BOA to start work next month, says official

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.
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