Govt unveils special agency for Aceh, Nias

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.