Aceh restoration 'close to zero'

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Tens of thousands of Acehnese remain homelessThe Indonesian official co-ordinating the recovery oftsunami-hit Aceh has said reconstruction there hashardly begun, five months after the disaster.Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said he was shocked at howlittle had been done for almost 600,000 survivors wholost their homes on 26 December 2004.Indonesia had been too slow to set up the agency heheads, and $5bn (£2.7bn) in aid had not beendisbursed, he said.Mr Mangkusubroto said bureaucracy might delay themoney for four more months.'No roads or bridges'Mr Mangkusubroto told reporters that while somerehabilitation work had been done, it was "close tozero".There is not enough food for the kidsKuntoro MangkusubrotoReconstruction co-ordinator"Roads? There are no roads being built. Bridges? Thereare no bridges being built. Harbours? There are noharbours being built," he said.He said part of the problem was that foreigngovernments were waiting for his agency to be up andrunning before handing out the billions of dollarsthey had pledged.Defenders of the aid effort say they are doing theirbest in the face of overwhelming suffering. They saythey need to move with deliberation to avoidmisdirected or duplicated assistance.The BBC's Tim Johnston in the Indonesian capital,Jakarta, says Mr Mangkusubroto's comments echo theincreasing frustration of many Acehnese at what theyfeel is the relatively slow pace of reconstruction.More than 165,00 people died or are assumed dead inAceh, as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. Afurther 600,000 were left homeless.In total, some $10bn has been pledged for relief andreconstruction for the countries around the IndianOcean, and the bulk of that money is expected to go toIndonesia, the hardest-hit country.Situation 'shocking'Mr Mangkusubroto, who took up his position just over aweek ago, accused the Indonesian government ofdragging its feet."There is no sense of urgency," he said.Mr Mangkusubroto, who has just visited Aceh, said thesituation there was "shocking"."There is not enough food for the kids... at leastthere should be some food."He said the key to the problem was co-ordination, andhe promised to provide the needed direction.And he pledged to take a tough stand towards anyone inhis agency found misusing funds, saying they would besubject to double penalties under Indonesian law,including prison terms.(BBC)