Illegally run Bali villas urged to get in line

Bali’s tropical climate makes things grow like nobody’s business. In Seminyak, its not just the palm trees that sprout up, its the villas. If you don’t own a villa, you are building one it seems. Many people see their villa, as a way to earn money, but fail to register it as a business. The Bali government doesn’t like that, and has a plan for villa owners to get in line.

Drive around Seminyak, Umalas, Canggu and count the villas and new constructions. The hilarious thing, is that in Bali, only 40 villas have a commercial licence! Incredible, to say the least. The Bali government wants some of that revenue and is starting a registration process for villa owners. There will be an amnesty for commercial villas without a proper licence, but this doesn’t mean its okay to build new ones.

One can only imagine the amount of cashola, that is going to slosh around, as ‘Solutions’ in the coming years. For the Bali government its a win-win scenario. You put high taxes on the villa owners, they either pay it through the front door, or pay somehow through the backdoor…nice little earner. Dealing with the sewage problem is a great idea. It is true that in Seminyak, at certain times, one can spot a large brown patch of effluent close to the beach. What is it going to be like in 10 years?

Personally, I wish the Balinese government would enact some kind of proper zoning for buildings. I’m not saying I want Bali to be a fake fantasy holiday town, but if you leave it to the locals, they’ll destroy the whole island.