BOK role different form Bakornas: VP

BOK role different form Bakornas: VP

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Wednesday that the planned
Special Authority Body (BOK) for Aceh and North Sumatra would
have different responsibilities than the agency currently in
charge of humanitarian relief operations in the tsunami-hit
provinces.

Kalla said the National Disaster Management and Refugee
Coordination Board (Bakornas) was in charge of emergency relief
programs in disaster-hit areas, while BOK would oversee the
rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh and North Sumatra.

"Bakornas is a national body that is in charge of handling
emergency relief programs in all disaster-hit areas across the
country, while the BOK is only for Aceh," he said in his office.

While Bakornas was mostly run by the social ministry and the
health ministry, the BOK was under the supervision of the
National Development and Planning Agency (Bappenas), he said.

The plan to set up BOK was announced on Tuesday, a few days
after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono lamented the poor
coordination of Bakornas PBP, which is chaired by Kalla, in
handling the relief operation in Aceh.

Susilo's remarks have raised speculation of early signs of
contention between the President and his popular deputy.

The government has said that it would need around US$4 billion
to rebuild the devastated Aceh as roads, houses, bridges and many
other facilities in many parts of the province had been swept
away or destroyed by the walls of water.

The House of Representatives has supported the government's
plan to set up the BOK.

Earlier on Wednesday, Coordinating Minister for the People's
Welfare Alwi Shihab explained that the government needed more
time to establish BOK, which will be headquartered in Aceh.

"In principle, the government and the House have agreed to the
establishment of the authority body. But, we need a legal
umbrella for it, whether it is in the form of a government
regulation in lieu of law or others," he said after attending the
opening ceremony of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI)
meeting at the State Palace.

According to Alwi, the authority of BOK is similar to that of
the Batam Island Authority, meaning that its chief is at the same
level as cabinet ministers and directly responsible to the
President.

"The BOK is an independent body so ministers can focus on
other state duties," he said.

The BOK is expected not only to play a role in helping to
speed up the rehabilitation and reconstruction work particularly
in Aceh, but also help ensure the relief funds are not being
abused.

The government has said that it would need around 12 months to
complete the rehabilitation work, while the reconstruction work
would take at least five years to complete.

Alwi said that representatives from Aceh would also sit in the
BOK.

"We want Acehnese participation in the body. The government
doesn't want to ignore the ideas and culture of Aceh in the
reconstruction of their homeland. We need to be very careful
about the city planning in reconstructing Banda Aceh in
particular because it is the capital of Aceh," he said.

"We hope within one or two months, Bakornas is able to finish
its relief efforts in Aceh. The process of rehabilitation and
reconstruction of Aceh is likely to start within the next two or
three months," Alwi said.