Government says Aceh funds used in context of emergency<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Criticism aired by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) that the relief
\neffort in the tsunami-stricken province of Aceh had \"too many
\nchiefs\" thereby making the audit of the humanitarian relief funds
\ndifficult received a defensive response from Vice President Jusuf
\nKalla.<\/p>\n
Kalla argued that the situation in Aceh was an emergency and
\nthe government had taken the necessary actions to ensure that
\nreconstruction efforts were in progress.<\/p>\n
\"It should be understood that the accountability of the
\nfinancial aid is shared by different ministries and agencies
\nbecause of the emergency situation,\" he told a press conference
\non Friday.<\/p>\n
\"I hope everyone can make a distinction between actions taken
\nin an emergency situation and under normal conditions.\"<\/p>\n
Kalla promised that the government would be transparent and
\ndemonstrate good governance in managing the funds, including
\nconducting an open tender for reconstruction projects in the near
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
The BPK also blamed the National Disaster Coordinating Body
\n(Bakornas PBP) for its poor coordination making it difficult to
\nconduct an audit on the funds since the latter refused to serve
\nas a supervisor of the funds.<\/p>\n
But Kalla defended Bakornas, saying the body was only tasked
\nwith coordinating all the government institutions involved in the
\nrelief effort, while each of the institutions had the right to
\ndisburse their own funds.<\/p>\n
\"There is a misunderstanding here. The funds are not managed
\nby Bakornas. For example, logistics is handled by the State
\nLogistics Agency (Bulog) while road construction by the Ministry
\nof Public Works. Therefore, the audit should be conducted on such
\nagencies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The BPK claimed on Thursday it was facing difficulties in
\nauditing the use of the funds due to the presence of more than
\none authority in charge of the funds. The agency said the Office
\nof the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, the military
\nand Aceh provincial administration had used the aid without
\nproper coordination.<\/p>\n
The BPK has so far recorded over Rp 40 trillion (US$4.33
\nbillion) in aid funds distributed in Aceh. The funds consisted of
\nsome Rp 39 trillion from foreign donors, Rp 163.9 billion from
\nstate enterprises and Rp 894.38 billion from the public.<\/p>\n
Worse still, BPK said, the financial report on the use of the
\nhumanitarian funds was not made in accordance with the existing
\naccounting standards, making it more difficult for the agency to
\nconduct a proper audit on the funds.<\/p>\n
The BPK fears that the poor management of the funds will
\nundermine the already low confidence of the international
\ncommunity in the accountability of the government in disbursing
\nfinancial aid to Aceh.<\/p>\n
Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi said the government had urged
\nall supervisory agencies to be active in supervising the use of
\nthe funds in response to BPK's findings.<\/p>\n
\"The President has called all parties to follow up the BPK
\nreport and that the disbursement of the aid will be placed under
\none roof once the government implements the Aceh reconstruction
\nblueprint,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-says-aceh-funds-used-in-context-of-emergency-1447893297",
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