Govt shifting focus to building relocation centers

In the aftermath of the tsunami, the government has been the target of criticism for its slow response and for various mishaps. The Jakarta Post's Riyadi Suparno and Aan Suryana interviewed Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab who is currently in charge of coordinating all relief operations in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. Excerpts follow:

Question: Many have blamed you for poor coordination in the relief operation. What's actually happening here?

Answer: During the first days of our operation, we were still in a panic situation. There were too many things to do at the same time. For example, there were a lot of parties not yet registered with us, such as foreigners, United Nations agencies .. They felt there was no one who they could turn to. But we did not have enough personnel, and the situation was also not in order.

We could not do all what we wanted to do. eventually, we managed to get things in order. So I've come here to help smooth coordination. Among other things I receive mainly foreign guests so that we can channel their donations or direct them to where they can work. We have also established a volunteer desk, so that they can work quickly once they report to us. I don't mean to say that the coordination is perfect, but I aim to help improve it.

How are your coordination efforts going, especially with the military here?

I'm responsible for overall operations, (Maj. Gen.) Bambang Darmono (who heads the military task force to channel aid) is in charge of operations in the field, and Deputy Governor (Azwar Abubakar) is in charge of reviving the civil service.

So for instance when a foreign medical team comes here and we want to send them somewhere, we first ask Pak Bambang's opinion about the situation in that location.

Pak Bambang is also the one who has been mobilizing TNI (Indonesian Military) personnel to do emergency work like evacuation of the thousands of corpses. It's TNI which is doing most of the evacuation work. It's also helping to restore vital infrastructure such as repairing bridges or installing temporary bridges, etc.

TNI is also in charge of aid freighted by air, especially the distribution of helicopters from foreign countries. They are all under the coordination of the military, under Pak Bambang. And so far there has been no complaints.

We hold daily coordination meetings every evening to evaluate what we have done for the day and what we plan for the next day.

How is the development of emergency operations? How long will it take to complete this emergency operation?

Emergency operations cover distribution of food, water, medicine and other basic supplies as well as evacuation operations. I would say that it is almost over. Our main operation now covers evacuation of corpses buried under debris. Everyday we're recovering about 4,000 corpses.

Other areas of the emergency operation are basically in order. Three hospitals in Banda Aceh are already functioning. The fourth, the Malahayati Hospital, will start operating next week. Now we're repairing the water system along with experts from Germany.

What about emergency operations in inaccessible areas like those between Calang and Meulaboh in the western coast of Aceh?

Many of the villages there were washed away. In general the few locals left are doing self help operations, with help from TNI, such us burying corpses and also ferrying the injured to accessible places.

What's your next target for operations?

Now we are concentrating our efforts to build relocation centers. We have identified 24 places for relocation centers. These centers are important especially to relocate refugees currently staying at temporary camps which lack proper facilities, as well as for those staying in their relatives far away from their homes.

Also, with these centers, we will be able to relocate refugees who are occupying schools so that classes can begin.

These centers will be completed with necessary facilities such as clean water, sanitation system, a public kitchen and a hall. We hope people can stay in these centers for up to two years, by then we will be able to complete the permanent resettlement project and people can move to more permanent houses.

What was the process of assessment that led to the idea of building these relocation centers?

We involved everyone. The first were TNI representatives because we don't want to build the centers in insecure places. There was also someone from the local government as we don't want to build these centers on disputed land. Then, we invited officials from public works for the planning side, and those from UN agencies to ensure that these centers meet all the criteria such as those of health and decency.

Is the government ready with all the money?

Of course; we cannot wait for outside help. But we do not rule out private assistance. In fact, we have got an expression of interests from Dji Sam Soe (cigarette company) and Ibu (Sri Hartati) Murdaya of Walubi (the Indonesian Buddhist Association). We have also got a commitment from General Electric (company) to build water purifying facilities with a capacity of producing up to 1.6 million litters of water per day.

We welcome all these commitments. Now we plan to build 24 centers. If private communities want to take over the construction of say, 20, the government will build the remaining four centers. But the responsibility rests with the government. If there is no assistance from the private community, then all the money must come from the government's coffers.

When will these relocation centers be ready for use?

This project must be completed as soon as possible. We started on Friday by clearing some of the locations. We hope in the next two weeks that some will be already in place.

What about the permanent resettlement project?

We are still studying this. The idea is that this resettlement project will permanently house all the victims. We don't know yet what this project will look like. We have got promises from a number of parties. The Chinese government and the Bandung Institute of Technology, for example, have promised to provide models of cheap, permanent houses.

The government must involve all concerned parties such as the ministries of public works and housing, and the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) to arrange the funding that we should source from as many parties possible. This is a longer- term project and needs better coordination and planning.