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Some Facts About East Timor

Timor-Leste (TL) has been rated by the United Nations as the poorest nation on earth with a per capita income of less than $US 1.50 per day.

• 44% of the population live below the poverty line and over 46% of households have no potable water.

• Population growth is the highest in the world, with women of reproductive age having 7.8 births and with society expecting women to have at least four children per family.
• Women have very limited access to reproductive advice on family planning or spacing of children.
• Despite high levels of breast feeding, the majority of children (and their mothers) are malnourished, with one report showing that over 60% of families interviewed in 2003 had no food in their house for at least one day in the previous fortnight .
• 50-60% of school children are malnourished. This leads to children becoming stunted, which in turn limits their cognitive development. These effects cannot be overcome if they occur during the first three years of childhood. Malnutrition is worst in the rural west of the country.
• Women's work in the family is far harder than men's, leading to chronic exhaustion and malnutrition (since women eat less than men and share their food with their children). 88% of women have unpaid work on family gardens andfarms.
• Illiteracy rates are extremely high; this is complicated by the use of Portuguese (the national language), Indonesian, Tetum, numerous local dialects and English. Only the older ruling elite is able to speak Portuguese. In total there are about 34 languages in ET: 20% of the population speak Portuguese, 35% Indonesian and more than 50% Tetum. Given the high levels of illiteracy, Timorese gather their news via radio (at least where electricity exists - but this is generally not available in rural areas).
• The TL Government’s stated aims are to reduce poverty, increase the overall health of the population and raise incomes by concentrating on improving education and health services and encouraging measured growth in the market economy in accordance with the approved National Development Plan [NDP] and developing Sector Investment Plans [SIPs] (eg. a plan for the Agriculture Sector). Government is endeavouring to bring the work of foreign investors, NGOs and Friendship Groups into alignment with these plans to ensure a co-ordinated approach that also will be in accordance with their emerging investment laws.
• Development is being hindered by the lack of foreign investment laws and more importantly by the lack of a trained and experienced judiciary (the latter being given high levels of attention since the Government wants a system of commercial licences to operate subject to new laws which will need court interpretation for the settlement of disputes). Recently the Government rejected several offers by overseas companies to develop TL resources because of the lack of investment laws and an inexperienced judiciary.
• Total Government expenditure for 2005/6 will be US$122m funded by import charges and local taxes, grants from donor countries and an advance from the newly formed Oil Development Fund which will be in place from 1 July with an estimated royalty flow over the next 20 years of $4.1b (dependent on oil prices).
• The Fund is based on the Norwegian model with funds withdrawn only with approval of the TL Parliament which must ensure that the Fund re-calculates the Estimated Sustainable Income before each withdrawal.
• The aim of the Fund is to ensure that interest income from the oil royalties grows at a faster pace than any withdrawals, so that when oil royalties cease the fund will still be earning interest which can continue to fund economic development.
• There is great concern that the TL Government could fall into the &ldquoResource Curse” of many resource-rich countries eg. Nigeria and PNG where vital funds are misused or kept by the ruling elite.
• The formerTL Prime Minister, Mari Alkitiri, made much of the current capacity constraints facing the country. He emphasised the need to wisely spend income from the Petroleum Fund in improving education, health and infrastructure and not on not spend on food imports or short term government expenditure. He also emphasised that capacity building is a 10-15 year programme,although the Government is seeking to increase revenues by exploring for oil/gas in their own territory (expressions of interest from the oil companies being sought by September this year).
• There is very little infrastructure in East Timor – no mail system or internet access outside of Dili. The internet is expensive, power cuts are frequent, thereis limited mobile phone coverage and no landlines.

• This has an impact on our ability to communicate with the districts, schools / and must shape our expectations.
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Education

• Education was neglected by the Portuguese in their time of administration. The impact of the Indonesian period of occupation meant that many people missed out on even a basic level of education. There is a real need for skilled teachers and for opportunities for learning. The issues of life-skills / technology / recreation / culture / employment are as vital to East Timorese young people as they are in Australia.
• Illiteracy rates are approximately 50%, with approximately two thirds of women being illiterate. However, it should also be noted that illiteracy rates were as high as 95% at the time the Portuguese left ET.
• The SIP on education aims for nine years of education; six years Primary and three years Junior Secondary.
• Currently the school day is very short because many students have to walk long distances to get to school.
• School fees are relatively high and so families can often only afford to send one child to school.
• Although the official language is Portuguese, most teachers have little/no Portuguese, or what little they know is outdated compared with the Portuguese currently being spoken. Teachers tend to teach in Indonesian, Tetum or a local dialect. (Tetum is not a sufficiently academic/scientific language to teach more complex subjects.) A Tetum curriculum for the first three schools years will be introduced in September 2005.

Urgent educational needs:

• Few schools have libraries.
• Provision of food for children at school – their already malnourished state is further aggravated by the long walk to school.
• School buses (dependent on road conditions).
• Teacher training – plus costs for teachers to attend such training (they are keen to further their knowledge but cannot afford the time or cost to get to training)
• Other school facilities
• Chalk, Notebooks and pens.
• There are currently approximately 18 universities in Timor Leste, though none of these is yet accredited by overseas institutions, with the exception of one Bachelor of Education degree course run at a local teacher training college.
• For the future, many Timorese educators are concerned that, if too many students undertake their tertiary education overseas, they will tend not to return to Timor.
• Education in administration and small business is much needed.

Micro Finance

• East Timor has only one ATM, in Dili.
• Micro finance is not applicable for most of the country since outside Dili and District Centres there is no cash economy. World Bank Funding for many small entrepreneurs has failed due to illiteracy and failure to follow through with support (for example, ten women establishing separate noodle bars along a road leading into village that had no cash in circulation – all failed once the funding was spent).
• Sending funds to East Timor is difficult as mail and banking systems are unreliable at present.