Being In The Spotlight, Yogyakarta Deputy Mayor Affirms Arrangements Will Not Eliminate Street Vendors From Malioboro

ILLUSTRATION ANTARA

YOGYAKARTA - The arrangement of street vendors in Malioboro will not eliminate the presence of traders from the main tourist areas in Yogyakarta City, but will instead provide a special space for buying and selling activities, said Deputy Mayor of Yogyakarta Heroe Poerwadi.

“Traders are not moved from Malioboro. Stay in Malioboro. It's just that they are collected in a special place which is also still in Malioboro," he said in Yogyakarta, quoted by Antara, Thursday, January 20.

The plan is that thousands of street vendors along Malioboro Street will be arranged in two locations, each named Teras Malioboro 1 in the former Indra Cinema building and Teras Malioboro 2 for the former Yogyakarta Tourism Office building.

Until now, both locations are declared ready to be used as structuring locations. Various supporting facilities to support the buying and selling activities of street vendors are said to be ready.

“The two shelters or placement locations can be said to be more than 99 percent ready. It's just a little improvement, such as putting up markers and others," he said.

The two placement locations, continued Heroe, also remain easy to reach by tourists. Tourists who come from the north can buy souvenirs at Teras Malioboro 2, while tourists from the south can stop by Teras Malioboro 1.

“I think that the arrangement made will actually have a good impact. We will see later and prove it for ourselves because the purpose of this arrangement is for future management,” he said.

The placement of traders to new locations will be carried out through a lottery system according to the aspirations of the traders.

However, Heroe has not been able to provide a definite time for the raffle draw or the relocation of traders to new locations. "Just wait," he said.

Previously, Assistant Secretary for the Regional Secretary for the City of Yogyakarta for Economic Affairs and Development Kadri Renggono said that by occupying a new location, traders would have a formal status.

“Hopefully, traders can have more modern management. For example, from licensing, bookkeeping, the use of non-cash transactions, including access to capital," he said.