DILI – Timor - Leste is still categorized as one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. Therefore, former prime minister Xanana Gusmão promised that he would prioritize economic development in his country.

“We don’t think like impartially what we can assure that the Alliance Change to Progress (AMP) has the perception that in this five years we will do our best to improve the economic situation in Timor – Leste,” he said in an interview with Tempo Timor a few weeks ago. 

“Looking at the process we came that we are now in a process of consolidating the state that even the deadlock it’s a consolidation of the state that’s why for us besides some reform that we accepted we have to do the economy is the first priority to start in this five years,” he said.

Xanana also has no political ambition to become prime minister when winning this early election but what Xanana wants is to complete the political deadlock that has happened so far.

“I believe that this is not the problem people wants to change this political deadlock and then we will do our best, we will presented our program, we will do our best win or not win we will do our best as a group of parties that we want to deliver as much we can to the people”.

Regarding Ramos Horta's criticism last week that the Xanana government for ten years has failed to eradicate poverty and malnutrition, Xanana said that Horta’s analysis was very correct and that is what he said in the United Nations that the problem is how they consider the poverty, how they consider the malnutrition this is the problem. “In the UN, in front of the president of the General Assembly and the Secretary General I said that UN have must correct the way they look at the other developed countries because we always complain the fact that they put in same basket”.

Gusmão added, if he is as a Timorese which involved in politic in Timor – Leste, he would recommend to him, to Mr. Horta not to talk like that because he knows better than him that to be a prime minister he has to . . . at least to have a party.

And I remembered that he wanted to lead Associação Social-Democrata Timorense ASDT, Timorese Social Democratic Association is a political party a few years ago and it ended in violence and the police had to take him back to Dili. It was in Aileu district, that’s why . . .

“If he wanted to do something for the country better to think that not to be president of republic but to be prime minister. To be prime minister I believe the first thing is usually we say must have a political party. Second, condition would be a party that believes that he could do something”.

"Personally, I am not have any political ambition because I’m involve in a party and we are there we involve in an alliance, in a three electoral coalition. It is not ambition, it is like a wish, a willing to do something to correct". 

"Firstly, to correct the political deadlock because we are a new country, a democratic country we have to follow the rules of the constitution and the constitution says that only a majority government can guarantee the governmental stability or the stability in the government. That’s why we all involved in a coalition to make sure that after this election things can go in the right way" 

After a decade of strong economic activity, growth in Timor-Leste is expected to have fallen sharply in 2017, following a tightening of public spending, according to a new World Bank report.

The March 2018 Timor-Leste Economic Report also identifies potential for development in offshore petroleum, and the tourism and coffee sectors.

The report—the first in a new twice-yearly series from the World Bank, which aims to provide ongoing analysis of the country’s economy—projects that Timor-Leste’s GDP fell to -1.8 percent in 2017, compared to 5.3 percent the year before. With government expenditure representing about 75 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, a tightening in government spending 2017 has had a significant impact on the country’s economy. Constrained spending is likely to continue through the first half of 2018, the report adds.

“We expect this slowdown to be temporary, reflecting short-term adjustments in spending while the government continues to implement programs to strengthen the economic outlook.” said David Knight, Senior Country Economist for Timor-Leste. “While it is important for the country to gradually reduce its dependence on public spending, it is also important that lower public spending does not adversely impact priority social services.”

The report also highlights that investment returns from the Petroleum Fund have been particularly high, increasing the fund’s balance to US$16.8 billion at end 2017.  International air arrivals continued to grow over 2017, suggesting that the international visitor market has held up, while private consumption is expected to have been robust. The recently agreement on a maritime boundary brings new offshore oil and gas development one step closer, which has the potential to bring significant benefits to Timor-Leste. (Oki)