Street vendors operate illegally

Street vendors operate illegally

JAKARTA: Only 11,000 of more than 141,000 street vendors in
the city run their business legally, a councillor said.

Syamsidar, a member of City Council Commission B for economic
affairs, said private developers were expected to help deal with
the problem by providing adequate space for them.

Most street vendors operate not only on sidewalks, but also on
parts of streets, causing traffic jams. While many city
officials, instead of regulating them, force them to pay illegal
fees.

Another councillor, Dani Anwar, said that many developers had
violated regulations obliging them to provide space for street
vendors, Antara reported.

He criticized the city administration for its failure to make
developers obey the rules.

He said that according to the regulation, a developer who
builds a market or a shopping mall of between 200 and 500 square
meters should build a shelter for street vendors on a plot of
land equaling 20 percent of it. If a mall is between 500 square
meters and 8,000 square meters, the space for street vendors
should be 30 percent of it. -- JP