Development in E. Timor bears fruit for few people
Development in E. Timor bears fruit for few people
JAKARTA (JP): East Timor has seen significant progress since it integrated with Indonesia in 1976, but only a few people enjoy the fruit of its development, according to an author.
"Sixty seven percent, or 503,000, of the East Timorese people spend between Rp 10,000 and Rp 30,000 a month," Joao Mariano De Sousa Saldanha, author of The Political Economy of Development in East Timor, said Saturday.
He made the remarks during a discussion of his book held by the Association of Indonesian Catholic Students (PMKRI). The discourse proceeded under the watchful eyes of security officers.
Mariano said that although East Timor grows by about six percent to seven percent annually, jobs are still few and far between.
"In 1991 out of some 8,000 seeking employment in East Timor, only 500 got jobs," he said.
Development in East Timor has been heavily dependent on the central government. This fact is made quite clear in the regional budget, of which 90 percent comes from Jakarta, he said.
Things could have been better had the original assets of East Timor been used properly, according to Mariano.
East Timor's administration had local bank deposits amounting to 226 million escondos (US$8 million) when the former Portuguese colony integrated with Indonesia in 1976.
"It is not clear where the money has gone," Mariano said.
He said the income per capita of the East Timorese is between Rp 200,000 (US$90) and Rp 300,000 (US$136), far below the national income per capita of about US$650.
In 1974, when East Timor was still under the Portuguese government, the income per capita of the East Timorese was only US$40.
Sharing Mariano's view, J. Kristiadi from Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Clementino Dos Reis Amaral, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, observed that the majority of people in East Timor still live in poverty, in spite of any progress or development.
They blamed the central government for concentrating on development of infrastructure and neglecting the development of the human resources.
The government was also criticized for excluding local people in development planning.
"Development planning was designed by the central government without any regional consultation. This is not acceptable by the people," Amaral, who is also a former member of the House of Representatives (DPR).
Two-way communication should be exercised to improve the conditions, he said.
Amaral also called on the central government to only send qualified officials to hold posts in the provincial offices (Kanwil).
Officials from outside East Timor sent to the province should respect local public officials and the bishop, who are greatly respected by local people, Amaral said.
He said the great mistake made by those officials was their neglect of these figures, who should have been involved in the development of the predominantly Catholic territory.
Amaral noted that many people have gone unaffected by any development programs and still feel insecure due to separatist activity in the province.
Kristiadi suggested that East Timor be given greater autonomy and that the governor have greater power to manage the province, including the authority to design development programs.
"Thus, the programs will be in accordance with the actual demands of the region," he said.
Amaral, however, said that President Soeharto had made it clear that East Timor would be treated like the other 26 provinces, meaning that it would not be given greater autonomy. (sim)