‘The enemy of reconstruction is always corruption’

MANILA, Philippines - The man behind the rehabilitation of tsunami-devastated Aceh province in Indonesia believes corruption will undermine any reconstruction effort.

In an interview with The STAR, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said the enemy of reconstruction is always corruption.

“The reconstruction budget for Indonesia was $7.2 billion, and those sending donations from abroad are very sensitive when it comes to corruption,” he said.

“So I always tell my staff and all those organizations related to reconstruction of Aceh, we have to put strong protection so there is no corruption in the reconstruction,” he said.

Mangkusubroto said the Indonesian government and those involved in Aceh’s reconstruction were cautious because any report about corruption could stop the flow of funds from abroad.

“Nobody wants to donate funds that happen in corruption cases, so this is something that’s really on top of the agenda when we did our reconstruction in Aceh,” he said, adding that they formed an anti-corruption unit in the organization and everybody signed an integrity pact.

Mangkusubroto said he could not make recommendations for the rehabilitation of areas devastated by Typhoon Yolanda as the Philippines would have to decide what is best.

“I’m not trying to impose our identity in Aceh as the best. The most important is to explain very openly what I did in Aceh, that in four years time we built so many houses and bridges. The approach that’s suitable for Tacloban and other areas is for them to decide,” he said.

Mangkusubroto said the setting in the Visayas is also different from that of Aceh – both the society and the environment are different.

“That means that approach that’s effective in Aceh may or may not be effective here,” he said. “The most important is they know what I did in Aceh.”

As ministerial head of the national Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, Mangkusubroto led the reconstruction effort with funds amounting to $7.2 billion, 70 percent of which came from foreign assistance.

The outcome of the reconstruction has since become an international role model for post-disaster reconstruction and recovery.

Mangkusubroto, now head of the Indonesian President’s Delivery Unit for Development Monitoring and Oversight, said his sharing of experience and lessons learned from post-tsunami rehabilitation is not to impose the identity of Aceh but to present the similarities and dissimilarities with regard to the disaster and how Aceh was reconstructed in the years after the tragedy.

He wants to help survivors of Yolanda get back on their feet, he added.

Mangkusubroto’s trip to the Philippines offered a chance to share lessons learned on how to rebuild effectively and shape a clear strategy in post-disaster situations after large-scale destruction.

He provided the Philippines with insights into managing large-scale recovery programs for the reconstruction of Yolanda-ravaged provinces.

Mangkusubroto was also invited to share his experience in the reconstruction of Aceh in Haiti, Japan and Myanmar.

He visited Tacloban City and met with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Socio-economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson, and Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista.

The United Nations Development Program organized the exchange at the request of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.