By: Meke Magno Nazaria
Radio Rakambia Conducts Workshop for Young Journalists and Rakambia Staff, with the theme “Sustainability through Environmental Reporting on Reinforcement Transparency in Infrastructure Development in Timor – Leste.” The activity was held at the Chega National Center (CNC) Balide, Dili, Timor-Leste for three (3) days from October 8 to October 10, 2024.
The objective of this workshop is to share information to young journalists and staff of Radio Rakambia through speakers and trainers, to increase their knowledge on Human Right, environmental impact, economy and infrastructure development with transparency in Timor-Leste. And disseminate information to the public through Media Rakambia, by means of digitalization platforms.
Elizaria Febe Gomes, Economist Researcher at NGO La’o Hamutuk. Photo by Marcal Martins
La’o Hamutuk as a speaker for this Workshop made a presentation on the Plan and Priorities of the IX Government, the 2025 Budget Proposal and the source of the Budget, the Strength of the Domestic Economy and Financial Sustainability.
In the presentation, La’o Hamutuk showed basic statistical graphs that one third (1/3) of the people in Timor-Leste live in poverty with four hundred and six percent (46%) in multi-dimensional poverty. Two-thirds (2/3%) of the population lives in rural areas as subsistence farmers, poor sanitation, more than one thousand Timorese children under the age of five (5) die because they can not prevent.
Mrs. Elizaria Febe Gomes, Economist Researcher at NGO La’o Hamutuk, said.“In terms of statistics, often our government speaks out, our people will live in poverty, based on the previous government data, in forty-one percent (41%), but multi-national data shows our poverty in percent Forty-six (46%), based on data from UNDP, two-thirds (2/3) or seventy-five percent (75%) of the population lives with subsistence agriculture. Subsistence agriculture that is subjected only to daily food not to the market, then sanitation conditions are also poor. Malnutrition is also in serious condition, almost 46.40%, based on data from UNDP. More than 1,000 children die from malnutrition, which is thirty times more than those who die from murder.”
In addition, in the presentation of Sra. Febe talked about the General State Budget (OJE) 2025, and showed expenditure data for each sector. The budget for 2025 totals two billion eighteen point US dollars ($2.18), but the money allocated to key sectors such as education, agriculture, health, and water is also less than other sectors, four sectors (4 ) is only 19% of the total budget, the largest allocation is for the Roads and Administration Sector, Electricity Sector.
Mrs. Febe added “The budget plan for the year 2025, which the Government has consulted with the population, all citizens, they have set in their plan as a concern that they must respond to, such as water sanitation, education, agriculture, and health. The priority plan of the IX Government is investment in strategic infrastructure to strengthen the economy and improve the welfare of all citizens, this is their general theme, and they also come with six (6) important programs, first how to firm Democratic Rule of Law, Develop Social Capital and Justice, which includes water, sanitation and education and those that cover the social life of all citizens, improve infrastructure development, stimulate economic development, form duty Governance fight corruption, from this priority we see the 2025 budget classification is divided into five (5), for salaries, goods and services, public transparency, minor capital and development capital.”
“Money according to the promises of politicians, and how this budget is distributed to each sector, we can see in the data shown: for the education sector, nine point two percent (9.2%); health, six point two percent (6.2%); water and sanitation, only one point two percent (1.2%); agriculture, only two point three percent (2.3%); roads, eleven point seven percent (11.7%); administration, nine point eight percent (9.8%); electricity, six point three percent (6.3%); and veterans, six point five percent (6.5%).
The World Bank talks about the subsidies that our Government issues to veterans including the largest expenditure on public administration, this affects key priorities, we can not concert to respond. We know that the key priorities are the Education sector, the health sector, Agriculture, Water and Sanitation. And based on UNDP’s opinion that, in many developing countries, in order to improve social conditions, in education and health, at least fifteen percent (15%) must be allocated to each sector to improve its quality but in reality health received only six point two percent (6.2%) and education received only nine point two percent (9.2%).”Febe said.
Revenue in OJE 2025. 85% comes from petroleum funds, but data shows that, the country’s expenditure more revenue or income that the country receives from petroleum funds, in addition to the country’s debt increased, the economic sector remains almost unchanged since the country Independence.
“Of the $2.2 billion in total budget, almost 85% comes from the oil fund. This country depends heavily on oil funds. According to the World Bank’s perspective, if we rely on this unique resource it is not sustainable, because in comparison the budget is too large for the oil fund, because the systematic sustainable income in our Petroleum Fund Law No . 9/2019 states that the sustainable regulation provides a way for the Government to withdraw money from our petroleum fund.
