ACEH LAND PRICES SOAR ON SPECULATION
"In this era of trying to be liberal and democratic, price controls will not be a very popular move," said J. Soedradjad Djiwandono, an Indonesian expert and visiting professor at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore.
"But for the bigger interests of reconstruction.it's in the government's authority to provide some rule that land is sold at a reasonable price," Djiwandono said.
"However, there should be some checks on the authority.so that there is no misuse of power."
As it is, surging land prices have slowed reconstruction efforts.
Some NGOs said they are likely to complete about a tenth of the targeted number of houses to be built this year as the government, which promised to supply NGOs with land for rehabilitation, has not done so, citing a lack of funds.
Unlike Salvation Army, most NGOs said they will not attempt to buy land since the government has promised to do so.
Eddy Purwanto, the Aceh Reconstruction Agency official overseeing the rebuilding of homes and infrastructure, said more time is needed, given the slow allocation of funds and the logistical nightmare of verifying ownership of untitled land.
"It will take some time.but if we can buy the land quickly enough, there won't be exorbitant prices," said Purwanto, adding that any control measures for the price of land should be implemented by the local government.
According to the World Bank, about 300,000 land parcels in Aceh were hit by the tsunami, of which less than 25 percent were titled before the disaster struck.
SIMMERING IMPATIENCE
But many locals are growing impatient and are taking matters into their own hands.
In Lapang, the head of a barrack community is leading 105 families to buy a plot of land from a local businessman. The land, located 3 kilometres from Lapang, is priced at 2.5 million rupiah for 200-square-metres (12,500 rupiah per square metre).
"I don't know when the government is going to give me a house," said barrack head Dahlan, who has staked 1.5 million rupiah of his savings as downpayment for the land purchase. "I can't wait. It is a good spot and I know this is right for me."
Elsewhere in the flattened coastal village of Ujung Karang, where debris from broken houses still line the roads, 37-year-old Eddi Suhadi has put up banners around the neighbourhood to protest against the pace of recovery.
Some banners were blown away by the wind but the four that remain bear caustic messages. One, which hangs before a coffee shop and overlooks a field of rubble, reads: "Welcome to tsunami village. I hope you are satisfied to see the condition of our society."
"It's already ten months after the tsunami. What is the solution for us?" said Suhadi who lost all 14 of his family members in the tsunami. "The people here need shelter, food and clothes but we still don't get it."
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