Vendors face eviction for littering area

Vendors face eviction for littering area

JAKARTA (JP): As many as 150 street vendors operating in Muara Baru, North Jakarta reported to the City Council yesterday that they have been evicted for ignoring rudimentary hygiene.

Fifty-seven people representing the vendors asked the Council's help to find a new business site. The vendors had usually opened their stalls close to the office of Perum Perikanan Samudra Indonesia, a state firm controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Bambang S., the vendors' spokesman told the city council's commission for economic affairs, that the state-owned firm had ordered them to leave the area.

"The firm accused the vendors of having neglected the cleanliness of the area," Bambang said.

"We have fulfilled our obligations in paying the sanitation fee of Rp 500 per day," he added.

He said that the obligation is based on the Minister of Agriculture's decree.

A vendor was also required to pay a security fee of between Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000 per month, he added.

In addition, a vendor had to pay protection money ranging from Rp 1,000 to Rp 1,500 per day to hoodlums operating in the area, he said.

The vendors never refused to meet these obligations, although they only earn an average of Rp 5,000 daily.

He said the Perum Perikanan Samudera Indonesia has arbitrarily set Dec. 31 as the deadline for the vendors to leave.

He said that they have no idea where to go. "We are willing to leave the area, if another place is provided for us," he added.

Zarkasyi Marzuki, the secretary of commission, said that the firm should have consulted the vendors before asking them to move.

He said that the commission will invite the firm, the City Fishery Office and the City Agriculture Office to find the best solution to this problem.

The vendors are part of the small-scale businessmen who must get guidance from the city administration, he said.(32)