Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 2006 > Committee on Foreign Affairs > Report No. 04 - Project Timor-Leste

Project TIMOR-LESTE

Report of Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs

February 2006

Chairman’s Foreword

Timor Leste is the first country outside Africa to be designated as a priority country by Ireland and the seventh in total. Since then Ireland has also designated Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as further priority countries for particular support.

Irish people have long recognised the special problems facing the people of Timor Leste and have generously supported the aid efforts of Concern, Trocaire and of individuals such as Tom Hyland in that small stricken country.

Since 2002, the Joint Committee has conducted detailed examinations of Development Cooperation Ireland’s work in Ethopia, Uganda, Zambia and South Africa as part of its programme, which will examine Ireland’s contribution in each of the 10 priority countries.

The Joint Committee on Foreign affairs and the Sub-Committee on Development Cooperation have ensured through their attention, scrutiny and analysis that the Oireachtas offers consistent support for the work being undertaken by Development Cooperation Ireland, Non Governmental Organisations and Missionaries in Ireland’s name around the world.

The Committee has now turned its attention to the new aid programme being developed by Ireland in Timor Leste. During our work on Timor Leste, we held meetings with a wide range of stakeholders in the region including NGO’s, the Minister and Minister of State and officials at the Department of Foreign affairs.

This report details our findings and offers recommendations to the Minister. It provides a useful input to the planning and strategic development of Ireland’s programme of assistance to Timor Leste.

I believe there are unique opportunities here to provide a sustained level of assistance to Timor Leste that will help its people to embark on a path of sustainable growth and social and economic development.

In our study we found that there is a positive outlook for the people of Timor Leste. This is a country which is relatively rich in natural resources including newly found Oil and Gas as well as coffee.

With proper management, good governance and the development of Education, the benefits of these resources should ensure a bright future for Timor Leste.

There are still enormous needs in terms of food security, employment, education, health care and gender equality, as well as limited access to markets.

To overcome these enormous problems the Committee believes that it will be necessary to plan for a ten to twelve year development cooperation timeframe.

Dr. Michael Woods, T.D.

Chairman

An Comhchoiste um Ghnóthaí Eachtracha

Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs Members

Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs

Acknowledgements

The Joint Committee wishes to thank all the representatives who contributed to this review including:

The Joint Committee would like to acknowledge the unique contribution made by Dr. Tom Hyland to the development of East Timor, particularly at a time when the problems of the people of East Timor were not being highlighted internationally. Dr. Hyland played a key role in bringing the plight of the Timorese people to the attention of the Irish and International community. In recognition of this contribution the Joint Committee has included a brief submission from Mr. Hyland, as appendix 4 to this report.

We wish to thank the Secretariat at the Joint Committee and Brian Arnold, Agenda Consulting, for their assistance in preparing this report.

The Joint Committee wishes to thank Concern, Development Cooperation Ireland and Trocaire for use of their photographs in this report.

Contents

Acronyms

Executive summary

This review profiles Timor-Leste as it is today, a small country with a population of 800 thousand people and a colonial history dating back four hundred years. The role and strategies being applied by the international donor community in Timor-Leste are summarised, providing a context for Ireland’s development cooperation programme. These strategies have been developed against a long-term vision and development plan prepared by the Government of Timor-Leste. The Timor-Leste programmes being undertaken by Development Cooperation Ireland, Concern and Trocaire are outlined. In conclusion the review makes the following recommendations.

Recommendations:

1.That DCI undertake their strategic planning against a 10-12 year development cooperation timeframe for Timor-Leste;

2.That the resource base of the Irish Mission be increased to enable expansion of Ireland’s programme activities;

3.That DCI increase its media coverage of Ireland’s development cooperation work with Timor-Leste with a view to increasing the Irish public’s awareness of our development work in the country;

4.That DCI investigate opportunities for new linkages with the Government of Timor-Leste to increase the level of direct development cooperation programmes. In the long term, this will enable Irish development work to create a more distinctive development presence in Timor-Leste;

5.That DCI incorporate regular briefings with Irish NGO’s working in Timor-Leste, as part of its ongoing strategic plans. In this context, alignment of strategic planning in the context of Timor-Leste local government decentralisation should create opportunities for Irish development cooperation.

The review analyses recent developments in Timor-Leste in the context of Ireland’s development cooperation strategy. Timor-Leste was the first program country for Irish development cooperation in Asia. It is also distinguished by being one of the newest democracies in the world. With the withdrawal of the Indonesian government in 1999, the country suffered political instability, human rights infringements and wide scale destruction of property and services. The newly elected government of Timor-Leste has begun addressing the many priority issues in conjunction with the international donor community. Development Cooperation Ireland and Irish NGO’s, Concern and Trocaire are actively playing their part in the redevelopment of the country.

