[Kabar-indonesia] 7 Jakarta Reports: Water price hike delayed; Green official ousted; Kota; Dump

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

7 JP Jakarta Reports:

- Sutiyoso delays July water price hike
- Tax incentives for Kota revitalization 
  in the pipeline
- Green official shifted to industry
- Not-so-cheap fair fails to get people 
  reading
- Klender locals spare no waste
- Dump compensation late, 
  say residents
- Banjarsari free from dengue fever

The Jakarta Post
Friday, July 07, 2006

Sutiyoso delays July water price hike

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso decided Thursday to delay the water price hike,

initially scheduled on July 1, as recommended by the Jakarta Water
Regulating Body.

The regulating body's chairman, Achmad Lanti, said city-owned water
company PT PAM Jaya had failed to show any improvement in its service
or performance.

"There will be no water price hike for this semester, because water
losses are even higher than last semester," he told reporters at City
Hall.

He said PAM Jaya and its two foreign partners, PT Lyonnaise Jaya
(Palyjaya) and PT Thames Jaya (TPJ), had intended to reduce water
losses, which last year ran to 49 percent, to 41 percent by the
beginning of this semester.

But more leakages and water thefts caused water losses in the city to
reach 51 percent and lost PAM Jaya Rp 80 billion in revenue.

Achmad said currently about 14 percent of PAM Jaya's 700,000 customers
did not have access to water.

"This situation has made customers suffer water shortages while they
still have to pay the monthly minimal fee and may be fined if they
refuse to pay. It would be inappropriate to increase the water rate."

The previous City Council approved a proposal by the water companies
and the city administration for six automatic water rate hikes for
three years until 2007.

For the second semester of 2006, PAM Jaya, Palyja and TPJ had
requested a 14 percent price hike from the previous rate of Rp 5,932
per cubic meter.

Sutiyoso said the performance of PAM Jaya needed to be improved before
they requested another water rate hike.

"We will reevaluate their performance at the end of this year ... then
we can increase water rates in January," he said.

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The Jakarta Post
Friday, July 07, 2006

Tax incentives for Kota revitalization in the pipeline

Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It takes sugar to lure ants, they say -- especially if you're trying
to attract them to area long neglected by the rest of the city.

In a bid to convince investors to join the revitalization effort in
Jakarta's "old town", the city administration is currently preparing
several financial and regulatory incentives, an official has said.

Owners of heritage buildings in Kota have complained for some time
about the heavy tax imposed on their decaying properties.

The Jakarta Spatial Planning Agency's old town revitalization planning
review team has come up with several incentives it hopes will help
speed up conservation-based development in the area.

"We may offer a land and building tax discount of up to 50 percent, as
has been internally discussed by the administration," team head Gamal
Sinurat said Thursday.

However, this option still needs to be coordinated and approved by the
Finance Ministry, he said.

The agency also plans to relax several building regulations concerning
building coverage ratios, floor area ratios and building heights.

"In order to make investment in conservation more rewarding, we might
increase the coverage ratio from 50 percent to 75 percent," Gamal
said. Building owners would also be allowed to increase building
heights from 2 stories to 3 stories.

"Currently, most buildings there are only allowed to have a maximum
floor area ratio of 1.6," he said. "We might increase that to 1.8 or
2."

The owner of a 100 square meter plot of land in an area with a
building coverage ratio of 75 percent will be able to construct a
building occupying 75 square meters.

With a floor area ratio of 2, the owner can build a total floor span
of twice of 75 square meters.

Gamal said other area planning regulations, such as those on street
expansion, might be adjusted to make sure space in front of heritage
buildings was used sympathetically.

The Jakarta Old Town Kotaku organization says several investors are
already considering the possibility of restoring eight old buildings
in the area, some of which are listed as Class A heritage structures.

According to city planning and development guidelines, the owners of
Class A heritage buildings must preserve the overall structures of
their properties.

In Kota, however, the interiors of some buildings have decayed so
badly that interior reconstruction is unavoidable.

"We will allow changes inside, as long as they maintain the facades,"
Gamal said.

All proposed incentives will be subject to further reviews by all
stakeholders in the area before being made official.

The provision of incentives for investors in heritage conservation and
preservation efforts is common practice in several countries.

