“By JOSE TILMAN, Operations Technician - Bayu Undan Timor Sea”
Timor Leste has proved to the world as one of the new sovereignty nations via long struggle in liberating the country from an illegal occupation. Though politically the country is free but economically Timor Leste still under a new-colonialism of western, made its people remain chained by poverty. As most people expecting in liberation country, people of Timor Leste also have the same right to live in free and peaceful environment so that they can have chances to improve and sustain their quality of life economically through daily business activities to remain survive.
As a new comer nation in this millennium era, certainly Timor Leste encountering enormous challenges ahead as it needs to develop and lead the country to the prosperity life in future. In order to gain prosperity life, first of all, Timor Leste needs to build and improve its infrastructure physically and morally in all sectors such as build a good quality of education and healthcare facilities and systems so that everyone will have same opportunity and have an access to public facilities as mentioned above, particularly for those people living in remote areas of countryside.
The objective of exploitation of oil and gas in Timor Sea should be enabled people of Timor Leste get wealthier by enhanced infrastructure in all sectors physically, cognitively, and morally, which will lead up people to a virtuous cycle of improvements to the standard of living. As Timor Leste gets revenues; millions of US$ in each month from the oil and gas exploitation in Timor Sea special from BAYU UNDAN field, Timor Leste economy should grow-up and improves significantly, human cognitive ability and moral reasoning improves, which would helps markets to grow-up better and makes the process of innovation more productive, leading to greater wealth, more mental and moral development but it is contradictive in Timor Leste. Probably most Timor Leste people knew that exploitation of oil and gas in Timor Sea (BAYU UNDAN field) has been produced nearly 4 years (first production starts February 2004) but it does not give any significant effect or changes in terms of infrastructure improvements throughout the country. The question is, where all the money allocated in each annual fiscal for infrastructure development gone??? Do people of Timor Leste have had ever heard the accountability and responsibility related to financial allocation and used in each annual fiscal for infrastructure development??? Do people of Timor Leste have had ever heard the priority infrastructure development improvements at the end of each annual fiscal from the government??? Or do people of Timor Leste have no right at all to know all about financial used in each annual fiscal by the government???
Exploitation of Oil and Gas from Timor Sea Should Benefit People of Timor Leste
Oil and gas resources derived from the earth should provide the dominant share of energy for people to use for the foreseeable future. Effective and efficient ruled out of these natural assets is critical to sustain Timor Leste economic prosperity and to enable transitions to alternative sources of energy. Successful ruled out depends not only on advances in science, engineering and technology but also on implementation of economic or financial management that relates to management of energy assets and the companies engaged in their extraction.
Speaking of oil and gas revenue management from Timor Sea, again it is enormous challenges for the government of Timor Leste to conduct fair, honest, open and transparency of management of oil and gas revenues so that everyone could oversight of it from time to time, otherwise there will be a gap or chance for some people start to misuse petroleum fund in the government institutions. To prevent such mistreatment of oil and gas revenues Timor Leste needs to develop political legitimacy and transparency of oil and gas revenues expenditures through open budgetary and parliament processes. As part of the open budgetary process, budgetary drafts prepared by parliament, governmental (Council of Ministers), and council of President budgetary offices should be publicly available and discussed openly in the parliamentary before the final vote. Establish budget watching citizen’s non governmental organizations and they should be allowed to participate in such discussions, thus enhancing the development of civil society in Timor Leste. Oil and gas revenues from Timor Sea should be transparently managed, adequately taxed, and protected from government abuse and corruption. To facilitate this process, creating a professionally managed of oil and gas funds should be seriously considered by the people of Timor Leste. Apply such management would protect oil and gas revenues from the long hands of the Timor Leste politicians in the future.
Number of Poverty Increase in Timor Leste while the Government Earned Millions of US$ Each Month from Oil and Gas Revenues in Timor Sea
It is really strange and unfair that even the government of Timor Leste earned millions of US$ in each month from the oil and gas exploitation in Timor Sea, however at the same time number of poverty increasing, people short of food everywhere all over the country. More than 80% of households in Timor Leste earn a living from agriculture, revenues from oil and gas should be effective in reducing poverty only if they are channelled towards rural development and the accompanying in improving education and healthcare systems as well as conduct periodically job training that allow people of Timor Leste to improve their lives independently.
