Top UN official slams slow reconstruction work in Aceh

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Reconstruction projects in tsunami-devastated Aceh have been too slow over the past 10 months, leading to popular frustration, a top UN official said on Sunday.

The sluggish pace of the projects was due to poor coordination among aid groups, lack of infrastructure, such as roads and ports, and the remoteness of Aceh, said Jan Egeland, the UN's chief emergency relief coordinator.

During his visit, Egeland called on all aid groups and non- governmental organizations (NGOs) to work more quickly and in a more coordinated manner to get people out of tents and military- style barrack blocks. "All agencies and NGOs need to work more closely together," he said while regretting the fact that many aid groups in Aceh were working on parallel programs rather than work together shoulder to shoulder to help Acehnese.

Thousands of semi-permanent homes were built in Aceh after the tsunami disaster in December last year, with some 10,000 houses built for survivors last month. The survivors had previously been living in tents and barrack blocks.

However, many Acehnese are still living in squalid camps, prompting UN officials to call for the speeding up of the reconstruction projects.

In order to help expedite the projects, Jan said the UN would station a recovery coordinator in Aceh. The coordinator would be responsible for drawing up a six-month plan for the speedy reconstruction of the province, including the construction of more homes for tsunami survivors.

It is hoped that in the next six months, some hundreds of thousands of tsunami survivors currently living in tents and barrack blocks would be provided with decent houses.

The recovery coordinator would work together with the government agency overseeing reconstruction and rehabilitation in Aceh (the BRR) and aid groups, said Jan.

The BRR has said it is building 20,000 more houses for tsunami survivors. Established by the Indonesian government and funded by various overseas donors overseas, as well as the government, the BRR is planning to build tens of thousands of houses.

Money is apparently not been a major problem as the international community has pledged more than $4 billion for tsunami relief and rehabilitation work in Aceh.

The tsunami in Aceh left some 170,000 people dead or missing, and some 500,000 people homeless.