If we take money from the Petroleum Fund, actually we take only twenty-six percent (26%) almost five hundred million ($500,000,000) but in reality we take more up to forty-two percent (42%) almost one billion ($1 billion) from the oil fund, the rest we take from the remaining balance that last year was not spent, we save again, to calculate again for 2025.
The remaining money last year is six percent (9%) of RAEOA that was used before so we take back, but the money is a reality last year, we took out of the petroleum fund because we put back as OJE 2025. We estimate that almost all of this money comes from the oil fund, others come from loans 1.2%, donor support causes zero point eight percent (0.8%) including the European Union, Australia, UNDP total zero point one (0.1%) ), domesic revenue for our budget is one points Six Percent (1.6%). “Said Mrs. Febe to journalists in the hall of the National Center Chega, Balidi Dili, Timor – Leste. (09/10/2024).
In the Lao Hamutuk presentation said, the balance of petroleum funds began to decline, will be able to run out in the next ten years, this situation will lead Timor to a fiscal cliff , because it is a waste of resources.
Febe said.“Since 2008, the Government has begun to take large sustainable income systematically with a reason, to invest in a sector that can provide social returns, economic returns. Since then, since the years 2009 and 2012 began to rise sharply. Why take it big, because at that time the electricity project had already started.
And in 2012 Government take large sustainable income systematically because it has started the project tasi mane, has withdrawn money there, but our balance of petroleum fund in two thousand twelve (2012) increased, because enough of this in the global market we- the price of oil is good, and our production is also large, but until the year two thousand twenty (2020) began to decline because of Covid-19 and global war, so we can not control the global market. We can see that, in the coming years, it will decrease, at the same time our production in Bay undan also ends in 2020, its value is less.
Our government plans to take high money but the reality is that our balance sheet also continues to decline, but worse faster when they continue to take $2 billion. Our oil fund could run out quickly with another ten years, another ten years we could face a long fiscal condition. This long fiscal debt is a condition when the State has no money, can not cover important issues such as health, water, sanitation including teachers’ salaries, we can not pay and health professionals we can not pay because there are great difficulties in us -his own money or funds.”
World Bank Country Representative of Timor – Leste, Mr. Bernard Harborne. Photo By Marcal Martins
On this occasion, the World Bank Country Representative of Timor – Leste, Mr. Bernard Harborne also gave his presentation on the economy of Timor-Leste, according to the World Bank’s research that, the development of the economy of Timor-Leste is slow.
Bernard stated.“Every six (6) months, the World Bank produces a report on the economy of Timor-Leste but it is going slowly. In 2023 there are two points three percent (2.3%) now there are three percent (3%), we know that the economy can develop but according to our perspective that, the development of the economy of Timor-Leste is going very slowly, when we look back at the development of all ASIAN countries, some have five percent (5%), six percent (6%) ), seven percent (7%), means that the services to be created for development can be provided, but we see Timor-Leste in this context does not reach such a part.”
Bernard added.“The reason why economic development is not going on, is because the budget of the Government is very large, but we do not see how to use it, this is an important issue, we can see, because the government uses the budget that does not follow its way, but we see again the private sector is the most important. Last year, the Government wanted to invest in infrastructure, if we talk about this as a small thing, we see its problem is the execution of the budget. Execution of big money, but its execution is very slow, this is a big problem in our country.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Bernard Harborne also gave a presentation on the agricultural sector, statistics show, in 70% of the population of Timor-Leste lives with agriculture, but the reality of the Government spends more money on other things, not looking at agriculture.
“We still use oil money, that’s why we see transparency of money is strong for this only we do not create again agriculture to move forward, because transparency of money that we get from pensions for the elderly, in Timor we know a lot of pensions, we spend too much on this, we do not use the money to do other things, this is the difficulty, big questions for all of us to avoid this problem, especially for the population in rural areas,” said Bernard.
The challenge of rural development in Timor-Leste is low agricultural productivity, high poverty level, nearly seventy-nine percent (79%). of the rural population, 40% in urban areas, limited road connectivity, difficult access to markets, limited financial services in rural areas in Ninety-five percent (65%) and rural population who have access to drinking water or less than 50% of clean water has access to improved sanitation facilities.
Therefore, the World Bank has recommendations to develop agricultural productivity, rural infrastructure projects, improve services and strengthen rural government.
“First how to develop agricultural productivity. Secondly, we look at infrastructure projects, focusing on rural areas. Third, how to link to ASEAN members and decentralization to accelerate rural development, how to improve the services of strengthening rural government and finally see rural investment and the Government must also see roads and irrigation” Bernard ended.
“This story was produced with support from the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the STRIDES Project.”
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