Oxfam probes tsunami funds theft

LONDON – International aid group Oxfam is investigating the possible theft of tens of thousands of dollars in tsunami funds by its staff or contractors in Indonesia.

The British-based agency said yesterday it has suspended some operations, including house building, while it conducts an inquiry at one of its offices in the northern province of Aceh, the region that bore the brunt of the disaster. The tsunami, which slammed into a dozen Indian Ocean nations on Dec.26 2004, left around 170 000 dead or missing in Aceh and 500 000 homeless.Oxfam has informed the police and Indonesian authorities of its investigation after uncovering apparent discrepancies at its Aceh Besar office.”It’s basic theft.We are not giving any more details as the audit investigation has only just begun, but it’s that rather than anything more complicated,” Oxfam spokesman Brendan Cox said.Oxfam’s overall budget for Aceh is US$30 million while that for Aceh Besar is just over US$5 million.Cox said the sum being investigated could be US$1 000 or tens of thousands.He could not give details about how many people might be involved or which area they worked in.Oxfam’s Aceh Besar office is helping 60 000 people.The agency has put its house-building and livelihood support operations in the district on hold but will continue emergency work such as delivering drinking water and clearing rubbish.It said it expected to resume all work within a few weeks at the most and would do everything in its power to recover any money found to be missing.The tsunami generated a record amount of aid – around US$13 billion – but the enormous inflow of cash to countries like Indonesia with a history of corruption raised fears the money could vanish into the wrong pockets.Aid workers privately say corruption is inevitable in relief and recovery operations, but agencies are usually very reluctant to admit it exists for fear of hurting fund raising.Cox said he did not think donors would be put off.”It’s much better to be open and transparent about it.These are obviously issues that all agencies are dealing with and it’s much better that we are open about them and confront them head on, that we spot them early on and take action early on, rather than try and do any kind of cover up.”- Nampa-ReutersThe tsunami, which slammed into a dozen Indian Ocean nations on Dec.26 2004, left around 170 000 dead or missing in Aceh and 500 000 homeless.Oxfam has informed the police and Indonesian authorities of its investigation after uncovering apparent discrepancies at its Aceh Besar office.”It’s basic theft.We are not giving any more details as the audit investigation has only just begun, but it’s that rather than anything more complicated,” Oxfam spokesman Brendan Cox said.Oxfam’s overall budget for Aceh is US$30 million while that for Aceh Besar is just over US$5 million.Cox said the sum being investigated could be US$1 000 or tens of thousands.He could not give details about how many people might be involved or which area they worked in.Oxfam’s Aceh Besar office is helping 60 000 people.The agency has put its house-building and livelihood support operations in the district on hold but will continue emergency work such as delivering drinking water and clearing rubbish.It said it expected to resume all work within a few weeks at the most and would do everything in its power to recover any money found to be missing.The tsunami generated a record amount of aid – around US$13 billion – but the enormous inflow of cash to countries like Indonesia with a history of corruption raised fears the money could vanish into the wrong pockets.Aid workers privately say corruption is inevitable in relief and recovery operations, but agencies are usually very reluctant to admit it exists for fear of hurting fund raising.Cox said he did not think donors would be put off.”It’s much better to be open and transparent about it.These are obviously issues that all agencies are dealing with and it’s much better that we are open about them and confront them head on, that we spot them early on and take action early on, rather than try and do any kind of cover up.”- Nampa-Reuters