Govt unveils special agency for Aceh, Nias

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has formally inaugurated the much-awaited special agency tasked with coordinating the rebuilding of tsunami-stricken Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and the Nias islands.

The agency will manage some Rp 46.1 trillion (US$4.81 million) in reconstruction funds over the next five years, as well as award tenders to the private sector for reconstruction work.

State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra said during a press conference on Monday that the government regulation in lieu of a law on the establishment of the agency had been signed by the President on Saturday, and the agency was expected to start its work this week.

"The regulation stipulates that the agency will have wide powers to manage the reconstruction efforts in Aceh and Nias, including dealing directly with the private sector, and donor countries and agencies," he said.

The agency -- officially to be called the Executive Agency for the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Aceh and Nias -- will take over the functions of the provincial administrations as regards reconstruction in the tsunami-affected areas.

"The provincial administrations will handle other functions that are not related to the reconstruction process. However, to avoid any overlapping, a number of provincial officials will hold ex officio positions in the agency," said Yusril.

Based on the regulation, the Aceh governor will serve as the agency's vice chairman, with the chairman expected to be a professional or senior bureaucrat with a "clean" reputation.

The agency will be directly accountable to the President and financially accountable to the Ministry of Finance.

According to Yusril, the President is expected to issue a presidential decree on the appointment of members of the agency in the next few days.

The agency -- consisting of an advisory division, a supervisory division and an executive division -- will be solely responsible for managing the reconstruction funds provided by donor countries or agencies via the state budget.

The finance ministry will open a special treasury office in Aceh for disbursing the reconstruction funds that have been allocated out of the state budget to the agency.

The government plans to allocate 50 percent of the funds for the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and the building of new infrastructure.

In addition, the agency is also tasked with issuing approvals to donor agencies that prefer to directly disburse their contributions to the reconstruction effort without going through the state budget.

Yusril said that based on the regulation, the lifetime of the agency would be limited to four years, with a possible extension by way of presidential regulation.

In order to ensure the accountability of the money spent by the agency, the government would appoint the Supreme Audit Agency, the State Development Comptroller and private-run accounting firms to audit the financial reports produced by the agency.

Headquartered in Banda Aceh, the agency is scheduled to issue audited financial reports on a semestral and annual basis.

"The government has made it very clear that it will not tolerate any misuse of the funds managed by the agency. We have included an article in the regulation on the sanctions that will be imposed on anyone who commits corruption in the agency," said Yusril.

He added that the government has sought the support of the factions in the House of Representatives for the regulation. The support, although not mandatory, is needed by the government so that the House will subsequently convert the regulation into a law.