Rp. 400 Billion Allocated for Rehabilitation in Wasior and Mentawai

The government has allocated around Rp400 billion for reconstruction and rehabilitation in Wasior, Papua and Mentawai, West Sumatra, recently hit by natural disasters.

The government will make the funds’s disbursement quick because the fiscal year 2010 would end in just one and a half month, secretary of the coordinating minister for people’s welfare, Indroyono Soesilo, said here on Monday after a limited meeting on natural disasters led by vice president Boediono.

He said the government had completed the blue print for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Wasior and Mentawai. Indroyono said the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Wasior was expected to take Rp140 billion and of Mentawai Rp386 billion.

"The temporary shelters in Wasior are expected to finish at the end of November while those in Mentawai are still being constructed totalling 1,000 units by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 500 units by the Defense Forces (TNI) and 200 units by non-governmental organizations," he said.

Regarding the loss in the two regions Indroyono said the floods in Wasior had caused material damages of around Rp280 billion while the tsunami in Mentawai around Rp315 billion. As with Merapi, Indroyono said, the government has not yet embarked on rehabilitation and reconstruction because the region there was still under danger status.

"Last night Mount Merapi still spewed hot clouds. So, although its activity has waned the threat of eruptions still remains," he said. He said however that "the government has already laid a corner stone to mark the start of rehabilitation and reconstruction in the region soon after the region is declared safe," he said.

Indroyono said the Rp400 billion would be collected from national and regional budgets involving a number of offices concerned such as the coordinating ministry of people’s welfare, the ministry of culture and tourism, the ministry of health, the ministry of education, the ministry of fisheries and marine resources and the ministry of religiuos affairs.

"Various efforts would be made to restore the economy and welfare of the people while waiting the situation to become really safe, such as cleaning up schools, distributing school books by the ministry of education and cleaning up temples and other cultural heritages covered by volcanic ash organized by the ministry of tourism and culture," he said.

Indroyono ssid in general the rehabilitation and reconstruction stage would include among others construction of houses, sanitation facilities, infrastructure, economic and small and medium business empowerment.

Sumber : antara