Public service in Aceh still depends on foreigners

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Muzakir Sulaiman heads the Banda Aceh municipal manpower office but he cannot go to work. While he has attended several coordination meetings for public services, he has done little else and he finds it hard to summon up the energy to get busy.

Muzakir can be excused for not wanting to work. Not only was his office leveled by the waves -- they also took his house, his wife and two of his four children.

"How can I provide services to the public when my own family is still in a poor condition and we live in this refugee camp," said Muzakir from Mata Ie.

Twelve colleagues in his office were also lost in the disaster. "I don't know much about the situation of the remaining staff because they are also living in refugee camps and barracks in the city," he said.

Despite the impact of the tsunami, the municipal administration has already resumed some services to the public two weeks after the disaster.

However, these remain limited to issuing identity cards and marriage certificates, while other major services have been entrusted to civilian volunteers, the Indonesian Military, and foreign troops and relief agencies.

Banda Aceh Mayor Mawardy Nurdin said public services were still greatly affected by the huge loss of life.

"The municipal administration has lost 2,000 of around 5,000 of its employees while about 90 percent of public buildings and offices were badly damaged by the disaster," he told The Jakarta Post from his office on Wednesday.

He said public services, especially education, health and transportation, had been entrusted to local and foreign non- governmental organizations, foreign forces and other civilian volunteers.

Hundreds of soldiers from Russia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Norway and Finland and several local and foreign NGOs and UN agencies such as UNICEF, the World Food Program, World Vision, Care and Mercy are still in Aceh distributing relief aid and providing public services.

The disaster damaged or destroyed 12 of 21 public health centers, five of seven hospitals and almost 100 school buildings in the city.

Aceh provincial secretary Tantowi called on civil servants to return to their offices next week following the end of 40-day mourning and emergency period.

"Civil servants affected by the disaster cannot continue mourning... they must be realistic and must resume their daily activities to give services to the public because they are paid to do so," he said.

Yusuf Sulaiman, who heads the human resources bureau at the governor's office, lost two of his three children and his house in the tsunami.

"Now, I only have my wife and my eldest son who is still studying in Bandung," he said.

One of the few civil servants back at work, he said the tsunami killed around 1,650 of the provincial government's 76,500 employees, while more than 2,200 were still missing.

The provincial administration buildings, many of which were badly damaged in the disaster due to their closeness to the sea, were still largely empty, he said.

Aceh Jaya Regent Zolfian said some public services were now available in his jurisdiction although they were mostly entrusted to volunteers and agencies.

"Public offices have been opened in Calang and Lamno, two major towns in the regency where the rescue operation is still going on," he said.