Timor-Leste is one of the poorest countries in the world with a UN human development index ranking of 158. The population (800,000), which is largely rurally based, is showing strong signs of growth. High fertility rates in the population combine with high levels of infant and maternal mortality rates. 20% of the population is living on less than one U.S. dollar a day, while only 50% of the population has access to an improved water source.

A 1999 U.N. referendum brought the prospect of independence closer to hand for Timor-Leste, following a 400 year old Portuguese colonisation and the invasion by Indonesia in 1975. However this opportunity turned to disaster with the withdrawal of Indonesia when the Timorese suffered systematic killing and displacement as well as wide scale destruction of services and facilities. The ongoing support of the U.N. and the international donor community has been central to the establishment of the current democratically elected government.

Agriculture continues to play a central role in the economy, contributing 40% of gross domestic product. Coffee production is the main commercial export crop, historically representing 90% of foreign exchange. Much work is needed in the coffee sector to improve the quality and marketing of products with a view to competing on the international coffee market.

Extensive petroleum natural resources are now being exploited in the Timor Sea and best international practice is being applied by the Government with a view to implementing a long term sustainable policy for the investment and utilisation of the petroleum generated finances. The development of a Petroleum Fund and formulation of a savings policy by the Government are key elements in this strategy. The impact of the Petroleum Fund revenues will therefore feed into Government spending on a gradual and planned basis in order to ensure maximum long term benefits to the country.

International cooperation has been a central plank in the stabilisation and development of the country in recent years. The UN and World Bank have played central roles in the coordination of donor aid. A series of trust funds have been established to enable effective administration and application of donor funds from a large number of donors. The World Bank’s strategy for Timor-Leste is seeking to drive both growth and poverty reduction goals at the same time. The following chart outlines the principles and strategic pillars being followed by the World Bank. Other major development donors include the European Commission, the Asia Development Bank, USAID and AusAID.

The Government of Timor-Leste has mapped its own long-term vision to 2020 and this vision plus associated National Development Plan are central to guiding all other donor planning and strategies. The Vision encompasses; Education, Health, Agriculture, the Economy, Infrastructure, Helping the poor, Empowerment, Peace & Reconciliation, Cooperation, Democracy & Good Governance. It sets high standards and is viewed as a model for long-term planning for the country.

Ireland played an active political role in highlighting the plight of Timor-Leste prior to its independence. DCI’s first involvement in the country was for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance. It now has a small Mission based in Dili that administers its ongoing development cooperation programme. The programme is focused on:

❖Support to Trust Funds

❖Support to the Transition

❖Supporting the Recovery Process

The next strategic plan for Timor-Leste is being developed and it is likely that it will have similar objectives as the 2003-2005 Country Strategy paper i.e.

❖To support the reduction of poverty, through a strengthened public administration and access to improved service delivery;

❖To support and promote Good Governance and Participatory Development in Timor-Leste.

Both Trocaire and Concern are actively working in local communities in Timor-Leste. They have moved from implementing emergency relief to rehabilitation and development work in recent years.

In conclusion, Timor-Leste has represented a strategic shift for Ireland’s development cooperation policy, being the first programme country in Asia. Despite our ongoing work with Timor-Leste, there is little consciousness amongst the Irish public about the issues facing the country and the role that Ireland is playing its development. An opportunity therefore exists to raise the public awareness of Ireland’s work in Timor-Leste.

The development environment underlying our work in Timor-Leste is very different from that facing the African programme countries. Ireland has an opportunity to be a long-term partner with Timor-Leste, thus providing additional stability and foresight to the strategic planning process. Longer term planning will also create opportunities for more direct development linkages between DCI and the Government of Timor-Leste. Increasing coordination between DCI and Irish NGO’s in Timor-Leste will also provide a more holistic development cooperation framework.

Chapter 1 Introduction

Timor-Leste became the seventh ‘programme’ country for Irish development co-operation in 2003. This represented a change of direction for Irish aid, as all previous programme countries were situated in Africa. Timor-Leste was the first programme country in Asia and is also distinguished by being one of the newest democracies in the world. Following a 1999 UN referendum on independence and the subsequent conflict situation, the country has undergone immense change. The withdrawal of Indonesian governance was characterised by destruction of property and facilities, killings and population displacement, while the subsequent United Nations (UN) transitional arrangements brought stability and donor assisted reconstruction of services and facilities.

Ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world, Timor-Leste also possesses significant oil and gas natural resources. Over a short period of time, these resources will present immense opportunities for the country and its people as it moves from being a least developed country to one with a sustainable economic framework.

Ireland works closely with the people of Timor-Leste and its recently established Government. We share similarities in terms of being an island with a colonial past and a strong religious heritage; however our economic wealth is in sharp contrast to that of Timor-Leste. Since 1999, Timor-Leste has received significant help and assistance from a wide range of donors. The United Nations and World Bank have played a central role in the coordination of humanitarian relief efforts, as well as in reinstating the infrastructural and economic base of the country.

