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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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December
2005
Volume 9 - Number
3 |
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The Tsunami that hit the shores of Aceh and Nias on December 26, 2004 claimed at least 130,000 lives. Tens of thousands of people were missing, while approximately half a million people lost their homes. Like many other people, I was struck by this tragedy, especially when I knew that my secretary’s parents were also missing. Right away, I’ve been wondering how I could assist Aceh in anyway I could. The recovery process of Aceh went really slow, not only because of the magnitude of the disaster, but also due to the jungle of bureaucracy in Indonesian government at all levels – central, provincial and local. One of a frustrating example was the backlog of around 1,500 containers in the seaport of North Sumatra for four months, because no agency took the leadership in giving the clearance. On April 16, 2005 the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR – Badan Rehabilitasi dan Rekonstruksi) for Aceh and Nias was established by the President of Indonesia. Mr. Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, a notable “clean” Indonesian prominent figure was appointed to be the Director. The mission of the new Agency is to coordinate the ongoing reconstruction efforts in the affected areas, and to ensure that donor funds are used effectively, transparently and quickly to meet the needs of the Acehnese and Nianese people. BRR was designed to be the role model of good governance in Indonesia. To ensure efficient and effective interactions with its stakeholders, BRR acts as a “marketplace”, bringing together project proposals that address important needs with available funds; facilitates local government and civil society bodies in implementation of projects, capacity-building where needed; leverages stakeholder resources (e.g., donors), external agencies and existing mechanisms wherever possible; monitors progress of on-budget and off-budget projects, conducting spot-checks and full audits where necessary; and focuses on agency capacity-building, and fast-tracking suitable projects which are in framework of the reconstruction and rehabilitation master plan. To my surprise, on June 1, 2005, I was called by BRR to help them building its Donor Relations capability. With more than 150 domestic and international NGOs entering Aceh, combined with more than 50 countries offering bilateral assistance, as well as involvement of all multilateral agencies, an efficient mechanism for donor coordination must be established. I took an earlier sabbatical leave from Unilever Indonesia (the company has approved my leave of absence to study at the George Washington University), and started my service to BRR on June 16. I worked with an BRR team and McKinsey consultants, who works on pro bono service to BRR, to develop the donor relations mechanism for BRR. Despite the massive challenge, working with talented and passionate people was very satisfying. We had to build the organization while at the same time, were required to deliver the results – like building a ship while sailing. Finally, at the end of July 2005, BRR managed to build the stakeholder relations organization for Jakarta and Aceh, and established a relationship matrix between BRR and the Donors. At the highest level (the Ambassadors, Head of the World Bank, ADB and UNDP), the Director of BRR chaired the consultative group meeting. This meeting was then followed up by donor coordination meetings and technical coordination meetings chaired by respective Deputy Directors. On August 31, 2005, I started my MIPP Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs of the George Washington University. I am still helping BRR voluntarily when there are something to be done in the U.S. I am very pleased to know that the University offers a course course on Emergency and Disaster Management, which I am currently taking. I am looking forward to implementing what I have learned when I am back to Indonesia. |