It is also vital for Timor Leste to ensure that oil and gas funds from Timor Sea are managed in a way that benefits all communities in Timor Leste, not only benefits the people sitting in the government institutions such as members of parliament, all ministers, and president offices. Oil and gas revenues from Timor Sea should be used in widening opportunities for the poorest populations in rural areas. The other important matter for the government is to be forward-thinking and to wisely save and invest a portion of this money for future generations and other portion should be used in controlled manners to the development of infrastructure in countryside. Use oil and gas funds in controlled manners means that the fund should be used to create more dynamic rural economy that will enable farmers and rural communities to raise their own standards of living by work their own way to get out of poverty. The other priority program for the government in short time is how to find a way to raise and improve level of education, skills and capacity of the people so that they will have adequate knowledge to contribute to the development of Timor Leste in future. Oil and gas revenues should used effectively to improve construction, re-construction and maintenance for rural roads, schools and health posts and this will automatically encourage transport cooperatives connecting the main production rural areas with major consumer markets in the cities. In this way, number of poverty in Timor Leste will be gradually decreased in five years time, hopefully.
Timor Leste has proved to the world as one of the new sovereignty nations via long struggle in liberating the country from an illegal occupation. Though politically the country is free but economically Timor Leste still under a new-colonialism of western, made its people remain chained by poverty. As most people expecting in liberation country, people of Timor Leste also have the same right to live in free and peaceful environment so that they can have chances to improve and sustain their quality of life economically through daily business activities to remain survive.
As a new comer nation in this millennium era, certainly Timor Leste encountering enormous challenges ahead as it needs to develop and lead the country to the prosperity life in future. In order to gain prosperity life, first of all, Timor Leste needs to build and improve its infrastructure physically and morally in all sectors such as build a good quality of education and healthcare facilities and systems so that everyone will have same opportunity and have an access to public facilities as mentioned above, particularly for those people living in remote areas of countryside.
The objective of exploitation of oil and gas in Timor Sea should be enabled people of Timor Leste get wealthier by enhanced infrastructure in all sectors physically, cognitively, and morally, which will lead up people to a virtuous cycle of improvements to the standard of living. As Timor Leste gets revenues; millions of US$ in each month from the oil and gas exploitation in Timor Sea special from BAYU UNDAN field, Timor Leste economy should grow-up and improves significantly, human cognitive ability and moral reasoning improves, which would helps markets to grow-up better and makes the process of innovation more productive, leading to greater wealth, more mental and moral development but it is contradictive in Timor Leste. Probably most Timor Leste people knew that exploitation of oil and gas in Timor Sea (BAYU UNDAN field) has been produced nearly 4 years (first production starts February 2004) but it does not give any significant effect or changes in terms of infrastructure improvements throughout the country. The question is, where all the money allocated in each annual fiscal for infrastructure development gone??? Do people of Timor Leste have had ever heard the accountability and responsibility related to financial allocation and used in each annual fiscal for infrastructure development??? Do people of Timor Leste have had ever heard the priority infrastructure development improvements at the end of each annual fiscal from the government??? Or do people of Timor Leste have no right at all to know all about financial used in each annual fiscal by the government???
Exploitation of Oil and Gas from Timor Sea Should Benefit People of Timor Leste
Oil and gas resources derived from the earth should provide the dominant share of energy for people to use for the foreseeable future. Effective and efficient ruled out of these natural assets is critical to sustain Timor Leste economic prosperity and to enable transitions to alternative sources of energy. Successful ruled out depends not only on advances in science, engineering and technology but also on implementation of economic or financial management that relates to management of energy assets and the companies engaged in their extraction.
