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05/09/2005:

"Aceh reconstruction comes to a near halt"

Indonesia's post-tsunami recovery is at a near standstill and millions of people will be relying on aid from non-governmental organisations and international agencies for months, the head of the country's reconstruction body said yesterday.

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, appointed last week to run the rehabilitation and reconstruction agency for Aceh and Nias, said there was "no sense of [government] urgency" in Aceh and that "close to zero" of promised government funds had been disbursed.

"It's shocking. Very limited things have been done for the poor people," Mr Kuntoro, a former energy minister, said. "There are no roads being built, there are no bridges being built, there are no harbours being built. When it comes to reconstruction, zero."

Reports of aid arriving late, or not at all, have become common in Aceh, the province in northern Sumatra worst hit by the Boxing Day tsunami.
Full:guardian.co.uk