Minister admits misuse of relief funds<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government admitted on Thursday that the management of public
\ndonations for the tsunami survivors in Aceh and North Sumatra had
\nbeen tainted by malfeasance.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab said
\nthat a balance sheet of public donations drawn up by his office
\nrevealed the disbursement of a sum of money for a purpose that
\nwas not in any way related to the relief effort.<\/p>\n
\"The balance sheet shows that a large amount of money was paid
\nout to help organize the recent Infrastructure Summit. I am
\nbaffled as to what this summit had to do with the tsunami,\" Alwi
\nsaid during a meeting with a House of Representatives-sanctioned
\nteam tasked with monitoring the government's handling of the
\nrelief operation in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Alwi, who also chairs the National Relief Committee, said he
\nwas determined to fully account for the use of all the relief
\nfunds contributed by government and private sector institutions,
\nand individuals all over the country.<\/p>\n
\"I could have altered the balance sheet by stating that the
\nsum of money was to be used for mass burials or something else,
\nbut that would have been a lie. I want to say here, however, that
\nthe balance sheet was drawn up by my subordinates,\" Alwi said.<\/p>\n
The balance sheet -- copies of which have yet to be made
\navailable to the public as it is still being finalized in advance
\nof the next Cabinet meeting, shows that a sum of Rp 200 million
\n(US$22,000) was disbursed to help pay for the Infrastructure
\nSummit on Jan. 17 in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The balance sheet, seen by The Jakarta Post, reveals that the
\ngovernment has received Rp 914 billion from the public and has
\nspent Rp 114 billion on relief operations in the tsunami-stricken
\nareas.<\/p>\n
Alwi said the government proposed to deposit all the donations
\nin a single account from which all disbursements of the remaining
\nmonies could easily be monitored.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a delegation of Acehnese public figures said during
\na meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla that the public should
\nbe allowed to participate in the auditing of relief funds.<\/p>\n
\"Public participation is a must in the audit process to ensure
\ntransparency and also to convince donor countries, given our
\nreputation as one of the most corrupt countries in the world,\"
\ndelegation member Asna Husein told reporters after the meeting.<\/p>\n
The delegates also urged the government to include Acehnese
\nfigures in a public campaign to lift the spirits of the tsunami
\nvictims.<\/p>\n
Responding to the delegation's requests, Kalla was quoted by
\nAsna as saying that the government would do its best to comply.<\/p>\n
Kalla was also quoted as saying that most of the countries
\nthat had pledged financial assistance for the reconstruction
\neffort in Aceh had yet to come good on their promises.<\/p>\n
Any backtracking on aid pledges or failures to deliver could
\nhinder full reconstruction in Aceh, Asna added.<\/p>\n
\"The Vice President said that the government would talk
\ndirectly to donors to encourage them to realize their
\ncommitments,\" she said during a press conference after the
\nmeeting.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-admits-misuse-of-relief-funds-1447893297",
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