JP/4/C01

Makassar vows to clean up, enforce litter law

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post/Makassar

The Makassar municipal administration is getting tough on garbage management by enforcing a 1999 bylaw to clean up the city, as well as to prevent flooding.

Under Bylaw No. 14/1999, city residents who toss out their trash in unauthorized places can be fined Rp 5 million (US$537) or jailed for six months.

Makassar Mayor Ilham Arif Siradjuddin, who was sworn in three months ago, said on Monday that the law was enacted in 1999 but it had not been implemented properly.

Therefore, city residents who dump garbage, particularly in public areas like streets, canals and rivers, will be punished, he added.

"I've seen that Makassar city is not clean. Residents discard garbage anywhere they want. That's why, I declare cleanliness and beauty as my first program to be carried out in Makassar," Ilham said, unveiling his list of priorities for the city after being installed as the new mayor.

For the first stage, the bylaw would be implemented beginning this week along six streets in Ujungpandang district -- Jl. Somba Opu, Riburanne, Jenderal Sudirman, Ahmad Yani, Haji Bau and Penghibur.

The mayor said the six areas were chosen due to their strategic locations in the middle of the city and the center of its economic activities and entertainment places including Losari beach.

Three months later, the bylaw's implementation will be extended to other areas across Makassar, he added.

"Beginning today (Monday) the bylaw is effective. If people dump garbage in those areas, we will punish them," Ilham declared.

The mayor said his administration had set up a judicial team of police and public order officers, prosecutors and judges to enforce the bylaw.

The local government also plans to deploy as many as 50 personnel each day at the six strategic locations with the task of enforcing the bylaw.

Some of the personnel are stationed at certain posts while others are mobile.

Local residents have been asked to participate in the anti- garbage campaign by reporting bylaw violators to authorities.

Before deciding to enforce the ruling, the Makassar administration disseminated information to the public for 45 days through banners and sign boards.

The administration had also placed 300 trash bins along the six streets in an effort to encourage city residents to dump garbage properly.

Ilham said Makassar, home to some 1.3 million people, produces 3,900 cubic meters of trash daily. But not all of the garbage ends up in designated dumps due to a lack of personnel and vehicles.

The city needs around 1,300 personnel and 350 garbage trucks to handle the waste, he added. Currently, it has only 600 personnel and 140 garbage trucks.

Ilham said his administration is planning to hand over the city's trash management to the private sector.

An Australian company has set up a plant to recycle garbage into organic fertilizer at the Antang dump in Makassar. With production capacity of 10 tons per day, the plant is expected to process around 80 percent of the city's garbage.