The World Bank provides up to 1 billion US dollars in loans in the form of loans to the Indonesian government to complement relief and reconstruction efforts in affected areas, such as in Sulawesi and Lombok. Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva, at a joint press conference with Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in Nusa Dua, Bali, Sunday (10/14) said that this assistance was also intended to strengthen long-term resilience. The funding will be available upon request from the Indonesian government. It will be followed by a 5 million dollar grant for technical assistance for detailed planning, to ensure that reconstruction will last well and be implemented on a community-based basis. Kristalina Georgieva said, the World Bank's aid package could include cash transfer funds for the 150,000 families affected by the disaster. for a period of between 6 months to 1 year. Strengthening the existing social protection system is designed to support local economies and jobs during the recovery phase, and to avoid long-term damage to human capital.
"The World Bank is making up to 1 billion Dollars available to Indonesian authorities to use, once they get full understanding, what may be needed and prioritize treaties: one builds resilience for the future, not only in Lombok and Sulawesi but build resilience for the country because disasters will continue to hit and the climate change there would be more worse. 150,000 families that are in the two places, that are most severely impacted and that are most valuable. Last but not least, of course, we would support the direct reconstruction efforts. What we want to see is to build neighborhoods, not houses, not streets but neighborhoods so that strong resilience of the Indonesian communities can be protected and people can go together and value new hopes," Kristalina said.
The proposed US $ 1 billion aid package could also include a new independent emergency recovery program, to finance the rebuilding of public facilities and important infrastructure assets, such as hospitals, schools, bridges, and clean water. Assistance will also strengthen the monitoring system and early warning. (VOI/DP/AHM)