By : Beny Atmaja )*
Public Housing Savings (Tapera) is a program launched by the government to help low and middle income people have access to decent housing. The main aim of Tapera is to facilitate the accumulation of community funds in order to meet housing needs through systematic and structured savings. However, the Tapera program has become a topic that has sparked discussion in society, and the government continues to collect aspirations to ensure that its implementation is in line with needs and expectations.
By exploring people’s aspirations, the government can adjust policies, terms and conditions, and mechanisms for implementing Tapera so that they are more accurate and in line with people’s real expectations and needs. Apart from that, information from community aspirations can help the government adjust Tapera policies to make them more relevant and effective. For example, if there is a demand for an increase in the amount of subsidies or an adjustment in interest rates, the government may consider making appropriate policy changes.
Then the community can provide input on terms and conditions that may be too strict or not flexible enough. In this way, the government can review existing conditions to ensure that the Tapera program can be accessed by more people in need. Through feedback from the community, the government can improve or perfect the Tapera implementation mechanism. This includes application procedures, distribution of funds, supervision and monitoring, so that the program can run more efficiently and transparently.
Principal Expert at the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Prita Laura, said that public unrest regarding Tapera is currently being generated due to a significant lack of information provided to the public. Plus, people are already panicking about the salary cut narrative. However, the government guarantees that it meets people’s basic needs, namely housing. According to him, the Tapera program is a form of state presence for people to get a decent life, starting from food, clothing and shelter.
Apart from that, the government has also mapped all the community’s concerns by bringing in stakeholders to answer them so that the community gets a clear explanation regarding the Tapera program. By understanding the real expectations and needs of the community, the government can direct resource allocation more precisely, so that this will increase the effectiveness of the program and ensure that the benefits of Tapera are truly felt by the people who need it.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of the Tapera Management Agency, Heru Pudyo Nugroho, said the importance of the Tapera program to increase home ownership. This is because Indonesia faces a home ownership gap that is still high. By encouraging the construction or purchase of houses by low and middle income people, Tapera helps increase the availability of adequate housing.
Tapera also provides people who previously did not have easy access to housing finance with more affordable interest rates compared to loans from the conventional banking sector. This helps people to be able to buy or build their own house. In addition, these programs often provide subsidies or assistance to help low- and middle-income people collect a down payment or other costs associated with home ownership to ultimately make home buying more affordable.
The same thing was also said by Member of Commission V DPR RI, Sigit Sosiantomo, who considered that the new regulations regarding Tapera could be one solution to encourage low-income people to save so they can have a decent house. By having a decent place to live, society becomes more economically and socially stable. These conditions can contribute to improving overall quality of life. Apart from that, this program can also help strengthen the local economy by encouraging the growth of the construction and property sectors, as well as various businesses related to the housing industry.
Apart from the direct construction and property sectors, Tapera can also influence the local economy through secondary activities. Examples include increased demand for building materials, repair and renovation services, and trade in household goods. By increasing economic activity in the construction and property sectors, Tapera can create new jobs. This includes jobs directly in the field such as builders, architects, and engineers, as well as jobs in related sectors such as transportation, logistics, and sales.
Overall, the Tapera program is designed to provide solutions to housing access challenges faced by low- and middle-income communities, with the main aim of improving quality of life and well-being. Implementation of Tapera also involves transparent and effective fund management, as well as accommodating various community aspirations and needs regarding housing.
This program is one of the government’s policy instruments in an effort to overcome the problem of access to housing faced by the majority of the population, especially in the lower middle class. Then on the other hand, exploring community aspirations is a critical step in ensuring that Tapera not only exists as a formal program, but also functions effectively in fulfilling its goal of increasing access to adequate housing for the community.
)* The author is a public policy observer
