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)