Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta/Medan – A non-government group claims many of the houses built for tsunami victims on Nias island in North Sumatra have been illegally sold, leaving disaster survivors without shelter.
The Advocacy and Policy Study Center conducted a two-month survey in Nias, and says it found evidence village heads on the island were selling houses meant for survivors of the December 2004 tsunami to their own relatives.
Center executive director Efendi Panjaitan said Tuesday the illegal practice had been going on since last year.
He said houses built by the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) for tsunami survivors were being sold by village heads for between Rp 2-3 million.
"Based on our findings, around 40 housing units in South Nias regency have been sold by village chiefs for around Rp 2 million to Rp 3 million each. This is very cheap since the standard construction cost of a permanent house built by the BRR ranges from Rp 40 million to Rp 58 million," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said incidents of houses being illegally sold had occurred in Teluk Dalam and Lahomi districts, allegedly involving at least 20 village heads. "These village chiefs have not been arrested even though we and the BRR have reported the matter to the police," Efendi said.
When contacted, the head of the BRR office in Nias, William P. Sabandar, confirmed the agency was aware of the illegal practice.
"All we can do is hope the police take immediate action against them (village chiefs). We at the BRR find it difficult to deal with this matter since there will resistance from them (village chiefs)," William said.
He said the practice had prompted the agency to postpone plans to build more houses for tsunami survivors, fearing the houses would simply be put up for sale once they were completed.
"The houses are built for tsunami victims and they are supposed to be free because the construction is funded by the government. So if the houses are being sold it's wrong and those responsible should be arrested," William said.
So far, the agency has constructed 2,700 houses for tsunami victims in South Nias and Nias regencies.
"The number of houses already built might not be that great, but we hope to complete the construction of 6,000 houses by next year," William said.
The agency plans to construct a total of 15,000 houses by 2008.
William said the construction of houses for tsunami victims in Nias was being slowed by several factors, including the rising prices of building materials as a result of hoarding by people hoping to make a profit.
He said in the past two weeks, the prices of many building materials had nearly doubled.
"We encourage the police to do something about this so we can speed up construction on Nias."