Nias reconstruction work criticized
Nias reconstruction work criticized
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
The Nias regency administration lashed out at the Aceh-Nias
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency on Tuesday for the lack
of progress in rebuilding the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged
island.
The administration said only 30 out of the 8,000 new houses
planned for tsunami and quake survivors on the island had been
completed.
Nias' deputy regent, Agus Mendrova, said on Tuesday the agency
had done little for the survivors of last year's Dec. 26 tsunami
and the magnitude 8.9 earthquake in March this year, which left
thousands of people dead and homeless.
He said this lack of progress was what prompted President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to cancel a planned visit to the island
to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the tsunami.
"Can you imagine, it has been a year since the tsunami struck
but only 30 houses have been built. Isn't that a joke? Of course
the President's staff canceled his planned visit to inspect (the
houses)," Agus told The Jakarta Post.
He blamed the agency for failing to communicate and coordinate
with various offices and bodies, including the regency
administration, resulting in the lack of progress in the
reconstruction.
"As of today, there are thousands of survivors still living in
tents for displaced persons. They need houses to live in since
their houses were destroyed in the tsunami and earthquake," Agus
said.
According to the latest data from the Medan-based non-
governmental organization Policy Study and Advocacy Institute,
there are about 20,000 tsunami and earthquake survivors still
living in tents and military-style barracks in Nias and South
Nias regencies.
The institute's executive director, Efendi Panjaitan, said the
survivors were growing restless at the lack of progress in
rebuilding their homes, and there have even been reports of the
survivors stealing relief aid from NGOs.
He said such actions were mainly the result of less and less
food aid being delivered to the island by relief organizations.
"Reducing the amount of relief aid was not intended to neglect
the survivors but to make them independent, no longer reliant on
relief aid," Efendi told the Post on Tuesday.
Reports of relief aid being stolen, along with a lack of
transportation on the island, has left many volunteers reluctant
to go to Nias, he added.
The Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency's head
for Nias, William Syahbandar, could not be reached for comment on
Tuesday. He has previously blamed transportation problems for the
slow pace of reconstruction on Nias.