Rehabilitating East Timor: The daunting task ahead

By T.M. Callahan

JAKARTA (JP): Responding to the suggestion that East Timor is not viable without Indonesia, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta recently remarked: "One does not have to be an Einstein to do slightly better than those incompetent, lazy, corrupt bastards who managed our country for 23 years. Sometimes I find it laughable that the Indonesian (authorities) keep telling us East Timor cannot manage itself without Indonesia." (Asiaweek, Sept. 24) Harsh words for sure, but Ramos-Horta's rebuke is perhaps understandable if viewed from the perspective of his long struggle for independence and his outrage at the devastation that rocked his homeland after the Aug. 30 referendum for independence.

In a somewhat less spirited response in Washington D.C. last month, Ramos-Horta insisted that an independent East Timor had tremendous potential and was economically viable. Citing oil and gas reserves in the Timor Gap, mineral wealth, tourism potential and agriculture, he said that East Timor could be self- sufficient.

On the concern that the territory's small size and population were major handicaps, Ramos-Horta rejected the assumption and said the example of Singapore's success proved that the quality of a nation's people were the key to national viability. While acknowledging that East Timor was unlikely to become another Switzerland, he said the new nation should be able to feed itself within five to 10 years.

Many anxious observers no doubt hope that Ramos-Horta is right. Nevertheless, the basic premise that East Timor cannot manage itself, at least for the time being, is not wrong. At this point, there is not much left to work with in the territory. However, even if East Timor had not been devastated after its citizens opted to separate from Indonesia, its leaders would have been ill-equipped to contend with the daunting challenges associated with building a nation.

Indeed, the shortlist of things to do is enough to turn any head of state gray. During the transition to independence, East Timor must elect leaders, establish government institutions, build a functioning civil service, form a judiciary, develop a plan for the provision of education and health care services, and assess its immediate and long-term infrastructure needs.

On the economic side, the priorities include tasks such as forming a central and commercial banking system, solving currency-related issues, establishing and complying with budgets, and choosing a language suitable for commerce and administration. Importantly, to help feed its people East Timor must revive its agriculture sector in a hurry.

The job ahead will be made more difficult by the scarcity of technical and administrative expertise in East Timor. Currently there are precious few home-grown professional managers and holders of advanced academic qualifications in the territory. In general this situation exists because daily governance of East Timor was in the hands of nonindigenous transplants since Jakarta took over in 1975.

Anyone who has ever visited the territory can testify to this fact. The result is that every public institution, from schools and hospitals to the civil service, was dominated by outsiders. If Ramos-Horta's promise of a viable nation is to be realized, East Timor must remedy this problem.

This means that East Timor's leaders must make wise use of foreign assistance and expertise during a United Nations administration period of two to three years before the hand over to a fully-independent government. Fortunately for East Timor, the UN agencies, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the donor community at large appear eager to provide this aid.

A Joint Assessment Mission of major donors is scheduled to be in East Timor from Oct. 26 to Nov. 9 to assess the situation on the ground so that a coordinated approach to reconstruction and development aid can be devised. Coordinated by the UN Mission in East Timor and the World Bank, the assessment mission will produce a report that outlines how funding and resources should be mobilized to address these needs.

After the mission's technical experts complete their fieldwork, more information will be available on the shape of future development programs.

In the meantime, most of the large donor organizations are committed to helping East Timor address critical humanitarian needs. The priorities now are to rehabilitate basic infrastructure, help people return to their homes and make sure the violence that erupted after the independence ballot does not reoccur.

For example, working closely with the UN and World Bank, the ADB will focus on the provision of basic services such as public administration, health care, education, power supply and water. The ADB will also participate in the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure, although specific project commitments are still under discussion. According to an ADB programs officer in Manila, another priority will be to aid East Timorese refugees, many of whom are still living in camps across the boarder in Indonesian- held West Timor.

Looking beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis, other organizations are already developing programs that will impact East Timor's medium and long-term prospects. For example, in a recent interview, a key United Nations Development Program (UNDP) official with East Timor responsibility, Victor Angelo, said that special emphasis would be put on developing the necessary skills and competencies in the East Timorese to run the country after the UN leaves. The UNDP's Jakarta office shared four interesting examples of projects focused on cultivating new skills.

In one example, the UNDP plans to offer short-term vocational training to interested East Timorese who have been evacuated to Australia. Training will be focused on the building and construction sector, transport maintenance and food processing.

A second project aims to provide on-the-job training to unskilled and semiskilled workers who will be employed in reconstruction activities. Considering the extent of the destruction in cities like Dili, trained bricklayers, carpenters, electricians and mechanics are bound to be in high demand in the years to come. A third project seeks to reopen a polytechnic in Dili that was attacked and looted after the August referendum. After the polytechnic is reestablished, the UNDP intends to make it a center for vocational and training activities.

Finally, in a move sure to draw applause from many in the media, the UNDP and International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) plan to work together to provide media training in East Timor.

The overriding objective will be to reestablish the print, radio and television media so that there is a way to broadcast news to the masses.

The years ahead will be difficult for East Timor. During the transition to full independence, its challenge will be to heal the sorrows of yesterday and lay the foundation for a brighter tomorrow. To build a new nation, it will have to struggle to overcome limiting factors such as size, poverty and a severe shortage of locally available experts. Success will also hinge on how well East Timor makes use of foreign experts and development dollars. Only then will we see if Ramos-Horta's promise of national viability is real.

The writer is a business consultant in Jakarta.