WB warns of East Timor corruption<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse
\nDili<\/p>\n
East Timor has only a brief window to tackle corruption and
\nmismanagement before they become entrenched, a World Bank
\nofficial warned on Tuesday as foreign donors met to consider the
\ngovernment's funding needs.<\/p>\n
Jemal-ud-din Kassum, the bank's vice-president for East Asia
\nand the Pacific, said the young country was making significant
\nprogress in enacting legislation to complete its institutions.<\/p>\n
But laws must be transformed into adequately-resourced, well-
\nfunctioning institutions that can provide the \"checks and
\nbalances\" called for in the country's constitution, he said.<\/p>\n
East Timor was Asia's poorest nation at its independence two
\nyears ago on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"Timor Leste is at a critical juncture now,\" he said in a
\nspeech to open the two-day meeting of about 300 delegates from
\nmore than 30 donor nations and agencies.<\/p>\n
\"Timor Leste also has a brief window of opportunity to address
\nemerging problems of corruption and mismanagement before they
\nbecome entrenched,\" Kassum said.<\/p>\n
Kamalesh Sharma, who heads the United Nations Mission of
\nSupport in East Timor (UNMISET), told the meeting that East Timor
\n\"already has an exceptional record\" for good governance.<\/p>\n
Among the steps which bode well for the country's democratic
\ndevelopment, Sharma cited a law establishing the Office of the
\nProvedor, an independent agency handling complaints about abuse
\nof power.<\/p>\n
But Sharma noted that a significant proportion of East Timor's
\npeople have limited access to clean water, inadequate health
\nfacilities, low school enrollment and other problems.<\/p>\n
\"Daunting challenges lie ahead for the country and the
\npeople,\" Sharma said.<\/p>\n
Kassum cited a number of positive developments since the
\ndonors last met in December, when East Timor faced a projected
\ndeficit of US$126 million over four years.<\/p>\n
The projected financing gap has dropped to about $30 million
\nthanks to an expected increase in oil and gas revenues as well as
\ngovernment efforts such as improved tax administration, the World
\nBank said.<\/p>\n
However, Kassum warned that oil and gas revenues are subject
\nto tremendous uncertainties.<\/p>\n
\"And we all know that the possible volatility in revenues
\ncaused by these uncertainties could be very risky for a small new
\nnation like Timor Leste,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Australia, Portugal, Japan, the European Union and the United
\nStates are East Timor's main donors. They and others are this
\nyear providing about 30 million to support East Timor's budget.<\/p>\n
The government is seeking another $30 million annually until
\nJune, 2007.<\/p>\n
Production started in February at the offshore Bayu-Undan gas
\nfield which is expected to earn the impoverished nation more than
\n$100 million a year for 20 years.<\/p>\n
East Timor claims it is losing a million dollars a day in
\nadditional revenue because of what it calls Australia's illegal
\nexploitation of resources in a disputed area of another field,
\nGreater Sunrise.<\/p>\n
Talks between the two sides in April ended without any
\napparent agreement.<\/p>\n
East Timor became independent on May 20, 2002, after a period
\nof United Nations stewardship following Indonesia's bloody
\ndeparture from the territory it invaded in 1975.<\/p>\n
The UN says at least 1,400 people were murdered during the
\n1999 violence surrounding East Timor's vote for freedom.<\/p>\n
A small UN advisory mission remains in East Timor.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wb-warns-of-east-timor-corruption-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }