Official meeting scheduled to settle food stall saga

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has reportedly pledged to arrange a meeting between roadside food stall owners and the Ministry of Social Services to settle disputed compensation for a free-meal program.

Head of the Roadside Food Stall Owners Cooperative Sastoro said yesterday the guarantee came from the deputy governor for social welfare affairs, Djailani, when he met with him early yesterday.

"He said he could not help us with the compensation but promised to arrange a meeting with representatives of the ministry," he told The Jakarta Post.

Sastoro urged any food stall owners, including those not officially registered in the program, to report soon any grievances over compensation for providing the meals.

At least 60 food stall owners -- not 13 as he mentioned earlier in the week -- have reported a total of Rp 20 million was still owed to them, Sastoro added.

The traders were not registered in the program which was initiated by former minister for social services Siti Hardijanti Rukmana to help Jakartans laid off during the monetary crisis.

"They have now become victims because many unemployed thought they could get the free meals at any food stall in the city."

Sastoro said there were also three stall owners registered in the program who suffered losses because they provided meals to ineligible people.

Slamet, one of the three owners all of whom operate in East Jakarta, said only people selected by heads of subdistricts in the five mayoralties and provided with coupons were entitled to the free meal packages.

"I was supposed to provide 50 packages a day during the one- week program. But I actually gave out more than 75 packages daily," he told the Post yesterday.

Slamet and the two other traders also complained that they had only received three of the four sacks of rice which the East Jakarta mayoralty office was supposed to provide to them.

On Tuesday, Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah promised to compensate food stall owners in his area who suffered financial losses during the program.

"To the owners, please tell me if you need compensation. I will pay them using my own money if necessary, but the report should be completed with proper data."

Separately Tuesday, Djailani said that the program had allowed 15,000 poor Jakartans to get free meals from 300 participating stalls during the one-day campaign on March 24.

He said Hardijanti handed over Rp 21 million for the program to the Central Jakarta mayoralty, Rp 31.5 million to North Jakarta, Rp 42 million to West Jakarta, Rp 21 million to South Jakarta and Rp 42 million to East Jakarta. (ind/cst)