Clinton praises recovery work in tsunami-hit Aceh<\/p>\n
Agencies, Banda Aceh, Aceh<\/p>\n
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Monday praised Indonesia's
\nefforts to rebuild tsunami-hit Aceh but urged that solid
\nfoundations for economic growth be put in place, the official in
\ncharge of reconstruction said.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, who heads the Aceh Rehabilitation and
\nReconstruction Agency, said Clinton told officials not to just
\nfocus on reconstruction, but to build a diversified economy.<\/p>\n
\"One thing he reminded me was that with rebuilding, Aceh
\nshould be much better than before. That means that when we talk
\nabout rebuilding it's not only infrastructure and reconstruction,
\nbut also economic development,\" said Kuntoro.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro earlier had lunch with Clinton, the U.N.'s envoy for
\ntsunami relief who arrived in the local capital Banda Aceh on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
Clinton is visiting some nations hit by the Dec. 26 tsunami
\nthat was triggered by a powerful earthquake off the coast of
\nSumatra island.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro said Clinton, visited Aceh in mid-February, called the
\nbusiness plan of the Aceh reconstruction agency the best he had
\nseen.<\/p>\n
\"Progress is incredibly fast and he was really delighted that
\nall the NGOs have already submitted to me 181 project concepts.
\nIt's around $600 million,\" Kuntoro said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether Clinton had seen room for improvement, Kuntoro
\nsaid the former U.S. president focused on a diversified economy.
\nBefore the tsunami, Aceh's economy was largely agricultural and
\nfishing. Parts of the province have natural gas, but these gas
\nfields are not major sources of employment.<\/p>\n
Asked about other things that could come out of Clinton's
\nvisit, Kuntoro said one thing was to make sure donor countries,
\nnon-governmental organizations and the private sector fulfilled
\ntheir aid pledges.<\/p>\n
On May 19, Kuntoro said $1.2 billion in foreign aid was ready
\nto be spent on reconstruction in Aceh. His agency is expected to
\nmanage nearly $5 billion over the next few years.<\/p>\n
Clinton arrived in Aceh following speculation that exhaustion
\nforced him to cancel one leg of his tsunami tour. He has had two
\nheart-related operations in the past year.<\/p>\n
Asked about that speculation, Kuntoro said: \"He's great. He
\nlooks healthy, he walks straight. I don't see any sign of
\ntiredness.\"<\/p>\n
Earlier, Jehane Sedky-Lavandero, Clinton's press officer,
\nsaid: \"The truth is he's not tired ... I can't keep up with him
\nand I'm 32.\"<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Clinton visited the Maldives on the third leg of
\nhis tour of tsunami-ravaged nations, but had to call off a trip
\nto a remote atoll because of bad weather, officials said.<\/p>\n
The cancellation initially raised concerns he might be ill.
\nClinton, who began his tour in India, visited Sri Lanka's
\nbattered east coast on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Clinton spent the Monday morning meeting leading players in
\nreconstruction and relief operations.<\/p>\n
Later he flew to the small town of Jantho, about 55 kilometers
\noutside Banda Aceh, where he spent an hour talking with tsunami
\nsurvivors in a refugee camp.<\/p>\n
News of his arrival was greeted with disdain by several Aceh
\ntsunami survivors who said his visit would be meaningless unless
\nit translated into concrete assistance to fulfill their basic
\nneeds.<\/p>\n
\"I didn't even know he was visiting, because I don't care what
\nthese organizations are doing in Aceh,\" said Munawar, a 20-year-
\nold man whose fish stall was destroyed in the disaster.<\/p>\n
\"If they want to help us, they should just give us some money
\nto build houses and to help me restart my fish business,\" he
\nsaid, adding that he had yet to receive any financial aid.<\/p>\n
Ramlah, a 69-year-old street vendor hawking a small selection
\nof vegetables and eggs, said she needed money to improve her
\nbusiness and help support her family and five other tsunami
\nvictims living under her roof.<\/p>\n
\"I need some money to run my business because, as you can see,
\nI only sell small vegetables,\" she said. \"So far I have received
\nnothing, not even food from UN agencies or the government.\"<\/p>\n
Similar concerns were aired in Jantho, where most of some 500
\nrefugees living under canvas remain without work or steady income
\nsix months on from the disaster.<\/p>\n
\"I hope that Mr. Clinton can build us houses and give us money
\nto start a new life,\" said Mohammed Salman, who used to be a
\nfarmer. \"We are bored in these tents because there is nothing for
\nus to do and most of us have been here for months.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/clinton-praises-recovery-work-in-tsunami-hit-aceh-1447893297",
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