Japan working with Indonesian partners
Japan working with Indonesian partners
To help the people of Aceh and Nias hit by the unprecedented
tsunami and earthquake, Japan has been mobilizing various forms
of assistance since immediately after the disaster.
This
assistance includes the dispatch of disaster relief medical
teams, the dispatch of Japan Self-Defense Forces to support
humanitarian relief efforts through medical and transportation
activities, the disbursement of grant assistance worth US$146
million to the Indonesian government and grant contributions
worth $250 million to international organizations for their
activities in all countries affected by the tsunami, including
Indonesia.
Japan is working hard to bring effective assistance to the
affected people as soon as possible, while maintaining a high
level of transparency and accountability.
As for the bilateral grant of worth $146 million, the
government of Japan disbursed the funds in January to a bank
account held by the government of Indonesia specifically
established for this purpose. Since then, the Japanese government
has been engaged in project preparations, together with its
Indonesian partners. Although it naturally takes time to prepare
projects while respecting the principles mentioned above, the
Japanese government is well advanced even compared to other
bilateral and multilateral donors.
In fact, it has been agreed by Indonesia and Japan to proceed
with 13 projects, among which are supports for the provision of
medicines, for improvements to the west coast road between
Meulaboh and Calang, for water supply and sanitation in Banda
Aceh, and for a Banda Aceh land title recovery operation. Calls
for bidding and the contracting process have been engaged
successively for each of these projects. We are pleased that many
Indonesian companies are participating in the bidding.
In order to maximize the impact of its assistance, the
Japanese government aims to support the overall strategy set by
the Indonesian government, as well as to maintain close donor
coordination.
Therefore, we have gone through an extremely complicated
process with our Indonesian partners to prepare projects, due to
the unprecedented magnitude and cross-sectoral nature of the
damage, and also due to the scale and variety of assistance
mobilized through different channels.
We are working in line with the Indonesian master plan for
reconstruction developed through consultation with the local
communities, and we are also in close contact with the Aceh
Reconstruction Agency established at the end of April for
strengthening coordination and for facilitating project
implementation.
Highly aware of the need for transparency and accountability,
and in order to support proper project preparation and
procurement, the Indonesian government has contracted with the
Japan International Cooperation System (JICS) as the procurement
agent for this grant; the JICS will request the payment of fees
based on the contract after each procurement procedure is
completed. The role of the JICS is very much appreciated by our
Indonesian partners, who recognize the importance of the correct
handling of aid funds.
AYAKO SHIMIZU, Information and Culture Section, Embassy of Japan, Jakarta