Too many chiefs complicate aid audit
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said on Thursday it was facing difficulties in auditing the use of humanitarian funds in Aceh due to the presence of more than one authority in charge of the funds.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla to discuss the issue, BPK chief Anwar Nasution said that there were "too many rulers" in tsunami-hit Aceh during the humanitarian relief phase.
He pointed to the Office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, the military, and the provincial administration, all of which have been using the emergency funds without proper coordination.
"There is Alwi Shihab, there is the civil emergency administrator, there is Bambang Darmono, there is the deputy governor. There is a problem with coordination," he said.
Alwi is the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare mandated to handle the humanitarian operation in Aceh following the Dec. 26 tsunami, while Bambang is a major general who is an assistant to the military chief on welfare issues. Considering that Aceh is under a civil emergency administration amid decades long conflict between the military and local rebels, the military has strong power in the province. The deputy governor of Aceh also has administrative power (the current governor is on trial on corruption charges) after the government granted the province special autonomy.
"Aceh is not only suffering due to the tsunami but also conflict. This is complicated. There are too many rulers," Anwar said.
According to Anwar, there should be only one leader in charge of distributing the funds to make a credible audit and to make sure that the aid from the donors goes into the right hands.
"Don't forget, international confidence in us is very low," he said, adding that additional funds from donors for the reconstruction of the badly damaged province would depend on whether the country could show to the world that the funds were not being misused.
The government has been under strong pressure particularly from the international community to ensure that the massive amount of humanitarian financial aid dedicated to Aceh is not abused.
BPK has so far recorded over Rp 40 trillion (US$4.33 million) in aid funds distributed to Aceh. The funds consisted of some Rp 39 trillion from foreign donor countries, Rp 163.9 billion from state-owned enterprises and Rp 894.38 billion from the public.
The government has allocated some Rp 45 trillion for the reconstruction of Aceh.
Elsewhere, BPK also complained that the government's financial report on the use of humanitarian funds in Aceh was not made in accordance with existing accounting standards.
Anwar Nasution said that the poor quality of the report would make it difficult for the agency to conduct a proper audit on the use of the funds.
The former top official of Bank Indonesia said that so far BPK had only received a report from the Office of the Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare.
Anwar also said that BPK would open an office in Banda Aceh so they could start conducting the audit work. The auditing team is expected to work for one year.