Development Cooperation Ireland has implemented its 2003-2005 strategy, and is now preparing its next strategic plan to roll out until 2008. Significant work has been undertaken by DCI via a small organisational base in Timor-Leste. Ireland’s work in Timor-Leste is considered in the following chapters against the backdrop of the many donor agencies working in the country as well as in the context of the plans and policies of the government of Timor-Leste.

The work of the Irish NGO agencies of Concern and Trocaire is outlined in chapter four. Chapter five focuses on conclusions and recommendations for Ireland’s development co-operation with Timor-Leste. The Joint Committee recommends that Ireland should establish a 10-12 year planning framework for Timor-Leste within which the 3 year strategic plans should be developed.

Chapter 2 Timor-Leste

Introduction

Timor-Leste is one of the poorest countries in the world with a HDI⁴ ranking of 158. Its ranking places it roughly in the middle of the programme countries for Ireland’s development cooperation. Table 1 outlines the HDI indices for Ireland and its programme countries.

Table 1Human Development Index Ireland and Programme Countries

Source: UNDP Human Development Index Report 2004

The issues facing Government of Timor-Leste and its people are very wide ranging, from health and education, to food security and poverty reduction. The Millennium Development Goal ranking for Timor-Leste (Table 2) provides a snapshot of the main issues:

Children from the Mavido community. The Mavido community are bringing

a case to Parliament to regain title to their historical farming lands. (Photo Courtesy of Trocaire)

Table 2Millennium Development Goal Summary

Source: United Nations, Timor-Leste Millennium Development Goals Report, February 2004

Political Background

Timor-Leste has twice experienced the departure of foreign powers from the island leaving in its wake extreme problems to be addressed by the new Government. The 400 year old Portuguese colonisation of the country was challenged in 1974 by a revolution, followed by a civil war and subsequently a declaration of independence on 28^th November 1975. Portugal rejected the declaration of independence, while Indonesia invaded the country in December 1975 and annexed it as a province. While the Timorese waged a guerrilla war against the Indonesian regime, there was little international support for the cause. In 1998 President Habibe came to power in Indonesia, he offered a form of autonomy to Timor-Leste as well as the prospect of independence.

In May 1999, Indonesia, Portugal and the United Nations agreed to consult with the Timorese people regarding their future governance. The Security Council established the United Nations Mission to East Timor (UNAMET) to oversee this consultative process. The subsequent referendum in August 1999, firmly rejected the Indonesian option of autonomy. The referendum was followed by a ‘campaign of systematic killing, rape, torture and looting by the militia and sections of the Indonesian army’ⁱ. An estimated 2000 East Timorese were killed, 230,000 were forcibly deported to refugee camps in West Timor.

In September 1999 the Security Council authorised the establishment of a multinational force (INTERFET) to restore peace and security in East Timor, while also protecting and supporting UNAMET. The UN subsequently established the UN Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET) with legislative and executive authority to administer the country. In 2000 a quasi-parliamentary body was created, representing different segments of society. In 2001, elections were held for a Constituent Assembly and were won by Fretilin⁵. In all 11 parties were represented in the new Assembly. Following the adoption of the Constitution, presidential elections were held in April 2002, which were won by the independence leader Commander Jose Alexandre (Xanana) Gusmao. The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste was fully restored on 20^th May 2002, when the Constituent Assembly became the National Parliament under the leadership of Prime Minister Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri. United Nations involvement in Timor-Leste changed to being a Mission of Support for East Timor (UNMISET) focussed on peacekeeping, training, support and advice. In May 2005 UNMISET was succeeded by the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL).

Geography

Timor-Leste is situated on the eastern part of the island of Timor. On the western portion of the island is the Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur i.e. West Timor. Australia is about 500 kilometres to the south of the island, across the Timor Sea. The enclave of Oecussi in the western part of Timor Island is part of the national territory of Timor-Leste, as are the islands of Ataúro, situated to the north and Jaco situated to the east (Chart 1).

The land area of Timor-Leste is approximately 14,610 square kilometres, equating to about 17% the size of Ireland. The topography of the country is very varied, ranging from rugged hills and mountains to coastal plains. About 33% of the country has a slope of approximately 40%, which in combination with heavy rainfall can be a major contributor to soil erosion.

The Timor-Leste climate is hot (average of 21°C) and has high humidity levels (~80%). The dry months are from May to October when temperatures are milder ~18 °C on the coastline. November to April is the monsoon season when heavy rainfall on the mountains causes much erosion.

The country is organised into 13 districts, 67 postos (sub-districts), 498 sucos (villages) and 2,336 aldeias (hamlets). The districts are grouped into three regions i.e.

