Rehabilitation of Aceh and Nias
Public support for the reconstruction effort in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam is vital. The task ahead of us is monumental and urgent. To see the devastation first hand is to be moved beyond compassion. The people of Aceh and Nias continue to suffer.
Hence, I would like to thank Daniel Kingsley for his recent opinion article, Does the master plan for Aceh rehabilitation drive NGOs away? (The Jakarta Post, May 19).
Kingsley highlights two specific issues of concern to us all -- the need for close engagement with the donor community to maintain funding for the Aceh and Nias programs and, related to this, the need for transparency (and, I would add, accountability) to maintain international confidence in the rehabilitation and reconstruction program.
Kingsley is right to point to these as key elements in the success of our program. We agree that they are and are dedicated to ensuring we address both in a highly professional and responsible manner.
Since his appointment on April 30, our director, Pak Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, has met regularly with major donors in open forums to identify issues, answer questions, solicit feedback and seek priority financial and technical support. Pak Kuntoro and the agency's deputies have also met with over 400 representatives of NGO community, representing over 150 organizations, in Banda Aceh.
Through these meetings and as a result of our fast-track approval methodology, we have already approved over US$1.2 billion -- including $245 million from USAID, $250 million from the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, and $600 million from the International Red Cross. More approvals are in the pipeline.
The sums involved in our program are not small. They demand a level of rigor and accountability unprecedented in Indonesia. We demand it of everyone involved.
As a consequence, the Communications and Stakeholder Relations and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) has taken the unprecedented measure of asking anyone who handles any funds related to reconstruction to sign an integrity pact that will be constantly monitored.
The agency's mission is not just to deliver an effective rehabilitation and reconstruction program. It is also to develop a best-practice post-disaster reconstruction program that is also a model for fundamentally shifting the norms of transparency in the Indonesian public sector.
SUDIRMAN SAID Deputy of Communications and Stakeholder Relations Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) Banda Aceh