Petojo traders push for kiosk guarantee
Petojo traders push for kiosk guarantee
JAKARTA (JP): Five representatives of 829 traders from the
Petojo Ilir market in Central Jakarta visited the City Council
yesterday, asking for a guarantee they would not be evicted and
that kiosk prices would not be hiked when market renovations were
completed.
"We demand a written guarantee," said Masri K., one of the
representatives.
According to Masri, the 580 kiosks owners and 249 street
vendors currently running business at Petojo Ilir market have
expressed doubts about their future and possible increases in
kiosk price, in line with the market's renovation plan.
They, therefore, asked the city councilors to order the city-
owned market operator company, PD Pasar Jaya, to allow the
traders to run business as usual in the new market.
"We also want Pasar Jaya not to raise the price of its new
kiosks later," said Masri.
He said the firm had offered to rent the kiosks 20 years for
Rp 5.2 million (US$1,960) per square meter.
But traders doubted the offer due to previous bad experiences
encountered by other city traders whose markets had been
renovated by Pasar Jaya, said Masri.
He cited Pasar Kenari market, where Pasar Jaya more than
tripled kiosk prices from Rp 4 million per square meter, when the
renovations were still ongoing, to Rp 14 million per square meter
shortly after the work was completed.
The renovation of the Petojo Ilir market is due to start later
this year. No precise schedule for the work has been announced
but Pasar Jaya has already built temporary kiosks in front of the
market.
In response to the traders' demand, Councilor Suryo Susilo of
Commission B for economic affairs promised to meet Pasar Jaya
executives.
Susilo promised to help the traders get written guarantees
from the company.
Masri said that the existing traders were entitled to stay at
the market until 2004.
The traders would not move to the temporary kiosks and accept
compensation offered by Pasar Jaya if they had not received a
written guarantee and agreed on the kiosk price with Pasar Jaya,
he said. (jun)