T

he Jakarta administration'€™s plan to legalize the operation of street vendors on sidewalks, in parks and in other public areas could offer a solution to the thousands of people who make a living in the informal sector, although failure to manage them will only exacerbate the traffic disorder they used to create.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said Monday the city government would acknowledge the street businesses so that taxes, which are currently collected illegally by certain parties, could contribute to city revenues. In return, street vendors would only have to abide by the existing regulations. Credit should go to the city administration for its efforts to find a solution for street vendors, who have frequently fallen prey to crackdowns and evictions by public order officers (Satpol PP) as their businesses are deemed illegal. Street vendors have also been blamed for traffic bottlenecks and endangering pedestrians.

Street vendors indeed need legal certainty to run their businesses. However, city authorities need to take into account their tendency to create disorder and ignore the public interest. In fact, many street vendors feel they hold the right to occupy public facilities just because they pay a '€œsecurity fee'€ to thugs.

It is the job of the authorities to make sure the street vendors respect the law in exchange for the right to operate in designated areas. If necessary, street vendors should sign an agreement to follow the rules of the game drafted by the city administration. The rules should clearly state '€œdo'€™s and don'€™ts'€ to guide vendors in running their businesses.

It will be difficult, if not impossible, to change the bad habits of street vendors, as they have been ingrained for a long time. Legalizing street vendors is therefore risky, but better planning will help the city administration manage the drawbacks of this pro-poor policy.

Another important job for the administration before it legalizes street vendors will be to determine the appropriate number of street vendors and to map out the locations that can accommodate them. Without doing so, the city administration will have no idea about the scale of their job to accommodate all existing street vendors. Such data is also important to prevent the number of street vendors, which currently stands at some 600,000, from ballooning.

Facilitating the informal sector to run legal businesses has been successfully implemented in a number of cities like Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. In Hong Kong, for example, street vendors are allowed to occupy Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok area from noon to midnight. The street, also known as Ladies Market, has even given a boost to the tourism industry in the Chinese special region, as foreign tourists can find souvenirs at affordable prices without having to disrupt the flow of traffic.

Legal certainty for street vendors would create more jobs and help the Jakarta government address poverty and unemployment problems. Such a noble initiative, however, should not come at the cost of sacrificing public order in the capital city.