Such provisions range from the waiving or reduction of building permit
fees, zoning and parking requirement waivers, low interest loans,
grants, tax breaks and special assessment districts to generate funds.

Vancouver, Canada, applied "Green Door" priority processing of
heritage development applications, density bonuses, and, in the
downtown area, the ability in certain circumstances to transfer air
rights from a heritage site to a new development site. In exchange for
such incentives the owner of the building consents to it being
protected through a heritage designation.

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The Jakarta Post
Friday, July 07, 2006
    
Green official shifted to industry

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A reshuffle of 35 city officials Thursday saw outspoken City
Environmental Agency head Kosasih Wirahadikusumah moved 
to a new position.

Many see the decision as a setback for the administration's efforts to
solve the city's long-standing environmental problems.

Kosasih, who held the post for five years, has now been appointed a
commissioner at PT Rheem Indonesia, a partner company of the city 
that produces steel drum products. He has been replaced at the
environmental agency by Budirama Natakusumah, who was previously 
head of the Jakarta Economy Agency.

Firdaus Cahyadi of the Jakarta Environment Caucus said the move came
when many Jakartans were demanding the right to a better environment.

"We have long been acquainted with Budirama, whose name is often
implicated in environmental problems," he said.

With the city administration hoping their air pollution policy would
succeed, Governor Sutiyoso extended Kosasih's term another two years
in March, a month before the implementation of the ban on smoking in
public places.

Kosasih tried to boost residents' awareness of the real state of
Jakarta's air by installing six giant billboards emblazoned with the
slogan "Welcome to polluted Jakarta".

Just days after they were launched, however, Sutiyoso ordered their
removal. While Sutiyoso celebrated Jakarta's 469th anniversary with
city officials, Kosasih attended a discussion organized by the Jakarta
Environment Caucus.

Dede Nurdin, a program officer at clean air project Swisscontact said
Jakarta was facing serious environmental problems.

"So it will be very risky to give the post to an official who has no
commitment to the environment," he said.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta Environment Caucus urged the administration
Thursday to set up a mechanism that would allow the public to file
complaints over the implementation of the air pollution bylaw.

"We will submit the draft of the complaint mechanism to the city
administration," Firdaus said.

In his speech at the inauguration of the newly appointed officials,
Sutiyoso urged them to fully implement the air pollution bylaw and
support the ongoing revision of the 1999 Law on Jakarta's
administration.

"The implementation of the air pollution bylaw makes the city's image," he 
said.

Among the newly appointed officials are Wibowo B. Sukijat, who will
head the health agency and Wiriyatmoko as head of the construction
regulation and supervision agency.

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The Jakarta Post
Friday, July 07, 2006

Not-so-cheap fair fails to get people reading

Intan Ismawati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Yulia, a resident of Bogor, West Java, spent hours traveling to
Jakarta with her two children to visit the much-promoted Jakarta Book
Fair, held two weeks before students returned to school after their
long holiday.

She was disappointed, however, to find that despite a small discount,
most of the books on display were still reasonably expensive.

"I was interested in visiting the exhibition because I had heard
vendors were offering cheaper prices," said the 42-year-old.

Yulia was hoping to buy religious encyclopedias, but found most
vendors were only providing discounts of 10 percent.

She was one of hundreds of parents who have taken their children to
the fair, which opened on July 1 and will run until July 9, at Bung
Karno Sports Hall in Central Jakarta.

The fair, titled "Books as Future Investments" features the stands of
207 publishers and book sellers.

The Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI) said the fair was aimed
at improving the reading habits of Indonesian students.

"We are left far behind in reading habits and the problem is even
worse in regions outside Jakarta," said IKAPI Jakarta chapter head
Lucya Aldan.

The association holds regular book exhibitions in provinces across the
country at least twice a year.

"We hold book exhibitions in March, July and December with different
focuses. In March is the Islamic Books Fair, in July the Jakarta Book
Fair and in the December the Indonesian Book Fair," said IKAPI head
Biem Pasaribu.

He said the government should take action to help the association's
efforts to improve reading habits and should go beyond producing text
books for schools.

"The government must work hand in hand with IKAPI to bring society
closer to being a reading culture," he said.