❖The Western Region - the enclave district of Oecussi and border districts of Bobonaro and Covalima;

❖The Central Region — Districts Aileu, Ainaro, Ermera, Liquica and Manufahi;

❖The Eastern region — Districts Baucau, Lautem, Manatuto and Viqueque.

Chart 1Timor-Leste

People

The population of the country is approximately 800,000 with three quarters of the population living in rural areas and an estimated 20% of the population in Dili.ⁱⁱ The population is characterised by being very young with ~48% below the age of 17, and also by having a high growth rate due to high fertility rates.

While there are more than 30 languages and dialects in use across the country, the major local languages are Tetun, Mambae and Macassae. Tetun is understood by ~80% of the population, while 40% understand and use Indonesian. Portuguese is understood by only 5% and English by 2%. The new official languages are Portuguese and Tetun, with Indonesian and English given the status of working languages.

Community Meeting With Timorese (Photo courtesy Concern)

Economy

Timor-Leste ranks amongst one of the poorest countries in the world. The IMF estimated the nominal per capita non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Timor-Leste to be US$452 in 2001. While significant revenues will be derived from oil and gas natural resources, the impact of these revenues is being factored into the longer term development of the country. The country and its economy are still at a very early stage of development following the devastation caused by the 1999 conflict situation.

The GDP of Timor-Leste was estimated at US$380 million in 2001 by the IMF. The agricultural sector dominates the economy, representing 26.5% of non oil GDP and employing about three quarters of the labour force. Table 3 outlines the main GDP contributors:

Table 3Main economic sectors in terms of GDP

Source: GoTL, National Development Plan 2002

Inflation in the economy has stabilised in recent years following 80% and 140% rates of inflation during 1998 and 1999 respectively. By 2001 inflation was down to 3%.

The development of the country and the management of the economy had been mapped out following a countrywide consultation process. The areas of education, health and agriculture were identified during this process as the population’s main priorities (see Chapter 4).

Agriculture

Agriculture plays a crucial role in the Timor-Leste economy and people’s lives with most of the population living in rural areas. Prior to the 1999 independence referendum, agriculture and its support industries employed more than 85% of the workforce and contributed 40% of GDP. Coffee was the main export product and represented 90% of foreign exchange. The collapse of world coffee prices in combination with the post independence violence has seriously impacted the exports of coffee. The re-building of the sector will therefore play a central role in the country’s ongoing development.

Details of the main agricultural crops are outlined in Table 4. (Data variations occur due to different data collection methodologies.)

Table 4Main agricultural crops 2001

Source: Government of Timor-Leste, National Development Plan

An estimated 25,000 families derive a substantial portion of their income from coffee, with a further 15,000 families obtaining a small portion of their income from the crop. Research on the coffee sector in 2002 highlighted: (a) the need to improve quality systems in the handling of the product, (b) the importance of regenerating the productive capacity by replanting and improved cultivation techniques, Increasing technical assistance to farmers, (c) the need for improved marketing arrangements, (d) the role that improved transportation can play in the sector, (e) the challenge of developing more value added activities in Timor-Leste, (f) the opportunity of developing a niche market in the organic sector, (g) the need for improved quality controls and grading standards.ⁱⁱⁱ

Goat rearing on small holding supported by Concern (Photo Courtesy Concern)

The Government’s Enhancement of Industrial Crops Production program^iv is focused on industrial crops such as coffee, candlenut, coconut, sugarcane, Manila hemp and vanilla. The program encompasses:

❖Germplasm collection, identification and evaluation;

❖Seed and seedling multiplication;

❖On-farm demonstration of best-practices in orchard management;

❖Processing of value-added products;

❖Training of farmers in nursery and planting operations.

Natural Resources

Timor-Leste’s petroleum reserves are situated both onshore and offshore. Onshore exploration took place before 1975 and is only recently being reactivated. The region remains relatively under-explored which is why the Government is prioritising exploration activities and the legal framework which underpins natural resource development. In geological terms, many of the oil bearing rock formations are ‘sandstones’, similar to what is found in the North Sea. There are also indications of potentially large hydrocarbon resources in ‘limestone’ reservoirs similar to what is seen in the Middle East^v.

