JP/2/Jan

JP/2/Jan

Top UN official slams slow reconstruction work in Aceh

Nani Afrida
The Jakarta Post/Banda Aceh

Reconstruction projects in tsunami-devastated Aceh have been too
slow over the past 10 months, leading to popular frustration, a
top UN official said on Sunday.

The sluggish pace of the projects was due to poor coordination
among aid groups, lack of infrastructure, such as roads and
ports, and the remoteness of Aceh, said Jan Egeland, the UN's
chief emergency relief coordinator.

During his visit, Egeland called on all aid groups and non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) to work more quickly and in a
more coordinated manner to get people out of tents and military-
style barrack blocks. "All agencies and NGOs need to work more
closely together," he said while regretting the fact that many
aid groups in Aceh were working on parallel programs rather than
work together shoulder to shoulder to help Acehnese.

Thousands of semi-permanent homes were built in Aceh after the
tsunami disaster in December last year, with some 10,000 houses
built for survivors last month. The survivors had previously been
living in tents and barrack blocks.

However, many Acehnese are still living in squalid camps,
prompting UN officials to call for the speeding up of the
reconstruction projects.

In order to help expedite the projects, Jan said the UN would
station a recovery coordinator in Aceh. The coordinator would be
responsible for drawing up a six-month plan for the speedy
reconstruction of the province, including the construction of
more homes for tsunami survivors.

It is hoped that in the next six months, some hundreds of
thousands of tsunami survivors currently living in tents and
barrack blocks would be provided with decent houses.

The recovery coordinator would work together with the
government agency overseeing reconstruction and rehabilitation in
Aceh (the BRR) and aid groups, said Jan.

The BRR has said it is building 20,000 more houses for tsunami
survivors. Established by the Indonesian government and funded by
various overseas donors overseas, as well as the government, the
BRR is planning to build tens of thousands of houses.

Money is apparently not been a major problem as the
international community has pledged more than $4 billion for
tsunami relief and rehabilitation work in Aceh.

The tsunami in Aceh left some 170,000 people dead or missing,
and some 500,000 people homeless.