BOA to start work next month, says official

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government hopes the Aceh Authority Body (BOA), overseeing the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Aceh, will be operational by March 26, presidential spokesman Andi Malarangeng says.

"The BOA's operation will end Bakornas PBP's responsibilities in the emergency response required for the disaster-affected areas. Therefore, concerns regarding an overlap between the two bodies should cease," he said on Wednesday in a discussion on the development of Aceh's reconstruction, referring to the National Disaster Management and Refugees Coordination Board, which is now chaired by Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Andi explained the organizational structure of the BOA was still being formulated, including the composition of its membership, its jurisdiction, legislation and coordination with existing bodies. In consideration of Aceh's unique cultural and social makeup, BOA members will include local administration officials as well as informal leaders of the Acehnese community.

"The principle behind the BOA's formation derived from the need for an effective organization that focuses on the reconstruction of Aceh, which might take up to ten years according to the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).

"The BOA's operation will also help the ministers currently responsible for Aceh to concentrate on a wide range of national problems," Andi said.

He added that the BOA would only be operational for about two to four years, or until Aceh's currently paralyzed provincial administration is able to take over.

Aceh was the area worst-affected by the Dec 26 tsunamis. According to Farhan, the disaster destroyed about 10 to 20 percent of the province and reconstruction work there could cost up to US$4 billion. The government has said that the emergency situation in Aceh is over, and that rehabilitation and reconstruction work can soon start.

Legislator Akhmad Farhan said the operation of the BOA could provide the government with an opportunity to reconcile with Acehnese insurgents. The province has been locked in a decades- long conflict between the Indonesian Military and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which has sought sovereignty for the resource- rich province.

"Such an opportunity, therefore, raises the need to appoint the right members and to place the social aspects (of the reconstruction work) above those of the bureaucracy," he said. (005)