Blueprint on Aceh's reconstruction lacks focus<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After the emergency relief period, the government is now
\nembarking on the second phase of the Aceh recovery program:
\nrehabilitation. According to the draft blueprint for Aceh's
\nrecovery, the rehabilitation program will start in April and end
\nin December next year. The rehabilitation program is primarily
\naimed at renovating and rebuilding public infrastructure --
\nhospitals, mosques and schools -- that were damaged or destroyed
\nby the tsunami, and making them functional again.<\/p>\n
In the second phase, the government will also focus on fixing
\ncrucial social problems, notably those related to land ownership.
\nClaims over land are expected to soar, and if this matter is not
\nhandled well then it may well lead to serious social conflict.
\nOther areas that must also be dealt with by the government is
\ntrauma healing among tsunami victims, and the refunctioning of
\nthe economy, including the banking network.<\/p>\n
Rehabilitation will be a mammoth task for the government, and
\nit will certainly needs huge sums of money to cope with it.<\/p>\n
While the funds needed during the emergency relief phase
\nreached a massive Rp 5.1 trillion (US$542 million), much more
\nwill certainly have to be drawn from the domestic budget and from
\ninternational aid to cover expenditure for the rehabilitation
\nprogram.<\/p>\n
During the rehabilitation phase, funds will not only be
\nearmarked to cover renovation and rebuilding of public
\ninfrastructure, but will also be used to cover expenses for
\ncompensation of tsunami victims. And, certainly, this will cost
\nthe government a lot.<\/p>\n
In order to make the rehabilitation program a success, the
\ngovernment has stated in the draft blueprint that it will
\nestablish a special body to run the program. President Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono will directly oversee the Rehabilitation and
\nReconstruction Body, and its headquarters will be in Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
The body has three components; namely, a Steering Board, a
\nSupervisory Board and an Implementing Body.<\/p>\n
Overall, the draft blueprint has been praised for being open
\nto participation from Acehnese. But, it has also drawn criticism
\nfrom several quarters.<\/p>\n
While the blueprint has apparently covered all aspects
\nrequired for rehabilitation and reconstruction, it lacks detail
\nwhen it comes to the all-important social development program.<\/p>\n
"The program places too much emphasis on physical
\ninfrastructure rehabilitation and ignores social infrastructure,"
\naccording to Rufriadi, a well-known Acehnese figure.<\/p>\n
In the blueprint, the government spells out details for the
\nrehabilitation of physical infrastructure, but fails to elaborate
\non the social aspects of rehabilitation, particularly the
\ncreation of jobs. The blueprint touches on the disbursement of
\ncredit for people wanting to start businesses, but fails to
\npropose a strategy on how to create jobs. Such failure will be
\ndetrimental to the government's efforts to rebuild Aceh.<\/p>\n
The employment problem has to be put high on the government's
\nagenda. Soaring unemployment not only deprives life to tsunami
\nsurvivors, but also creates significant social problems. Rising
\nnumbers of jobless will lead to higher rates of crime.<\/p>\n
In order to address the unemployment problem, the government
\nshould have provided concrete explanations in the blueprint
\nconcerning a strategy to address the unemployment problem. It
\nshould have offered, for example, establishment of training
\ncenters in order to allow tsunami survivors to get better skills
\nthat are needed by employers. The blueprint should also have
\nelaborated plans to create labor intensive projects that could
\nemploy tsunami survivors in the stricken province.<\/p>\n
The draft also fails to provide social security scheme. Such a
\nscheme is particularly important especially when supplies of food
\naid start to run low. We can not rely on international aid
\nforever. The flow of aid will come to an end at some point and we
\nhave to be ready to be self-reliant.<\/p>\n
The draft blueprint is at the same time ambitious and lacking
\nin focus, in the sense that it attempts to broadly cover all
\naspects of life. It covers education, religion, culture, and
\nphysical rehabilitation; in the latter case, including the
\nrebuilding of sport facilities.<\/p>\n
The rebuilding of sport facilities may be necessary and
\nworthwhile doing, but putting it in the blueprint may be
\ninappropriate. The government should focus first on the important
\naspects of life such as food, jobs, medical facilities, housing
\nand clothing before embarking on rehabilitating tertiary needs
\nsuch as sport and entertainment.<\/p>\n
It is not too late for the government to make revisions to the
\ndraft blueprint; it still has another month to make changes.<\/p>\n
The draft may need to be revised in any case, after another
\nmajor earthquake on late Monday night, measuring 8.7 on the
\nRichter scale, shook Nias and other parts of the island of
\nSumatra, including Banda Aceh. But, whatever the revisions, the
\nplan has to be focused. And it needs to adequately address
\nseveral immediate aspects such as job and food security.<\/p>\n
If these crucial problems can be adequately addressed during
\nthe rehabilitation phase, then this will lay a firm foundation
\nbefore the government embarks on the third phase of the Aceh
\nrecovery, namely the reconstruction phase that will begin in July
\n2006 and end in December 2009.<\/p>\n
The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/blueprint-on-acehs-reconstruction-lacks-focus-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }