Aceh rebuilding 'to start with communities'<\/p>\n
Riyadi Suparno, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A young man, equipped with a compass and signposts, was measuring
\nplots of land in a destroyed village in Banda Aceh when Kuntoro
\nMangkusubroto, the newly-appointed chairman of the Aceh
\nreconstruction agency, visited his village recently.<\/p>\n
Apparently entrusted with the task by the surviving villagers,
\nthis young man then presented his drawing showing the boundaries
\nof the plots to Kuntoro and asked him to sign it -- as a symbol
\nof his endorsement.<\/p>\n
\"This was very encouraging. I have found a positive mood in
\nAceh. So, without hesitation, I signed it. And that was my second
\nsuch signing since I arrived in Aceh,\" Kuntoro said during a
\ndiscussion with a number of journalists in Jakarta on Monday
\nevening.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro visited Aceh last week, a few days after being
\ninstalled as the chairman of the Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and
\nReconstruction Agency.<\/p>\n
When asked what would happen if a village was not designated
\nas a residential area any longer under the government's Aceh
\nreconstruction blueprint, Kuntoro responded, \"then we will do
\nwhat we find suits the people, not the bureaucrats.\"<\/p>\n
\"Land is the only thing they have now. So, we must not prevent
\nthem from reclaiming their rights and building houses on it,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said he would use the blueprint, prepared by the National
\nDevelopment Planning Agency, as a guideline only and would not
\nforce its implementation on people if it negated the realities on
\nthe ground.<\/p>\n
\"I can assure you that we will develop Aceh using a total
\ncommunity participation approach. The blueprint is important, but
\nthe actual needs of the people are more important.<\/p>\n
\"If fishermen, for example, want to build their houses on
\ntheir land by the sea, let them do it. What we can do is to help
\nthem build their houses and prepare themselves for what they
\nshould do in the event of another tsunami,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro acknowledged that he himself had no time to study the
\nblueprint, but would assign his deputies to look into it, as well
\nas the criticism levied at it from various sides.<\/p>\n
A number of Acehnese as well as activists have criticized the
\nblueprint, which they say fails to accommodate the interests of
\nthe victims and leaves the door open to corruption.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), for example, has said that
\nthe data used to determine the cost of reconstruction projects,
\nsuch as the number of displaced people and the total population,
\nis inaccurate and inconsistent.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro acknowledged the inconsistencies and said he would
\nassign an independent body to everything that required funding,
\nincluding the number of displaced people.<\/p>\n
He noted that the initial results of an independent audit on
\nthe number of displaced people showed that the actual number of
\npeople who would be eligible for assistance would likely total
\nabout 190,000 -- far lower than the 514,000 stated in the
\nblueprint.<\/p>\n
\"We will do our best with regard to transparency so as to
\nensure that none of the money for Aceh is embezzled,\" Kuntoro
\nsaid. \"If there are any reports of corruption, this will drive
\naway foreign donors.\"<\/p>\n
Kuntoro once again highlighted the importance of foreign
\nfunding for the reconstruction of Aceh and Nias, stressing that
\nthe government had little money to spare. Of the total
\nreconstruction cost of Rp 46 trillion, the government would only
\nbe able to provide about 30 percent. For this year, the
\ngovernment could only commit about Rp 6 trillion.<\/p>\n
Worse still, government funding for this year was still
\navailable as it would first need clearance from the House of
\nRepresentatives, Kuntoro said. He expected the money would become
\navailable only in September.<\/p>\n
\"Even to pay our operational costs, we have to find the
\nfunding elsewhere. UNHCR has been kind enough to rent us a house,
\nUSAID rents a number of cars for us, and Australia is committed
\nto helping us with A$100,000,\" Kuntoro said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/aceh-rebuilding-to-start-with-communities-1447893297",
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