Kalla unveils blueprint for Aceh reconstruction<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Vice President Jusuf Kalla presented Aceh community leaders on
\nSaturday with the draft blueprint for the reconstruction of the
\ntsunami-hit area, marking the end of the emergency relief phase
\nin Aceh exactly three months after the disaster.<\/p>\n
"The emergency relief phase is now over. All processes in Aceh
\nwill be returned to the normal processes," Kalla was quoted by
\nAgence France Presse as saying in Banda Aceh after he submitted
\nthe 12-volume final draft of the Aceh reconstruction masterplan
\nduring a special ceremony.<\/p>\n
He explained that the government would consult with the
\nAcehnese people before incorporating the blueprint in a
\npresidential decree and establishing an executive agency in
\nApril.<\/p>\n
"The governor will discuss it with officials and the people
\nhere," Kalla said, adding that the masterplan would be
\nimplemented over five years.<\/p>\n
The masterplan is contained in 12 volumes. One is dedicated to
\nthe overall aspects of reconstruction, while the remaining 11
\nvolumes address specific aspects of the rebuilding process.<\/p>\n
It covers the rebuilding of society and livelihoods, restoring
\nthe economy, rebuilding the infrastructure and restoring the
\ncapacity of local institutions.<\/p>\n
Some 220,000 people are either dead or missing and hundreds of
\nthousands of survivors have been homeless since the tsunami hit
\nthe province following a massive earthquake on Dec. 26, 2004.<\/p>\n
Foreign troops and humanitarian agencies immediately came to
\nthe rescue, working together with the Indonesian authorities and
\nlocal relief workers to help the survivors and recover dead
\nbodies.<\/p>\n
Kalla thanked the foreign donors and institutions for their
\nassistance, and assured them that they could continue performing
\nrelief work in Aceh.<\/p>\n
"Every program, project will continue," Kalla said while
\nreiterating the government's promise that reconstruction would be
\ncarried out in an open and transparent manner.<\/p>\n
The Vice President was accompanied by Minister of Justice and
\nHuman Rights Hamid Awaluddin, Minister of Finance Jusuf Anwar,
\nMinister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa, Minister of Manpower
\nand Transmigration Fahmi Idris, State Minister for the
\nEnvironment Rachmat Witoelar, and Deputy Speaker of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR) Aksa Mahmud.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab told
\nthe Vice President that there were as many as 514,150 displaced
\npersons in the province as some 100,000 families had lost their
\nhomes to the tsunami, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Alwi said that the government would assess the resources and
\ncapabilities of the foreign aid agencies currently in Aceh over
\nthe next one month to decide on how they could contribute to the
\nreconstruction work in an effective manner.<\/p>\n
"After one month, we will decide. We don't want duplication.
\nWe don't want NGOs doing the same work. There should be a
\ndivision of labor, specialization, according to the capacity and
\ncapabilities of each NGO," he was quoted by Reuters as saying.<\/p>\n
The government initially set March 26 as the deadline for
\nforeign humanitarian relief agencies to leave the province, with
\nthe government saying it would then be time to focus on the
\nreconstruction work. But the government later extended the
\ndeadline for between another one and two months.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Friday, the Indonesian Military (TNI) officially
\nended a three-month project rebuilding the main road between
\nBanda Aceh and Meulaboh , which was badly damaged by the tsunami.<\/p>\n
During the work, the TNI rebuilt the 272-kilometer (170-mile)
\nroad between the two cities as well as 35 out of 41 bridges that
\nhad been brought down by the massive Indian Ocean tidal wave.<\/p>\n
The completion of the road reopened access to the hard-hit
\ntowns of Calang, Teunom and Meulaboh.<\/p>\n
"We hope that by opening this road, we can help people from
\nisolated villages all along the west coast. Hopefully, what we
\nhave done here will be useful to the community," TNI chief Gen.
\nEndriartono Sutarto said in a speech to about 5,800 soldiers who
\nhad worked on the job.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kalla-unveils-blueprint-for-aceh-reconstruction-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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