|
 |
|
|
While Indonesia was still recovering from the devastating impact of
the tsunami and earthquake in Aceh and Nias in 2004, in 2006 we were
confronted with another strong earthquake and tsunami affecting Yogyakarta,
Central and West Java. More than 5,000 people died, more than 280,000
houses damaged, and almost a million people were left homeless.
The Government of Indonesia responded quickly by entrusting the Coordination
Team chaired by Coordinating Minister for the Economy with the reconstruction
and rehabilitation strategies and planning. The coordination team
includes ministers from the line ministries and governors of the special
regions of Yogyakarta and Central Java. The governors were appointed
to chair the Implementing Teams. The central government committed
US$570 million to finance the reconstruction. Funds were quickly disbursed
to the provinces and reconstruction was initiated very quickly.
Given the nature and scale of the devastation, the government’s
initial focus has been on reconstructing housing through a community-driven
approach. This has resulted in one of the largest community-driven
housing reconstruction programs in the world. This work is progressing
well and at a rapid pace as families are also investing their own
resources to return to their homes.
Following on the success of the Multi-Donor Fund for Aceh and Nias,
we welcomed a similar approach for donor response and support. This
resulted in the formation of the Java Reconstruction Fund (JRF). We
very much appreciate the contribution of the six donors, the European
Commission, and the governments of the Netherlands, United Kingdom,
Canada, Finland and Denmark. We look forward, with the JRF, to assisting
in restoring the livelihoods of both the earthquake and tsunami-affected
families and businesses.
We would like to thank all the stakeholders supporting our efforts
and coordinating with us in the field to ensure the reconstruction
of the devastated areas can be done as quickly as possible so that
affected families can restart their lives as soon as possible.
|
