Tsunami aid containers left on wharf

The Government is concerned by about 470 containers of aid for tsunami victims sitting on an Indonesian dock, but says it is not surprised. 

Some of the containers have been sitting at the Sumatran port of Medan for several months. 

About 300 of them have been cleared by Indonesian customs, but have not yet been picked up by their aid agency owners.

Until recently the backlog ran as high as 1500 containers, The Dominion Post reported today.

The containers reportedly held such things as water, rice, clothes, blankets, soap, toys, footballs, gift boxes, fishing equipment, water tanks and vehicles. Several had been on the dock since February.

The New Zealand Government contributed $19 million in tsunami relief directly to major aid agencies among those with containers still sitting on the dock.

The money was a dollar-for-dollar match of private donations to agencies like Red Cross, Unicef and Oxfam.

However Aid Minister Marian Hobbs said today she was not surprised that some aid was moving slowly, when a great deal of infrastructure in the area - one of the worst hit by the tsunami - had been completely destroyed.

"Organising logistics in an area like that is really quite chaotic," she told NZPA.

Ms Hobbs said the tsunami had left the area an "absolute shambles" and if there were problems moving aid containers it was probably better they remained in a central location rather than sitting unused in the countryside where they might get damaged or sold.

She said it was encouraging the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre in Banda Aceh had investigated the problem and the backlog had been massively reduced in recent weeks.

Ms Hobbs said part of the Government's deal with aid agencies was they provided regular reports on the progress of aid.

She said she was unsure how many reports had been made, but would follow this up with government department NZ Aid today.

Ms Hobbs said she had not been aware of the backlog until she was alerted by the media.

Overall New Zealanders donated $94 million for tsunami relief in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nias and India, with $26 million coming from private donations and $68 million in Government pledges.

- NZPA