NGOs skeptical of Aceh aid transparency
NGOs skeptical of Aceh aid transparency
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
"Do you believe that the Rp 41 trillion in funds apportioned to
finance the rehabilitation and reconstruction of disaster-
devastated Aceh and Nias in North Sumatra, will not be
embezzled?," an activist with Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW)
asked when addressing a seminar here on Wednesday.
Ridaya La Ode Ngkowe, manager of ICW's Aceh Monitoring
Program, said his organization had found many indications that
the government would not be able to maintain transparency and
financial accountability in managing the reconstruction funds.
"The reconstruction work is not as easy as it sounds... From
the administrative point of view, the human resources' capacity
and from past experience, a large amount of the funds will likely
leak into pockets of corrupt officials, either in the provinces
or in Jakarta.
"The phrases 'good governance', 'civil society' and 'Islamic-
style housing areas', as mentioned in the blueprint for Aceh's
rebuilding, are too easy for anyone to utter. But it's very
difficult to implement them due to rampant corruption in the
bureaucracy and government agencies," Ridaya said.
He said that most people lacked confidence that the government
could manage such huge amounts of reconstruction funds because
the Aceh bureaucracy was proven to be corrupt, as evidenced by
Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh who was recently convicted of graft.
Ridaya pointed out that the reconstruction blueprint was very
good, but most Acehnese people and non-governmental organizations
did not know where it came from, how it was formulated and who
was involved in the drafting.
According to Ridaya, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) chief
Anwar Nasution laughed at the government's accountability report
on the use of Rp 1.2 trillion for emergency relief operations in
Aceh immediately after it was ravaged by the Dec. 26 earthquake
and tsunami.
Of the Rp 1.2 trillion in funds, Riyada said, the government
spent Rp 400 billion, however chief welfare minister Alwi Shihab
failed to submit a detailed report on how the funds were actually
used.
"Based on our assessment, 60 percent of the funds leaked into
the pockets of corrupt officials in Aceh and Jakarta," Ridaya
added.
Mizwar Fuady, coordinator of the Solidarity for Anticorruption
Movement in Aceh (Sorak Aceh), similarly blamed a lack of
transparency and financial leakage of Aceh funds on poor
coordination in aid distribution, and bad public services.
Many donor countries, he said, have expressed skepticism that
their donations for Aceh would not be embezzled.
"Donor countries have smelt irregularities in the ongoing
construction of temporary shelters that cost between Rp 187
million and Rp 250 million per unit. They are also concerned over
the less-than-human conditions in the barracks with most refugees
facing shortages of clean water, and they are only given Rp 3,000
per person a day," Mizwar said.
La Ode Ida, deputy chairman of the Regional Representatives
Council (DPD), said the bureaucracy and the military, which
played a major role in relief aid distribution, were not
transparent in the way they worked.
They did not comply with accountability and audit principles
when carrying out their tasks, he added.
He said accountability is not just an administrative matter,
but also a matter of whether the donation actually reached the
intended recipients.
"Donations have come from foreign governments, individuals,
groups, and organizations, so they must be accountable to these
donors," La Ode added.