VZCZCXRO5624
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0701/01 1100932
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 200932Z APR 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2160
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS COLL
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0953
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3628
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3480
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 2105
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000701 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS, INR/EAP 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID 
USAID FOR ANE/EAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI ID
SUBJECT: SBY TAKES STOCK: ACEH RECONSTRUCTION AGENCY (BRR) ENDS 
OPERATIONS 
 
JAKARTA 00000701  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary. The Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and 
Reconstruction Agency (BRR), created in the wake of the 2004 Indian 
Ocean Tsunami, formally ended its 4-year mandate in a ceremony held 
in Banda Aceh on April 15. Over the course of its existence BRR 
built or rebuilt nearly 140,000 homes, 3,700 kilometers of road, and 
some 1,700 schools. The closure represents the end of formal 
Jakarta-directed reconstruction work, although budget allocations of 
remaining reconstruction money to the Aceh provincial government and 
ministries in Jakarta will ensure that work on unfinished projects 
continues. BRR was a new way of doing business for the GOI and 
represented a strong commitment by the Yudhoyno administration to 
efficiency and results. The Government is considering using elements 
of the model in addressing other pressing development priorities. 
End Summary. 
 
 
 
Most of the Job Done and Done Well 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) BRR's closing was marked with a series of events in Aceh and 
Jakarta during the week of April 13. A small flag-lowering ceremony 
attended by the Director of the USAID Aceh Reconstruction and 
Rehabilitation Office was held at the BRR Office on Wednesday, April 
15 in Banda Aceh. The ceremony in Aceh preceded official events in 
Jakarta which included donors, the national government, and Aceh 
Governor Irwandi Yusuf. Overall impressions of BRR's work within 
Aceh remain positive, while criticisms over certain shortcomings are 
confined to irregularities and deficiencies that are well within the 
range expected given the massive reconstruction effort. 
 
¶3.  (U) BRR reports that it allocated $6.7 billion dollars of the 
$7.2 billion pledged by individuals and governments after the 2004 
Indian Ocean Tsunami that killed over 130,000 Acehnese. BRR data 
also shows that construction during the past four years included 
over 140,000 houses, 3,700 kilometers of roads, 1,700 schools 1,100 
medical facilities, 1000 governmental buildings, 363 bridges, 23 
seaports, and 13 airports and airstrips. BRR also rehabilitated 
101,000 hectares of farmland. Beyond reconstruction and 
rehabilitation BRR assisted 195,000 small and medium-sized 
enterprises and trained 155,000 workers and nearly 44,000 teachers 
throughout Aceh. 
 
Unfinished Business 
------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Despite the scale of the reconstruction efforts already 
completed, there remain a number of outstanding projects as of the 
official closing of BRR. During an April 16 interview BRR Head 
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto listed housing complexes for tsunami victims 
in several locations and bridges still under construction in Aceh 
Jaya and Aceh Tamiang districts. Kuntoro estimated the total funds 
being transferred to provincial and district administrations for 
completion of the projects at 3.3 trillion Rupiah. (Over $308 
million at current exchange rates) Questions regarding the ability 
of the local government to administer the remaining relief funds 
have already been raised. Governor Irwandi rejects the notion that 
the provincial government is not up to the task of administering the 
funds. He also announced on April 15 to media that the Aceh 
Provincial Government will use a special 2009 budget of 1.3 trillion 
Rupiah (over $120 million) to finish any projects the BRR did not 
complete. 
 
SBY Pleased with BRR Performance 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) On April 17, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono 
hosted a closure ceremony at the Palace to recognize the 
achievements of BRR and to bask in the afterglow of the same.  The 
ceremony was attended by the Vice President, the Governors of Aceh 
and North Sumatra as well as other GOI figures, representatives from 
NGOs, and the donor community. BRR head Kuntoro used the occasion to 
preview a presentation he will be giving at the United Nations in 
New York later this month.  He and the GOI are casting their 
presentation as a statement of "emergency best practices" which have 
relevance for the rest of the world. They showed a slick video and 
distributed eye-catching materials capturing the impressive physical 
 
JAKARTA 00000701  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
accomplishments of the response. 
 
The President on Lessons Learned 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The President outlined 11 lessons he had learned from the BRR 
experience. Most of them sounded like a primer in "Management 101" 
but they also reflected a break with many of the traditional 
approaches which characterize the business of government in 
Indonesia. He believes that the model of the BRR was clearly a 
different way of doing business. In brief, his lessons were divided 
between the "Emergency Phase" of the response (do first things 
first, focus on those things that had the most life saving 
potential, practice crisis action management, welcome all 
assistance, coordinate the response) and the "Recovery Phase" (set 
clear goals and have a simple, workable master plan that is time- 
and resource-bound, use and empower good organizations, keep 
operations clean, get strong leadership).  He then added a last 
lesson - given Indonesia's disaster profile, the risks of climate 
change, etc. - Indonesia must put in place an attitude of constant 
"national disaster readiness." 
 
Linking the Tsunami with Peace 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (U) The President repeatedly drew attention to the linkages 
between the disaster response and the peace process in Aceh.  Both 
were key missions for his administration.  When discussing his 
lesson of accepting all humanitarian assistance, he talked frankly 
about concerns within the GOI about the presence of outsiders in 
Aceh.  He recognized the contributions of his Vice President in 
realizing the 2005 Helsinki MoU and peace agreement. As contributing 
factors he listed the humanitarian activities of the TNI, support 
from across the political spectrum for a negotiated solution, the 
desire of the people, and international support. Regarding 
international support, he added the clarification that it was 
support which worked with Indonesian "ownership." Finally, he noted 
that the commitment of top leadership to the process and willingness 
to take risks were critical success factors. 
 
Where to go from Here 
--------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment. The President and his colleagues were clearly 
basking in the glow of this success. When the BRR was established 
there were many naysayers who predicted that the GOI would not be 
capable of managing a disaster response of this magnitude in a 
timely, effective and "clean" way. The GOI demonstrated that, with 
the right kind of management and incentives, they were up to the 
job. The success of the effort certainly ruffled other elements of 
the GOI. Nonetheless, that it was a model that delivered results has 
not been lost to a broader audience. During his comments, for 
example, the President referred to the interest of the Governor of 
Papua in adopting aspects of the BRR model for his province. On the 
margins of the reception insiders were speculating about Kuntoro's 
future in a new cabinet or within the United Nations. 
 
HUME