EC to support Aceh reconstruction process

EC to support Aceh reconstruction process

Six months ago, a deadly tsunami devastated parts of northern
Sumatra in Indonesia and a number of other countries around the
Indian Ocean rim. To mark this anniversary, The Jakarta Post's
Veeramalla Anjaiah submitted a number of questions by e-mail to
European Union (EU) Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian
Aid Louis Michel regarding the EU's plans to help with Aceh's
reconstruction and its current activities in the affected areas.
The following are excerpts from Michel's reply from Brussels.

Question:What are the EU's plans as regards Aceh reconstruction?
Answer: The European Commission (EC) is building on its 123-
million-euro (US$160 million) humanitarian aid package for the
affected region with a comprehensive 350-million-euro plan for
reconstruction, as announced by President Barroso (European
Commission/EC President Jose Manuel Barroso) in January at the
Jakarta donor's conference. Twelve million euros has
been immediately released to kick-start this longer-term
reconstruction work.

The plan will focus on repairing housing and social amenities,
restarting livelihoods so that individuals and their families can
get back to leading their own lives and repairing larger
infrastructure, such as roads. My colleague, Benita Ferrero-
Waldner (EU External Relations Commissioner) is responsible for
the reconstruction program.

In Indonesia, 208 million euros will support the Government of
Indonesia's Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) to maximize efficiency
and effectiveness in repairing and reinforcing affected
communities' infrastructure and services, restarting the
livelihoods of affected people and enhancing the environmental
sustainability of coastal areas.

Could you tell us about your organization's present activities
in the tsunami-affected areas of Indonesia?

The Commission's humanitarian aid department, ECHO, allocated
the largest chunk (30 million euros so far) of its tsunami aid to
Indonesia. This funded the establishment of a disease early
warning system by the World Health Organization; the provision of
access to primary health services and psychosocial support for
90,000 people; the creation of 20 child centers to register,
trace and reunify separated/unaccompanied children; access to
safe water and sanitation; and the distribution of food to around
150,000 people.

Were you satisfied with the emergency phase of the
humanitarian mission in the tsunami-affected countries in general
and Indonesia in particular?

Thanks to massive international mobilization and the
resilience of local people, tsunami survivors are on the road to
recovery. Basic humanitarian needs have been covered (shelter,
food, water, health and psychosocial support), no major epidemic
outbreaks have been reported and people are receiving assistance
to restart their livelihoods.

In the initial phase of the disaster, Indonesia presented some
of the greatest challenges, because of the remoteness of the
regions affected. It would have been better for the victims if we
were able to get there earlier. But once the aid delivery
operation was underway we were able to help a lot of people.

I think one of the most important lessons to learn is that it
is much better to provide cash aid than aid in kind. You have
heard the stories about stockpiles of medicines languishing in
ports, due to delivery problems or red tape. That's why the EU
prefers to give cash aid for life-saving measures to be
implemented by international and non-governmental organizations
on the ground. It is also true that at the start of the operation
there was a lack of coordination between all the players, but
this is probably due to their sheer number and the fact that many
of them were not familiar with the existing coordination
mechanisms.

The Commission, through its humanitarian department, ECHO, was
the first official donor to respond to the disaster. We allocated
3 million euros on the day the waves struck. A further 20 million
euros were committed before the end of that week and a major
funding decision for 80 million euros was agreed shortly
afterwards.

People generously donated billions of dollars for the tsunami
victims, but most of that money has not yet reached the victims,
even after the elapse of six months. Why is this so?

Humanitarian aid got to the victims pretty quickly, and I have
mentioned just some of the concrete achievements of our aid
programs. You don't need to spend billions of dollars to provide
essential relief aid, save lives, and provide some basic
rehabilitation. Some of our best projects are not even very
expensive. What matters most is to make sure that the right aid
gets to the right people at the right time.

Reconstruction is another story. Not only is it very
expensive, it also takes a long time to get going. Entire regions
were wiped out and it is not reasonable to expect them to be
rebuilt within six months. Aceh was so badly damaged that we have
to plan an entire new city.

I would like to point out that the EC not only sees its role
in providing emergency humanitarian aid and supporting
reconstruction but also ensuring that the transition between the
two is smooth for the victims. This has already started by
financing projects (such as providing boats and tools for
fishermen and farmers), which allow people to make a living and
get back on their own feet again.

What kind of precautions and auditing mechanisms have been put
in place by the EU as regards the spending of the funds for the
reconstruction of tsunami-affected countries?

The European Commission is using the same precautions and
auditing mechanisms for tsunami-affected countries as for the
rest of the world.

We have one of the most thorough systems for evaluation and
audit.

A team from the Commission's humanitarian department has just
completed a mission to Banda Aceh to audit three of our partners,
namely the World Health Organization, Norwegian Refugee Council
and the International Rescue Committee. In July, two more
missions are planned to audit more partners. Further audits could
follow depending on the need, and the advice of our expert staff.
The whole program will also be scrutinized by the European Court
of Auditors, a separate institution.