 The Indonesian official in charge of rebuilding tsunami-hit Aceh province says he is shocked at how little has been done for the survivors, and claims virtually no money has been received for reconstruction.
| Gee. Golly. I wonder where the money went? |
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said there was no sense of urgency in disbursing the 6trillion rupiah (A$792million) earmarked in the Jakarta Government's budget for rebuilding areas hit by the tsunami. In the job for just over a week, the former minister for mining and energy said the reconstruction funds had to come through the bureaucracy and get approval from parliament, and he did not expect the money to be available until September. Meanwhile, Dr Kuntoro said, his agency would rely on $US2 billion ($2.59 billion) pledged by major non-government agencies and the private sector to kickstart the reconstruction in Aceh. Even here, much had to be done before the development funds could begin to be fully used, he said. "It's shocking - very limited things have been done for the poor people," Dr Kuntoro said in Jakarta after visiting Aceh to get a first-hand look at the monumental task he faces. "There are no roads being built, no bridges being built, no harbours being built. When it comes to reconstruction - zero." The December 26 disaster left 160,000 people dead or missing in Aceh province, made about 500,000 homeless and destroyed the economy.
The Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction agency headed by Dr Kuntoro is due to manage nearly $US5billion in reconstruction aid. The appointment of the Stanford University-trained engineer, who reports directly to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has been applauded by the international community. One problem with the slow pace of reconstruction, he said, was the time it took to get the agency set up, with donors unsure about who needed to approve projects. The agency was incorporated in an Aceh reconstruction blueprint that was finished only last month. |