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.