T

he Jakarta administration'€™s new system for managing the hundreds of thousands of street vendors in the city has barely progressed a year after its start.

The city last year announced it would implement a new system, tasking the Cooperatives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Trade Agency (KUKMP) with registering all vendors, assigning them to designated areas, and granting each access to banks.

Each vendor was to be given a dual-purpose ATM debit card '€” issued by city-owned lender Bank DKI '€” which would also function as a street vendor identification (PKL ID) card containing the vendor'€™s name, food offerings and assigned location.

Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has expressed regret over the sluggish implementation of the new system.

'€œThe KUKMP agency hasn'€™t even started with the first step of compiling the data of all the street vendors. I don'€™t understand what is hampering the agency from collecting the data,'€ Ahok told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, Ahok issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 10/2015 on street vendor management and empowerment, which functioned as a legal basis for implementing the new system, allowing the city to compile data and relocate vendors.

He went on to say he was disappointed with KUKMP head Joko Kundaryo'€™s, saying the latter had been uncooperative in implementing the regulation and could be demoted.

'€œ[Joko] is not being cooperative. He'€™ll be one of the officials [whom I will demote]. District and subdistrict heads have taken the initiative and have begun to compile data on street vendors in their areas, but the KUKMP has kept delaying,'€ Ahok said.

Joko could not be contacted for further comment on the issue.

KUKMP secretary Irwandi said over the phone that the agency lacked the manpower to register street vendors, who were often '€œnomadic'€.

He said most relocated street vendors had returned to the streets, including those at Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta and Jatinegara in East Jakarta. Similarly, vendors in Tanah Abang'€™s Blok G market had abandoned their kiosks just months after being relocated to the market.

Irwandi said that despite the setback, the agency would continue to collect data and relocate street vendors.

Separately, Rujak Center for Urban Studies researcher Dian Tri Irawaty said the gubernatorial regulation was a huge step forward in the city'€™s recognition of street vendor rights.

However, she recommended the city involve vendors in the decision-making process when it came to relocation.