JAKARTA – During the 2024 Presidential Election, Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka claimed to be optimistic that they could build 3 million houses per year for the people of Indonesia.
This political promise was made with details in which the 3 million houses would be built as many as 1 million units in urban areas for low-income people and 2 million other units would be built in rural areas with a division of 1 million in coastal areas and 1 million in village areas.
SPECIALIZED MINISTRY FOR HOUSING AFFAIRS
Regarding the promise, developers in Indonesia immediately took the opportunity to ask the government to re-establish a housing ministry that specializes in housing issues.
This is because, according to them, the government has been so far less focused on solving housing problems and issues that include the Housing Financing Liquidity Facility (FLPP) quota for subsidized houses.
Not only that, they also requested that the government intervene in controlling land prices in urban areas where prices are getting higher. This includes helping developers with licensing.
In a discussion organized by the Forum of Public Housing Journalists held at the Novotel Jakarta hotel, Cikini, Central Jakarta on Tuesday (20/8/2024), developers said that this special ministry of housing will help developers to create new schemes on home financing, make licensing easier, and help understand people’s needs for houses.
PUPR MINISTRY IGNORES PEOPLE’S HOUSING NEEDS
On the same occasion, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Real Estate Association Hari Ganie said that the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) has been neglecting housing matters for the people since they have too much infrastructure workload.
“So far, we still see that there is poor coordination related to affairs in the property sector, especially housing, in terms of licensing, financing, taxation and others. Therefore, a strong and focused institution is needed,” Mr Ganie said as quoted from Detik on Saturday (22/7/2024).
Not only that, the PUPR Ministry is also considered lacking in housing affairs. It has been seen ignoring the community’s need for houses, which is estimated by developers to have reached 13 million units.
PRESIDENT JOKOWI’S TARGET OF 1 MILLION HOUSES ONLY REACHED 617,622 UNITS
The Ministry of PUPR said that as of July 2024, it had only managed to build 617,622 housing units or 59.23 per cent of the national target set by President Jokowi in his political promise of 1 million units.
“The PSR achievement in July 2024 was 617,622 or 59.23 per cent of the total national target,” said Director-General of Housing at the Ministry of PUPR Iwan Suprijanto as quoted from Antara on Sunday (18/8/2024).
President Jokowi was recorded launching the 1 million house programme on 29 April 2015 in Central Java.
Iwan said that, of the 617,622 housing units, 484,119 units were claimed to be built for low-income people (MBR) and 133,503 other units were built for non-MBR.
