Plan for new company opposed

Plan for new company opposed

JAKARTA (JP): A City Council commission rejected yesterday the
municipality's plan to set up a new city-owned company to
distribute staple foods to cooperatives.

Djafar Badjeber, head of Commission B for economic affairs,
said the plan was rejected as the establishment of the new
company, to be called PT Waserda Jaya, would not guarantee the
smooth distribution of foodstuffs.

"Its establishment will waste both funds and time, especially
during the current crisis."

He said the city administration needed to utilize the two
existing city-owned companies -- PD Dharma Jaya for meat
butchery and distribution and PT Food Station for rice and
soybean distribution.

The plan to set up Waserda Jaya was advanced Tuesday by Deputy
Governor for Economic Affairs Harun Al Rasyid at a City Council
plenary session on the city draft budget for the 1998/1999 fiscal
year.

Harun said the establishment of the new company was expected
to enable cooperatives to compete with other retailers.

"The cooperatives' will meet their goals because distribution
chains for the shops will be entirely controlled by the planned
company."

"Rather than using the funds to establish the new company, I
think they can be used to finance other activities to improve the
situation," Djafar said.

He also opposes the establishment of the new food distribution
company because the city administration, in cooperation with Goro
Batara Sakti wholesale company, plans to establish a similar
firm.

He questioned how the administration could manage Waserda Jaya
when Warung Goro cooperatives were set up jointly with Goro
Batara Sakti.

The administration agreed last month to establish 65 Warung
Goro cooperatives throughout the city in cooperation with the
wholesale company. (ind)