carelessly,” he said.