Speaking of oil and gas revenue management from Timor Sea, again it is enormous challenges for the government of Timor Leste to conduct fair, honest, open and transparency of management of oil and gas revenues so that everyone could oversight of it from time to time, otherwise there will be a gap or chance for some people start to misuse petroleum fund in the government institutions. To prevent such mistreatment of oil and gas revenues Timor Leste needs to develop political legitimacy and transparency of oil and gas revenues expenditures through open budgetary and parliament processes. As part of the open budgetary process, budgetary drafts prepared by parliament, governmental (Council of Ministers), and council of President budgetary offices should be publicly available and discussed openly in the parliamentary before the final vote. Establish budget watching citizen’s non governmental organizations and they should be allowed to participate in such discussions, thus enhancing the development of civil society in Timor Leste. Oil and gas revenues from Timor Sea should be transparently managed, adequately taxed, and protected from government abuse and corruption. To facilitate this process, creating a professionally managed of oil and gas funds should be seriously considered by the people of Timor Leste. Apply such management would protect oil and gas revenues from the long hands of the Timor Leste politicians in the future.
Number of Poverty Increase in Timor Leste while the Government Earned Millions of US$ Each Month from Oil and Gas Revenues in Timor Sea
It is really strange and unfair that even the government of Timor Leste earned millions of US$ in each month from the oil and gas exploitation in Timor Sea, however at the same time number of poverty increasing, people short of food everywhere all over the country. More than 80% of households in Timor Leste earn a living from agriculture, revenues from oil and gas should be effective in reducing poverty only if they are channelled towards rural development and the accompanying in improving education and healthcare systems as well as conduct periodically job training that allow people of Timor Leste to improve their lives independently.
It is also vital for Timor Leste to ensure that oil and gas funds from Timor Sea are managed in a way that benefits all communities in Timor Leste, not only benefits the people sitting in the government institutions such as members of parliament, all ministers, and president offices. Oil and gas revenues from Timor Sea should be used in widening opportunities for the poorest populations in rural areas. The other important matter for the government is to be forward-thinking and to wisely save and invest a portion of this money for future generations and other portion should be used in controlled manners to the development of infrastructure in countryside. Use oil and gas funds in controlled manners means that the fund should be used to create more dynamic rural economy that will enable farmers and rural communities to raise their own standards of living by work their own way to get out of poverty. The other priority program for the government in short time is how to find a way to raise and improve level of education, skills and capacity of the people so that they will have adequate knowledge to contribute to the development of Timor Leste in future. Oil and gas revenues should used effectively to improve construction, re-construction and maintenance for rural roads, schools and health posts and this will automatically encourage transport cooperatives connecting the main production rural areas with major consumer markets in the cities. In this way, number of poverty in Timor Leste will be gradually decreased in five years time, hopefully.
This is exactly true what was the previous government had done. I can also point out one fact here is that in the end of 2003 and 2004 annual budget period, the previous government with "proudly announced" that they had saved some money from previous annual budget, to show off to the international economic expertise that they had done "a very good job" in saving money. But ironically unemployment increased sharply and people in remote villages died because of starvation.
ResponderEliminarBut Mr Alkatiri responded to these with arrogantly saying "…because those people are lazy to work….”.
This is bloody leader!!!
Primo Jose Tilman ne´e kala foin mak aprende atu hakerek artigos iha Ingles karik. Diak liu karik buka hakerek Ingles nebe diak oituan. Labuat ida forum ita nian deit. Hau sugere atu primo bele hakerek iha tetum. Hau ema Ingles maibe hau buka atu hakerek iha Tetum nebe diak.
ResponderEliminarHau concorda ho primo nia opinion. Ita nia riku soin tenki muda mos buat diak ruma ba povo timor nia moris. Ita hein...
Dear Maun Haksesuk
ResponderEliminarHa'u hanoin Governu AMP hahu dadaun ona uza osan husi Tasi Timor ba Povu ninia diak. Maibe buat hotu la perfeitu nune'e duni bele simu Maun Jose ninia artigu ne maske mukit ba matenek lian ingles be la kompriende sa maka maun nia hakarak.
Atu dehan deit katak se bele ita lalika dun sala ba ida ne ga neba tan ba se lae haksesuk malu bele sai forum futu malu.
Obrigado