Relief aid still stranded in sea port

Relief aid still stranded in sea port

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Hundreds of containers of humanitarian relief aid are still
stranded in Belawan port in North Sumatra despite central
government instructions that all of them be taken immediately to
tsunami and earthquake victims in Aceh and Nias island.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla who heads the national coordination
body in charge of dealing with the disasters, last week
instructed Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie
to provide financial assistance to transport the aid so that it
could be distributed without having to wait for permits from the
Ministry of Trade.

However, a week after the minister's visit, only 100 of the
1,458 containers of relief aid comprising food, clothes and
medical supplies had been sent to Aceh and Nias.

Head of the investigation and preventive section at the
Belawan port customs office, Cerah Bangun, said on Saturday the
distribution was still facing transportation and permit problems.

He said that most of the remaining containers, apart from 400,
had already been cleared of permit problems.

"We wonder why the distribution of the relief aid is so slow
even though the government has provided a big budget for
transportation. Moreover, we're also questioning the seriousness
of the Ministry of Trade for not issuing import permits for this
relief aid, which goes against the central government's policy,"
Cerah told The Jakarta Post in Belawan.

During his visit to Belawan, Aburizal said the Vice President
had provided Rp 2 billion to the North Sumatra governor to ensure
speedy distribution of the containers that were piling up at the
port.

He was given an assurance that the relief aid, which could not
be distributed due to the absence of permits from the Ministry of
Trade, could be shipped out without having to wait for permits,
with the exception of vehicles.

Cerah said that of the 117 vehicles sent as humanitarian
relief aid from abroad, several units had already been sent to
Aceh after Aburizal's visit.

"Some vehicles were sent to Aceh without waiting for Ministry
of Trade permits because they're very badly needed," he said,
adding that among the vehicles were 15 ambulances, garbage trucks
and bulldozers.

Head of the Ministry of Trade's office in North Sumatra, T.
Azwar Aziz, denied the permit problems, saying that all of the
relief aid, excluding vehicles, could now be shipped out of the
port.

"There was a joint agreement made that was approved by the
Ministry of Trade when Coordinating Minister for the Economy
Aburizal Bakrie gave an instruction to ship the relief aid to
disaster areas," Aziz told the Post.