Timor-Leste’s oil and gas reserves are projected to provide revenues for approximately 20 years. Oil production at the Bayu-Undang fields is underway since 2003-04 and has been in full production during 2004-05. Production at the Greater Sunrise field is still being evaluated for development options. If the market for oil/gas increases, Timor-Leste’s dependence on donors will diminish as will donor’s influence over policy.^vi

The Government of Timor-Leste, as part of its long term planning of natural resources has recently undertaken a comprehensive seismic survey for an area extending from the southern coastline of Timor-Leste to the northern border of the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA)⁸. 6,500km of seismic data⁹ over an area of 30,000 square km was collected, which will enable the Government to progress the development of its own offshore areas, outside of the JPDA.^vii

Chart 2 outlines the location of the current oil fields in the Timor Sea and the JPDA. Within the JDPA, technically recoverable reserves of more than 5 trillion cubic feet of gas and 500 million barrels of oil, condensate, and LPG¹⁰’s have been proven to exist.^viii

Chart 2Petroleum Resources in the Timor Sea

Under the ‘Timor Sea Treaty’, East Timor and Australia reached agreement with respect to the title of all petroleum produced in the JPDA. The Timor Sea Treaty provides that 90% of the petroleum produced in the JPDA belongs to East Timor and 10% belongs to Australia. Both countries have the right to apply their own royalties and taxes to petroleum projects covered under the agreement.

The Government of Timor-Leste is implementing a long term strategy for the management of the petroleum revenues. It has adopted a savings policy and created a Petroleum Fund, (see Appendix 1 for extract of Petroleum Fund Act) to hold and manage the savings from petroleum revenues in a sustainable manner. The aim is to manage the fund such that it will enable a level of expenditure that can be sustained indefinitely. The advantage of this approach includes^ix:

❖The PF should accumulate significant levels of savings to benefit future generations of Timorese;

❖The PF savings should generate significant interest income, particularly when petroleum revenues have ceased;

❖Temporary fluctuations in world oil prices will have little effect on expenditure, as savings will fluctuate instead;

❖Permanent changes in revenue will change the estimated sustainable level of expenditure, and this will result in adjustments of expenditure over the medium term, so as to minimize disruptive changes in expenditure plans.

The projected balances for the Petroleum Fund are outlined in Table 5

Table 5Estimated Balances of the Petroleum Fund 2005-2009 ($m)

Source: Ministry of Planning & Finance, Government of Timor-Leste

The design of the PF builds on international best practice and is based on the PF model used in Norway (see Chart 3). While the Minister for Planning and Finance has overall responsibility for the management of the PF, the Minister will be advised by an Investment Advisory Board. In addition Parliament will be advised by an independent Consultative Council on the operations of the Fund. The operational management of the PF will be delegated to the Banking and Payments Authority (BPA) which has responsibility for Timor-Leste’s central bank functions.^x Chart 3A outlines the relationship between the PF and the Governments financial budget. Chart 3B outlines the current estimates from Petroleum Revenues and Sustainable Income from the fund. While the petroleum revenues will fluctuate significantly in line with petroleum extraction, the sustainable income released from the PF will show a steady long term pattern.

Chart 3Management Process for Petroleum Fund

Source: Government of Timor-Leste, Timor-Leste established Petroleum Fund, Media Release 23 September 2005

Chart 3AWorkings of Petroleum Fund

Source: The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Combined Sources Budget 2005-06

Chart 3BEstimated Petroleum Revenue and Sustainable Expenditure from Petroleum Income

Source: The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Combined Sources Budget 2005-06

Chapter 3 International Cooperation

Introduction

Donor involvement with Timor-Leste began in September 1999 with a focus on identifying post-conflict assistance strategies and programmes. Donors pledged US$520 million, of which approximately US$343 million was administered by the UN prior to independence while ~US$177 million was co-managed by the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank (ADB).

The UN administered fund financed recurrent expenditures, while the World Bank/ADB fund was administered via the Trust Fund for East Timor (TFET) for reconstruction and rehabilitation projects. The Consolidated Fund for East Timor (CFET) was established in the handover from UN transitional authorities to the Timorese Government to manage recurrent costs. The Transition Support Program (TSP) is part of the CFET. The TSP has been co-ordinated by the World Bank and funded by the World Bank and bilateral donors as outlined in Table 6.

Table 6Commitments to Transition Support Program 2003-2005

Source: IMF

The World Bank is playing a central role in the coordination of the development effort for Timor-Leste. It has developed a Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) in association with the Government of Timor-Leste and other donors. This strategy spans the 2006-2008 period and aims to build on the early progress that has been achieved since independence. The CAS is aligned with and supporting the National Development Plan and the Stability Program which are in place. Chart 4 outlines the framework of strategic pillars and the principles of engagement that guide the CAS. The strategic approach is broad based with a view to driving each priority agenda concurrently, in order to meet both the growth and poverty reduction goals.

Chart 4CAS Strategic Approach

CSP Strategic Pillars

The World Bank provides a co-ordinating framework for implementing the CAS Strategic Pillars in association with donors, details of which are outlined below. Appendix 2 outlines the range of projects being pursued by the World Bank and its development partners.

Pillar I Delivering Sustainable Services

This programme is focused on delivering sustainable services in both urban and rural areas especially for education, health and basic infrastructure. The aim is to deliver tangible results on the ground, especially in rural areas.

