2 Years I'm Busy Building Public Spaces In Solo, Gibran Rakabuming Hopes The Next Leader Doesn't Think About Physical Buildings

Solo Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka at the National seminar Bangkit Bersama and Increasingly Empowered organized by the Alumni Family of SMAN 3 Surakarta/VIA ANTARA

Solo Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka wants the next Solo leader not to think about physical buildings because they have been done at this time. "My aspirations will be after 2024, the Mayor of Solo does not need to think about physical buildings," he said while speaking at the Bangkit Bersama national seminar and the More Empowered organized by the SMAN 3 Surakarta Alumni Family Roemah Tiga Solo, Antara, Friday, March 3. During his two years of leadership as Mayor, Gibran continued to actively make improvements or build various public spaces for the community. "The point is that we are stalled, what is not beautiful, we are beautiful, what is bad is we are good at. So because Solo does not have mining, does not have fisheries, does not have agriculture, yes we have to create something," he said. One of the revitalized buildings is the Gilingan Furniture Market. He said that actually the plan to organize the market had existed since the time of the Mayor of Surakarta Joko Widodo, but it was only realized at this time. "Actually, since my father's time, it has been planned, the execution is only now because traders are difficult to relocate. If I'm the person without mercy, there's no compromise, move, so move," he said. He said that when he was first inaugurated as Mayor of Surakarta, economic growth in Solo was still -1.74 percent. "It is very concerning. One year we worked up to 4.01 percent, two years we have worked on economic growth at 6.25 percent. This is higher than the average in Central Java, higher than the national average, higher than the capital city, higher than Semarang," he said. Seeing the economic growth rate, he said, the economic condition was good. "This is no longer back to normal, this is already above normal because this has exceeded before COVID-19, at that time it was only 5.7 percent," he said. He said that currently Solo City is getting more dynamic with various changes. "It's more open for investment and collaboration," he said.