Human Rights Minister proposes moving NTT emergency response command centre to Flores
Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai has proposed moving the Emergency Response Control Command from Kupang to Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, to accelerate disaster handling in affected areas.
Pigai said relocating the command centre is necessary so that disaster response coordination is closer to communities in need of assistance, given the considerable distance between Kupang and several affected areas in Flores.
“I conveyed to the Governor of NTT that the Emergency Response Control Command should be centred in the disaster area on Flores Island, not in Kupang because the distance is far. The Governor responded quickly to the proposal,” Pigai said in Jakarta on Monday.
In addition to shortening the coordination chain, Pigai urged the government to ensure the urgent needs of affected communities are met, particularly the availability of food supplies during the emergency response period.
According to him, the government can ensure that the community’s food needs remain fulfilled through a payment mechanism that the government can settle after the emergency situation is handled.
Pigai said these efforts need to run in tandem with the deployment of logistical assistance by the central government. Aid deliveries are being carried out using Indonesian Air Force Hercules aircraft to reach areas in need.
The President has also instructed a number of ministers to be directly involved in disaster handling and to remain on site during the emergency response period to ensure that handling proceeds quickly and community needs are met.
The Ministry of Human Rights, Pigai continued, is supporting disaster handling from the emergency response period through to the rehabilitation and reconstruction stages in NTT.
Pigai said the Ministry of Human Rights has deployed 11 officials to support handling on the ground, including a special staff member who is a native of Manggarai. The ministry is also mobilising volunteer solidarity to distribute aid to affected communities through independent funds.
According to Pigai, a collaborative approach is also needed in handling forest and land fires in several areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan that are influenced by climate conditions and drought.
He said the President has asked all ministries and agencies to take on roles according to their respective authorities in handling various disaster conditions.
“Disaster management in Indonesia is indeed led by BNPB, but in fact the President always instructs all relevant ministries and agencies to handle it jointly and severally together,” said the Human Rights Minister.