Education

While significant progress has been made in rebuilding the education infrastructure, many issues still remain including:

❖Lack of transport to school resulting in reduced enrolment rates;

❖School fees reducing enrolment rates;

❖High drop out rates;

❖Absenteeism amongst teachers and students;

❖High student — teacher ratios;

❖Variability of teacher qualifications;

❖Lack of familiarity with Portuguese;

❖Deficiencies in the delivery of learning materials and school facilities.

Health

As with education, significant progress has been made in re-establishing the health sector infrastructure over a short period of time. Further progress is needed to:

❖Expand immunization coverage

❖Improve maternal and child health

❖Increase access to family planning services

❖Increase awareness of HIV/AIDS

❖Increase utilisation of health services

❖Improve access to health services in remote locations

Power

The extension of power availability throughout the country is critical to developing private sector activities across the country. In addition to availability, the lowering of electricity costs is also critical. Improved electricity generation, distribution and end-use efficiency in Dili are key strands to the programme. It is also intended to implement a Gas Seep Harvesting Project which will harvest gas from several areas where natural gas is seeping through the earth and escaping into the atmosphere.

Infrastructure

Infrastructural development is also crucial to enabling economic growth. Improved roads, water supplies and sanitation services are key priorities for the country. Improved roads and bridges will result in improved connectivity, reduced transport costs and improved private sector development.

Pillar II Creating Productive Employment

Creating productive employment is essential to achieving sustainable growth and poverty reduction in the country. There are many strands to achieving this goal including; expanding credit; improving business skills; improving market focus; creating sustainable business enterprises. In addition the business environment must be supported with critical services including electricity, roads, telecommunications etc.

Pillar III Strengthening Governance

The Government is committed to building on the progress already made in nation building and institutional development. It plans to develop institutions of good governance as well as implementing a series of safeguards against corruption and abuse of power. A critical element of this pillar relates to the prudent and transparent management of the petroleum resources for current and future generations. The scope of this pillar includes the justice sector and the legislative process, the civil service, as well as financial management and performance measurement with a view to enhancing transparency in the management of public resources.

European Commission

European Commission (EC) contributions to East Timor, since September 1999 amounted to €109 million and were disbursed via the World Bank, UNTAET, ECHO, WFP and to support the election process in East Timor. The focus of the EC strategy is on:

❖Emergency Aid to meet security and basic needs;

❖Rehabilitation of infrastructure and administrative systems;

❖Nation building in the context of donor support;

❖Long Term development to achieve a sustainable economic base;

The EC has focussed specifically on health and rural development while also addressing the cross-cutting themes of poverty reduction, food security, conflict prevention, human rights, governance, encouragement of civil society, resettlement, employment creation and environmental protection. Training and capacity building are central to all the programmes^xi.

The budget forecast for the 2002-2006 strategy is set out in Table 11.

Table 11EC Budget Forecasts for Timor-Leste

Source: EC CSP East Timor 2002-2006

In addition to the EC strategy for Timor-Leste, EU Member States have been actively involved in the reconstruction effort. Due to its historical links, Portugal has been at the forefront of this effort. Table 12 provides a summary of the Member State commitments up to June 2001.

Table 12EU Member State Support Summary to Timor-Leste

Source: EC Country Strategy Paper, East Timor 2002-2006

Asia Development Bank

Asia Development Bank (ADB) assistance to Timor-Leste began with the 2001-2003 Country Assistance Plan with a focus on the TFET projects and technical assistance projects. A 2003-2004 Country Strategy and Program Update was a short term plan which focused on (a) capacity building (b) job creation and (c) physical infrastructure development. This plan has now been superseded by the ADB Country Strategy and Program Update 2005-2006.^xii The current plan is focused on three main areas:

1.Capacity building for economic management;

2.Microfinance development and

3.Infrastructure development.

Table 13 outlines the ADB activities:

Table 13ADB Programme Activities

Source: ADB Country Strategy and Program Update 2005-2006 -Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

USAID

The three objectives of the USAID strategic plan are:

1.Accelerated economic growth;

2.Foundations of Governance strengthened;

3.Improved Health of the Timorese people, especially women and children at greatest risk.

The USAID policies are seeking to assist the Government of Timor-Leste to move from being a possible threshold country to a fully-fledged country candidate under the Millennium Challenge Account.

The accelerated economic growth strategic objective will seek to:

Contribute to accelerated economic growth through: 1) business environment improved; 2) markets improved and production of selected products and services increased; with both results supported by increasing Timorese capacity and skills.^xiii

The USAID programme is seeking that the private sector will ultimately replace donor support as the engine for growth and accordingly is supporting the Government to implement private sector priorities.

