Head Of Bogor City DPRD Supports Moratorium On 222 Minimarkets: If The Distance Is 300 Meters, There Are 3 Minimarkets So It Will Be Chaotic

Chairman of the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) Bogor City, West Java Atang Trisnanto. (ANTARA/Linna Susanti)

BOGOR - Chairman of the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) of Bogor City, West Java, Atang Trisnanto supports the moratorium on Supermarket Business Permits (IUTS) to 222 minimarkets that have been established in their area, taking into account that they are quite close.

"If the distance is less than 300 meters, there are already three to four minimarkets, right? This will become chaotic and can provoke unfair business competition," he said, quoted by Antara, Monday, April 25.

According to him, the discourse that is rolling in the Bogor City Government regarding the moratorium should be supported, because it is necessary to limit the establishment of minimarkets in Bogor City, so that the number will increase.

Moreover, according to data from the Department of Cooperatives, MSMEs, Industry and Trade (DiskopUMKMdagin) of Bogor City, Atang said, there are 520 minimarkets that have been established and operating, almost half of them, 222 who have not yet completed their establishment permits.

On the other hand, the growth of minimarkets has not been accompanied by regulations that limit their number in an area based on effective distance and city governance.

Meanwhile, grocery shop traders are increasingly threatened with their business because of the presence of minimarkets that are so strategic in every corner of the city.

"So I think the moratorium discourse is good and deserves to be supported. Especially, to ensure that small traders are also alive," said Atang.

Atang said that the push for a moratorium on minimarkets does not mean that Bogor City is less open to investors. However, he stressed that investments need to comply with existing regulations and be disciplined in managing permits.

"Regulations are made to regulate all things in an orderly and responsible manner. This includes readiness to recruit local workers and provide space for selling local MSME products," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of Law and Human Rights at the Bogor City Secretariat, Alma Wiranta said that regarding the moratorium on the establishment of minimarkets in Bogor City, there is currently no legal umbrella that explicitly regulates it.

However, the substance of the policy plan related to distance and the number of residents who live for the feasibility of establishing minimarkets has been discussed by the technical regional apparatus together with the Legal Department since 2019.

"In my opinion, for stronger certainty, justice and the benefits of this policy, it must be supported by a legal umbrella in the form of a regional regulation," said Alma.

According to two, this is a good momentum to evaluate Bogor Mayor's Regulation Number 10 of 2017 concerning the arrangement and development of supermarkets.