Govt to screen foreign NGOs in Aceh

Govt to screen foreign NGOs in Aceh

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Foreign aid organizations will have to pass government screening
to be eligible to stay in Aceh during the post-emergency response
period, a top official says.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab said on
Monday that foreign organizations would have until April 27 to
provide the government with details of their programs, including
their locations, activities and goals.

"In principle, we welcome foreign aid as long as it supports
the government's blueprint on Aceh's reconstruction and
rehabilitation," Alwi said.

The government, he said, would only allow organizations which
it deemed were capable of creating positive change in the
province.

However, all foreigners whose visas remained valid could stay
until their immigration documents expired, Alwi said.

Despite the disaster, the state of civil emergency in the
conflict-prone area remains in force until May 19. After the
disaster, the civil emergency administration in Aceh had
overturned the ban against foreigners earlier imposed by the
martial law administration that governed the strife-torn province
throughout the previous year.

Currently, no less than 140 non-governmental organizations
from 83 foreign countries are operating in Aceh following the
tidal waves that swept over nearly one third of the province's
territory and killed no less than 140,000 people on Dec. 26.

With just four days remaining before the emergency response
period officially ends, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is
expected to sign a decree on the establishment of an executive
board overseeing Aceh's reconstruction. The board is set to start
working next month.

Minister of Public Works Djoko Kirmanto said on Monday the
decree also mandates the establishment of a supervisory board,
which will be tasked with monitoring of the use of funds, and a
steering committee, which is responsible for overseeing the
implementation of the blueprint.

Djoko, along with other ministers, will sit on the steering
committee.

The President would also set up another supervisory board
consisting of representatives from foreign donors, the minister
said.

"The President will appoint the head of the executive board,
whose position will be at the same level as a minister," Djoko
said.

Djoko asserted that the establishment of the three new boards
would not undermine the authority of Aceh administration.

In Aceh, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris
expected the reconstruction program in Aceh would involve as many
local people as possible.

Fahmi said the government had cooperated with the
International Labor Organization (ILO) to improve the skills of
Aceh locals.

Data shows that about 520,000 people in Aceh lost their jobs
after the catastrophe.