The Business environment will be targeted via the following activities:

❖Establishing a sound legal and regulatory framework for the private sector in order to expand trade and investment;

❖Establishing secure land tenure and property rights which will contribute to an improved business environment;

❖Access to finance, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises;

❖Limited and complimentary assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to support the private sector in a liberalised economy

❖Capacity building as a critical element of the economic policy programme

❖Linkages with the USAID governance programme in order to improve capacity of the judiciary.

The second priority of market improvement and the production of selected products and increased services will target the following activities:

❖Supporting agribusiness and private sector development focussed on commercially viable enterprises;

❖Increasing employment;

❖Improving supply of needed products and services;

❖Improving financial institutions services;

❖Improving market linkages;

❖Support for cooperatives and small grants for NGO’s

❖Technical assistance to farmers;

❖Disseminating market information;

❖Improving market institutions and infrastructures

❖Capacity building with a view to improving access and quality of private sector development services;

❖Building local capacity of microfinance institutions;

❖Limited focus on capacity building and sustainability of the Cooperativa Café Timor in the coffee sector.

Rice milling with rice mill supplied by CDEP

(Photo courtesy of Trocaire)

Policies to strengthen governance will include:

❖Assistance towards the formal justice system, e.g. court management and administration; consolidation and harmonisation of legal regimes and practices; strengthening independence and professionalism of the judiciary etc.

❖Public information and legal education

❖Enhancing the capacities of legal professionals

Promoting more effective and democratic governance will be targeted via:

❖Supporting civil society organisations;

❖Providing targeted assistance to independent media, NGO’s and political parties.

Healthcare programme approaches will include:

❖Increasing community and family participation in health care as the key to behaviour change;

❖Fostering a community health network to strengthen links between communities and healthy centres;

❖Strengthening skills among health workers, including District Maternal Child Health district officers.

AusAID

AusAID’s strategic direction^xiv for its international aid programme is targeting the following areas:

1.Increase emphasis on program quality

2.Enhance policy and analytical capacity

3.People management and corporate controls

The aid programme is broken down by region including, Papua New Guinea & Pacific; East Asia; South Asia, Africa and Other. The development aid programme for East Asia covers nine countries including East Timor and represents a budget of $344.3 million for 2005-06. Timor-Leste was allocated 12% of the East Asia budget amounting to $42 million estimated ODA. $30 million is the estimated Country Programme budget and the balance is represented by ‘other’ ODA^xv.

The AusAID strategy for Timor-Leste is focussed on:

❖Helping the Government implement its Sector Investment Programme which will enable the Government to more effectively harness donor resources for development;

❖Building capacity of the Timor-Leste Government in areas including law and governance, public expenditure management, transparency and accountability;

❖Service delivery in rural areas e.g. water supply and sanitation, stimulating growth and sustainable livelihoods.

UN Development Assistance Framework 2003-2005

The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) governed from 1999 until independence in 2002. UNTAET did much work on the rebuilding of the country’s infrastructure and essential services while also laying the foundations for democratic governance. The UN prepared a Development Assistance Framework^xvi covering the period 2003-2005 which describes the various contributions of UN Agencies during this crucial period. The analysis of the country situation identified the following key issues:

❖A post-crisis country with low income and high levels of poverty;

❖Recent human rights violations and loss of life;

❖Seriously depleted civil service;

❖Destruction of infrastructure and institutions;

❖Extreme poverty;

❖A rural-based, young and fast-growing population;

❖Urban poverty and unemployment;

❖An economy based on subsistence agriculture; but with medium-term prospects due to oil and gas reserves

The UN strategies pursued included:

❖Targeted capacity development in government;

❖Technical assistance to government in general;

❖Targeted capacity development in civil society organisations;

❖Advocacy for civic education and human rights;

❖Rehabilitation of infrastructure;

❖Return of refugees and reintegration of returnees.

Chapter 4 Timor-Leste Vision 2020

Introduction

The Timor-Leste Government developed and formulated a long term vision for the development of the country to the year 2020. This Chapter provides an overview of this vision and the proposed implementation process. The creation of a clear vision for the country at the outset of the independence process is an extraordinary achievement which followed extensive consultations throughout the country. The vision is supported by a National Development Plan (NDP) which maps strategies and programmes over the period 2002-2007, as the first stage of the long-term vision.

The overarching vision is to be:

‘A democratic country with a vibrant traditional culture and a sustainable economy. A prosperous society with sufficient food, shelter, clothing and security for all its people. All towns and villages with access to adequate and appropriate roads, transport, electricity and communications. All East Timorese to be literate, skilled and participating in the economic, social and political life of the Nation.

Increased productivity in all sectors, creating job opportunities for all. Living standards and services improved and income fairly distributed. Stable prices for goods and services with sound and sustainable management of natural resources.

