Minister admits misuse of relief funds

Minister admits misuse of relief funds

M. Taufiqurrahman and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The government admitted on Thursday that the management of public
donations for the tsunami survivors in Aceh and North Sumatra had
been tainted by malfeasance.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab said
that a balance sheet of public donations drawn up by his office
revealed the disbursement of a sum of money for a purpose that
was not in any way related to the relief effort.

"The balance sheet shows that a large amount of money was paid
out to help organize the recent Infrastructure Summit. I am
baffled as to what this summit had to do with the tsunami," Alwi
said during a meeting with a House of Representatives-sanctioned
team tasked with monitoring the government's handling of the
relief operation in Aceh.

Alwi, who also chairs the National Relief Committee, said he
was determined to fully account for the use of all the relief
funds contributed by government and private sector institutions,
and individuals all over the country.

"I could have altered the balance sheet by stating that the
sum of money was to be used for mass burials or something else,
but that would have been a lie. I want to say here, however, that
the balance sheet was drawn up by my subordinates," Alwi said.

The balance sheet -- copies of which have yet to be made
available to the public as it is still being finalized in advance
of the next Cabinet meeting, shows that a sum of Rp 200 million
(US$22,000) was disbursed to help pay for the Infrastructure
Summit on Jan. 17 in Jakarta.

The balance sheet, seen by The Jakarta Post, reveals that the
government has received Rp 914 billion from the public and has
spent Rp 114 billion on relief operations in the tsunami-stricken
areas.

Alwi said the government proposed to deposit all the donations
in a single account from which all disbursements of the remaining
monies could easily be monitored.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Acehnese public figures said during
a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla that the public should
be allowed to participate in the auditing of relief funds.

"Public participation is a must in the audit process to ensure
transparency and also to convince donor countries, given our
reputation as one of the most corrupt countries in the world,"
delegation member Asna Husein told reporters after the meeting.

The delegates also urged the government to include Acehnese
figures in a public campaign to lift the spirits of the tsunami
victims.

Responding to the delegation's requests, Kalla was quoted by
Asna as saying that the government would do its best to comply.

Kalla was also quoted as saying that most of the countries
that had pledged financial assistance for the reconstruction
effort in Aceh had yet to come good on their promises.

Any backtracking on aid pledges or failures to deliver could
hinder full reconstruction in Aceh, Asna added.

"The Vice President said that the government would talk
directly to donors to encourage them to realize their
commitments," she said during a press conference after the
meeting.