Most Jakartans can afford proper housing: Official

Most Jakartans can afford proper housing: Official

JAKARTA (JP): City administration officials said yesterday
that most Jakarta residents can afford proper housing.

"It's just a matter of choice," M. Yanis, head of the Central
Jakarta mayoralty's public relations department, told The Jakarta
Post.

Ability depends very much on one's legal status and the legal
status of one's land, he said. Squatters, migrant workers and
illegal residents are not the mayoralty's responsibility.

According to Yanis, most Jakartans earn more than Rp 5,200 per
day, which is the daily minimum wage stipulated by the
government. With this, he said, Jakartans should be able to
afford the subsidized housing and other forms of housing
available.

But many Jakartans, especially those from low income families,
have sold their land rights to those who can afford the units.
In the Central Jakarta district of Bendungan Hilir, for example,
most of the 375 residents, whose shanties were destroyed by fire
last year, have sold their land to the city for apartment
buildings.

Yanis said many people who appear to live an impoverished life
in the city are actually quite wealthy in their hometowns, to
where they generally transfer all their wealth.

"Many people minimize spending while maximizing gain,
preferring to live in slums as a way to minimize rent," Yanis
added. "Some of them can actually afford big houses back in their
hometowns."

"If we look at demographics, only about 10 percent of
Jakarta's residents live below the poverty line," Yanis said.

According to Yanis, the purpose of urban renewal is to bring
development in the capital up to par with cities in the more
advanced countries in the world.

The government said those residents whose houses were
demolished as a result of "urban renewal" will be given first
crack at new apartment units.

Building apartments is part of the government's ongoing plan
to reduce the number of slum areas in the city. Compensation for
lands lost depends on a number things, including the location and
legal status of he property as well as the legal status of those
situated on the land. (14)