Jakarta (ANTARA) – Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian urged the governments of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) regions affected by August’s earthquake to maximize Rp200 billion (around US$11.3 million) in contingency funds approved by President Prabowo Subianto.
He said the president mobilized the emergency budget allocation to enable regional governments to accelerate disaster response and recovery efforts. The NTT provincial government was allocated Rp40 billion, while Rp20 billion each went to eight district administrations.
Karnavian noted the relatively slow pace of fund realization in quake-hit regions during a disaster mitigation meeting chaired by Prabowo on Monday (Sept. 7), according to a statement cited here Tuesday.
“We have issued a circular and guidelines on how to quickly use the funds,” he remarked virtually, stressing that regional governments may utilize the funds through direct procurement during the emergency.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, he continued, has deployed a team to assist NTT administrations in optimizing the contingency funds to extend aid to residents in areas difficult to reach by central authorities.
Regarding recovery, the minister reported that essential infrastructure in NTT had been generally restored, including telecommunication networks, roads, bridges, airports, and ports, as repairs continue in several locations.
Bearing that in mind, Karnavian underscored the need to capitalize on improving mobility and connectivity to intensify supply distribution to evacuees while accelerating assessments of damaged houses and public facilities.
He added that the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) would assist housing restoration in coordination with the Meteorological, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to ensure safety.
Additionally, he noted that his ministry had reissued 11,000 civil registration documents for affected citizens.
The minister also said he had coordinated with relevant institutions to reproduce agrarian certificates and vehicle documents damaged or lost due to the earthquake.
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Translator: Fianda S, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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