Market firm defends contribution to budget

JAKARTA (JP): City-owned market operator firm PD Pasar Jaya defended on Tuesday its low contribution of Rp 1.7 billion (US$250,000) to the city's 1998/1999 revenue due to the fact it had to subsidize small and non-profitable markets under its supervision.

"From our 151 traditional markets in the city, there are 56 small markets which can't contribute any revenue.

"Besides, there are also medium sized non-profitable markets which have become a burden for the larger ones," PD Pasar Jaya spokesman Ivo Edwin Aryanto said.

Ivo said large and profitable markets have for years been requested to subsidize the smaller markets, also managed by PD Pasar Jaya.

He was commenting on complaints by city councilors that PD Pasar Jaya's contribution to city revenues was below target.

Ivo said city councilors only visited and examined large and profitable markets, like Jatinegara and Rawabening in East Jakarta.

"They (the councilors) have ignored the smaller ones, like Cidodol in South Jakarta and Cilincing in North Jakarta, whose parking revenue alone can total even less than 10,000 per day," he said.

The spokesman said the company has set a target of a Rp 3 billion contribution for the 1999/2000 city budget.

Several councilors questioned on Monday PD Pasar Jaya's Rp 1.7 billion contribution to the city revenue.

"How could it happen that one market, on average, only gained Rp 1 million a day. It does not make any sense," councilor Dani Anwar of Justice Party (PK) said.

Dani, a member of the council's commission B for economic affairs, said PD Pasar Jaya should have gained more profit since it only operates the markets and takes levies from traders inside them.

He said he could not believe when some street drink vendors claimed that they did not pay levies to PD Pasar Jaya.

"It's impossible that they said that they did not pay anything. The traders have likely been asked by PD Pasar Jaya to make up such a story," he said. (ind/jun)