Wed, 07/15/2009 11:40 AM | Headlines
Over the past month, the Makassar District Court has sentenced three people for littering in the first cases of their kind in Indonesia.
The court ordered local residents Raharjo and Asrianti to pay fines of Rp 150,000 (US$15) each or serve seven-day prison sentences for dropping trash in public.
Then, last week, local resident Suwandy was sentenced to a one-month prison sentence with a two-month probationary period for his violation of Municipal Bylaw No 14/1999 on City Cleanliness.
Asked why it took 10 years for the municipal administration to enforce the bylaw, Mayor Ilham Arief Siradjuddin admitted it had never before been implemented consistently. This perhaps explains why littering in the city has run rampant.
"It's because the related municipal administration agencies had not consistently implemented the bylaw," Ilham said.
The past inconsistency could be attributed to the fact that the relevant agencies had not prepared to enforce the bylaw, according to Ilham. That, he said, included ensuring the availability of facilities such as garbage bins in public places and adequate sanitation services.
"Our main constraint so far was the lack of cleanliness facilities," Ilham said.
He added that during his term as mayor of Makassar, which began in 2004, he had actively enforced the bylaw, which he saw as being crucial to public health.
According to the bylaw, if convicted, litterers face fines of between Rp 150,000 and Rp 5 million, or imprisonment of between seven days and six months.
"We also established a special team to monitor residents of Makassar, especially in areas near public facilities, to make sure no one litters," Ilham said.
To ensure no excuses could be made, he added, numerous garbage bins were placed in public places around the city, including in the Losari Beach region and along Makassar's main streets.
"Unfortunately, they didn't last long. In just two years all the bins disappeared. Litters was again scattered everywhere," he said.
However, after being reelected earlier this year, Ilham assigned the municipal cleanliness agency and the public order office (Satpol PP) to help effectively implement the bylaw. The joint team patrols South Sulawesi's provincial capital monitoring litter and issuing warnings to those caught littering red handed; some are even summoned to court.
"We hope the sentences given by the district court will discourage people from littering. The action will make residents aware that the bylaw is now being seriously implemented," Ilham said.
The bylaw itself was issued as part of a pledge to make Makassar a beautiful and clean city in the hopes of encouraging its residents to lead more healthy lifestyles.
"Cleanliness is the root of health. Only by promoting cleanliness will resident of Makassar be able to live a healthy lifestyle. Less litter and a cleaner city means less chance of citizen's being infected by various diseases," he said.
However, he added, many of the city's residents seem to be oblivious of the issue.
"We will continue making people aware of this. We won't let people litter everywhere because this is the source of disease," he said.
A number of regional administrations in the country have issued similar bylaws, but enforcement has been weak so far.
Comments
Post a Comment