Three Years of Waiting for Permanent Occupancy

It has been three years, but thousands of families that survived the earthquake are still waiting for permanent housing. Their dream of rebuilding a life that was devastated by the earthquake still remains distant.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Workers complete the construction of the Petobo temporary shelter (Huntara) in Petobo Village, Palu City, Central Sulawesi, Friday (01/02/2019). In this area, 70 shelter units will be built with 840 rooms for 840 families, or to accommodate around 4,200 people. The shelter built by the government will be used to accommodate earthquake and liquefaction survivors in Petobo.

On the wooden terrace near the door to her room, Sunarti, 40, conversed with her mother, Lumina, 71. She is still haunted by bitter memories of the earthquake and soil liquefaction of 28 Sept. 2018 in Petobo village, South Palu district, Palu city.

“It was three years ago, [but] we are still living in temporary housing. We have been asked to wait for construction on the permanent houses to finish, but patience has a limit," Sunarti said on Tuesday (28/9/2021), when Kompas caught up with her at the temporary housing complex in Petobo village where she has lived since June 2019.

Sunarti sincerely believed that, at least by the end of 2021, she, Lumina, her husband and their two children would have settled into a permanent house built by the government as part of the post-disaster management program. Instead of moving into a permanent home, she and her family still live in a temporary shelter, a stilt wooden house that measures 4 meters by 3.5 meters.

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Based on the information she has received, the government was acquiring land for developing residential property. Today, after three years, Sunarti still hoped that the government would soon complete building permanent houses for disaster survivors. "If possible, we would like to have a permanent residence by the middle of next year," she said.Separately, Bonifasius, 45, another survivor, was confused by the slow progress in resolving the land issue related to the development of permanent housing. Acquiring land to build a permanent residential area should not take so long, because the land was the site of old building rights and no structures stood there now.

“This disaster is a humanitarian matter that must be resolved as soon as possible. With regard to the residents\' claims, it is another matter that the government should be able to resolve quickly. Please raise this to the leaders’ attention," he said.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

The Petobo temporary residential area which is under construction in Petobo Village, Palu City, Central Sulawesi, Friday (01/02/2019).

During post-disaster management, the government builds permanent housing for survivors whose previous homes were in areas affected by the tsunami and liquefaction, and located near fault lines. These areas have been designated as “red zones” that prohibits new residential developments, so the government has relocated the development to new, safer areas.

Data from the Sulawesi II Housing Provision Implementation Agency, an institution under the Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Ministry that is in charge of building permanent houses for survivors, shows

that 3,250 permanent housing units have not been built. Of that number, 750 units to be located in Donggala regency are still being auctioned. The other 2,500 units in Palu cannot be auctioned due to problems with the land supply.

A total of 1,679 permanent housing units have either been built or are being built in Palu city, Sigi regency, and Donggala. The completed and occupied permanent housing units include those in Duyu village of Tatanga district and in Pombewe village of Sigi Biromaru district, Sigi regency. Other permanent houses are spread out across various areas, based on independent relocation schemes on land that belong to the survivors.

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According to the plan, the public housing ministry will build 8,700 permanent residences in Sigi, Donggala, and Palu city on public and independent relocation schemes. Survivors who have not yet received permanent housing live in temporary shelters and rental houses.

Apart from the PUPR Ministry, social institutions are also providing permanent housing and relocation schemes. No less than 2,000 permanent housing units have been built and are now occupied.

In addition to the relocation scheme is a separate scheme to provide relief funds for building permanent houses. Under this scheme, survivors receive funds to build their houses in areas that have not been categorized as a red zone.

KOMPAS/VIDELIS JEMALI

The liquefaction disaster area is in Petobo Village, South Palu District, Palu City, Central Sulawesi, as seen on Tuesday (12/18/2018). Liquefaction triggered by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 on 28 September 2018.

Individual claims

The head of the Sulawesi II Housing Provision Implementation Agency, Suko Wiyono, said that the status of the land targeted for permanent housing developments in Palu, namely in the villages of Tondo, Talise Valangguni and Petobo, was still not free from the claims of individual residents. Construction could not continue on permanent housing using loans from the World Bank if there were still social problems, including land statuses.

“This problem is currently being handled by the Palu municipal government. We are waiting for the problem to be resolved so [the land] can be auctioned and construction can start later,” said Suko.

Individual claims on residential property emerged at the beginning of 2020 in two locations targeted for permanent housing developments in Tondo and Talise Valangguni with a combined area of about 100 hectares. The tug-of-war has continued for the last two years and delayed the land clearing process for developing the permanent houses.

God willing, this Friday we will submit (the report) to the PUPR Ministry so the auction can proceed.

Palu Mayor Hadianto Rasyid claimed that the land status issue had been resolved. "God willing, this Friday we will submit (the report) to the PUPR Ministry so the auction can proceed," he said.

The permanent housing developments, as part of the post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction plan for Central Sulawesi, should have been completed by the end of 2020. President Joko Widodo also emphasized this during a working visit on 29 Oct. 2020.

Director Adriansa Manu of Celebes Bergerak, a community organization that focuses on the rights of disaster survivors, suggested that the government accommodate a proposal to transition from the permanent housing and relocation scheme to a stimulus funding scheme. In doing so, the houses could be built quickly and the survivors would not have to wait any longer.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.