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Jokowi wants traditional markets to compete with shopping malls
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo talks with a trader during the relaunch of the Amahami traditional market in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, on Friday.
(Courtesy of Press Bureau of Presidential Office/-)
I
n line with the government program to renovate traditional markets across the country, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said that he hopes his administration will put an end to the image that traditional markets are dirty and or muddy places.
He emphasized that physical development was not enough to enhance the condition of the traditional markets, adding that management also needed to be professional and modern. "I want traditional markets to compete with malls," Jokowi said during the inauguration of Amahami market in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, on Friday.
The President also stressed the needs for traditional markets managers across the nation to exchange information about the supply and price of commodities, citing the example that the onion price in Jakarta was more expensive than the price in Bima. "If onions from Bima are sent to Jakarta, it will benefit the farmers," he went on.
Jokowi expressed hope that the local people would take part in caring for the market, as it had cost Rp 7.9 billion (US$ 598,598) – Rp 7 billion from the state budget and Rp 900 million from Bima regional budget – to renovate.
"I entrust the Amahami market, I entrust our traditional markets, to you. I hope that markets will no longer be muddy, stinky and disorganized. Instead, a traditional market should be neat and well-organized," Jokowi said.
In relation to the 500 or so traders who have yet to obtain kiosks in the market, he ordered the trade Ministry to expand the Amahami Market. "Expand it again so that all traders will be accommodated by the time I come here again next year," he said. (bbn)