The association said the exhibition was not intended to attack the
financial support of the government, as each vendor at the fair was
required to pay Rp 595,000 (US$62.63) per meter for their stands.

"What is most important is moral support from the government to uphold
the noble intention of increasing reading interest amongst
Indonesians," he said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Reading Forum said community was to blame
for the country's poor reading habits.

"There are millions of reading sources available, such as newspapers.
There are also many shopping centers selling all kinds of books.
Indonesians just do not know what is important to read and what is
not," forum secretary Ari Asih Pratiwi told The Jakarta Post.

When asked about the growing popularity, and number, of romance novels
aimed at teenagers, she said that it meant Indonesians at least had
the will to read.

"It is everyone's right to create, purchase or read as long as they
eventually know what is best for them."

Lucya said members of IKAPI published about 10,000 new books every year.

"However, this is still low compared to our population of 220
million," she said.

Many books published here have also been made into films, while some
movie makers required book adaptations of their works.

"We wish to support each other," Lucya said.

"In order to ensure writer creativity and quality, the book industry
must not become merely profit-based," she added.

Lucya also said book piracy was also contributing to the decrease in book 
sales.

"And the lack of space on bookshelves in shops has caused books to be
returned to the distributors," she said.

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The Jakarta Post
Friday, July 07, 2006

Klender locals spare no waste

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While the Jakarta administration remains flustered by the city's waste
problems, four neighborhoods in Klender, East Jakarta, go looking for
garbage.

The residents of neighborhood units (RTs) no 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Kampong
Bulak in Klender regularly collect organic waste from nearby
traditional markets.

"We have also recycled non-organic waste into low-cost handmade
products such as toys or umbrella from plastics," Yeni Oman, RT 2
chief, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

She said the residents had been trained to dispose of their garbage in
two separate trash cans at home -- one for organic waste and one for
non-organic waste.

"It was really simple once we got used to it. The most important thing
was to build residents' awareness," she said.

Aside from the waste management program, each family was also required
to plant flowers in front of their houses (see photo).

The residents are part of 20 neighborhood units in the city carrying
out the "Jakarta Green and Clean" program, which was organized by
consumer good company PT Unilever Indonesia and radio network PT
Jaringan Delta Female Indonesia.

"We have received a positive response from neighborhoods in Jakarta
wanting to join our program," said Okti Damayanti, general manager of
the Corporate Social Responsibility Unit at Unilever.

She said the program was aimed at housewives, who could be models of
how to handle community waste and thus help ease Jakarta's garbage
problems.

Jakarta currently dumps 6,000 tons of garbage, mostly household waste,
in a landfill in Bekasi, West Java. The city administration pays
Bekasi a management fee of US$5.60 per ton for the use of the dump.

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The Jakarta Post
Friday, July 07, 2006

Dump compensation late, say residents

BEKASI: People living near Bantargebang dump in Bekasi complained
Thursday that their monthly health allowances and clean water
supplies, both provided by the Jakarta administration, were late.

"The allowance is one year late," a resident, Harun, was quoted as
saying by Antara.

Jakarta sends at least 6,000 tons of waste each day to Bantargebang,
which applies a sanitary landfill system. Residents have protested
against the dump, saying they have suffered skin diseases, diarrhea
and respiratory problems since its establishment in early 2000. The
groundwater has also been polluted by liquid waste.

As compensation, each family in the Sumur Batu subdistrict is supposed
to receive a monthly health allowance of Rp 50,000.

The Bekasi administration said the complaints would be submitted to
the Jakarta administration.

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The Jakarta Post
Friday, July 07, 2006

Banjarsari free from dengue fever

JAKARTA: Kampong Banjarsari in Cilandak Barat, South Jakarta, has been
declared free of dengue fever, with zero victims in the past two
years.

Kampong head Nuriya said the neighborhood was regularly cleaned by residents.

"We prevent dengue fever by keeping our homes clean. We do less
fogging compared to neighboring kampongs because it can only send
mosquitoes away for three days and does not kill the larvae," she told
Antara.

Most of the 565 houses in the neighborhood have antimosquito plants,
such zotia, lavender, rosemary and geranium, growing in their gardens.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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