Indonesia: The Indonesian official who oversees earthquake and tsunami reconstruction has claimed government funding for recovery after the December disaster has been delayed in parliament while hundreds of thousands of survivors are desperate for aid.
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said that the lack of government funds had forced him to rely on foreign donors to begin projects.
"It's shocking, but it seems that nobody can do anything significant there because there's no government money," said Mr Kuntoro, who was appointed three weeks ago as director of Indonesia's post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction agency.
"Now we are focusing on getting donor funds while we wait for the national budget."
While Mr Kuntoro has accused parliament of delays in providing money for new housing and jobs, Indonesian parliamentary and ministry officials say the government funds, about €475 million, should be available by July. That money is part of a €4 billion, four-year government reconstruction program.
Emir Muis, chairman of the parliament's budget committee, disputed Mr Kuntoro's claims. The money will be approved "very soon, not longer than one month, before the middle of June," he said. But, he added, "Mr Kuntoro has to come to us and make an explanation" for the funds.
- (LA Times-Washington Post Service)