A Nation justly applying the Rule of Law, and managing the economy and finances efficiently and transparently. The Government, private sector, civil society and community leaders fully responsible and accountable to the people.’^xvii

The Vision encompasses; Education, Health, Agriculture, the Economy, Infrastructure, Helping the poor, Empowerment, Peace & Reconciliation, Cooperation, Democracy & Good Governance. It is complemented by sectoral Plans covering:

❖Political development, foreign relations, defence and security;

❖Poverty reduction, rural and regional development;

❖Social and human development, education and health;

❖Agriculture, fisheries and forestry;

❖Natural resources and environment;

❖Industry, trade and private sector;

❖Infrastructure.

The 2020 Vision for Timor-Leste provides an important framework for the future development of the country. A summary of the main elements of the vision is set out below.

Education Vision

‘We want to be well educated and highly productive. We want education for all, particularly the poor, the disabled, the elderly and women so they can become literate and skilled, to help build our country.’

The key educational goals include:

❖Lower adult illiteracy, especially among women

❖Easier access to education for all, and establish at least one primary school in each suco

❖Better quality of teaching and learning

❖Higher school completion and retention rates

❖Develop school curricula, particularly for technical training, relevant to the conditions and needs of East Timor

❖Reintroduce Portuguese and Tetun in schools

The Plan outlines the roles that both NGO’s and Government can play in the implementation of the vision while also detailing the 5 year targets for the Government as well as indicators for measurement of progress on the various targets set.

Primary School at Ossularia supported by DCI (Photo courtesy DCI)

Health Vision

‘We want to be healthy, living long and productive lives. We want adequate health services in every suco and aldeia providing quality care for all.’

The Health goals include:

❖Access to quality health services for all

❖Reduced maternal and infant mortality

❖Reduced incidence of illness and death from preventable and communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS

❖Improved reproductive health

❖Increased access to health education and improved skills of health care personnel

❖Well-equipped clinics or sanitary posts in each suco, with adequate doctors, nurses and midwives

❖Ambulance services between sucos, district town clinics and hospitals

Agriculture Vision

‘We want to produce enough food for the country, export rice, coffee and other products while managing our natural resources in a sustainable way. We want to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and improve living standards of our people through developing agriculture.’

The agricultural gaols include:

❖Food security and improved food self-sufficiency

❖Diversification and production of quality food, commercial crops, and horticultural products based on integrated farming systems and practices

❖Livestock production and eradication of diseases

❖Aquaculture farming and sustainable marine fishing

❖Protection, development and sustainable use of forests

❖Reduce soil erosion

❖Production of traditional medicinal plants

❖Well-developed agricultural industries

❖Sustainable management of agriculture, fisheries and forestry resources

❖Increased rural incomes and reduced rural poverty

Water collection/management project supported by Concern (Photo courtesy Concern)

Economic Vision

‘We want a strong and stable economy with increased productivity in all sectors, creating job opportunities for all. We want living standards and services improved and income fairly distributed, with stable prices for goods and services and sound and sustainable management of natural resources. We want transparent and efficient management of the economy and finances free from corruption and fraud.’

The economic goals include:

❖High and sustainable economic growth, especially in sectors other than oil and gas

❖Employment growth to absorb growing labour force

❖Stable prices and low inflation

❖Increased national government revenues

❖Efficient management of oil and gas revenues to benefit present and future generations

❖Sound banking and finance sectors which provide credit to rural areas

❖International competitiveness through appropriate wages and exchange rates

❖Private sector (including agriculture) to play a strong role in the economy

❖Open trading system

Infrastructural Vision

‘We want adequate physical infrastructure and services in the regions of East Timor, to reduce isolation and support economic and social development. We want infrastructure that is efficient and cost effective and is financially, environmentally and socially sustainable.’

The infrastructural goals are sub-divided into the following headings:

Water Supply and Sanitation

❖Reliable and adequate quantity of potable water to urban residents

❖Adequate collection and safe disposal of sewage and wastewater in urban areas

❖Safe disposal of hazardous waste

❖Water and sanitation to rural areas through community owned schemes

❖Appropriate management of water resources

Water point in Ainaro District supported by DCI (Photo courtesy DCI)

Housing and Urban Planning

❖Adequately equipped public buildings and housing for everyone especially the poor and vulnerable

❖Well planned and environmental friendly cities with parks and recreation facilities

Electricity

❖National self-reliance in power generation

❖Continuous power supply to the whole country

❖Self sustainable power sector

❖Private sector involvement in the provision of electricity

Roads and Bridges

❖Sealed roads and bridges for the whole country to connect all existing aldeias

❖• Maintain existing roads as a priority

Transport

❖Adequate transport system within the country, including Oecussi and Atauro

❖Transport system to facilitate emergency requirements

❖Availability of adequate public transport for people and students

Communication

❖Modern systems nationally and internationally

❖Better communication facilities for remote areas

❖Restored telecommunications and postal services

Helping the Poor Vision

‘We want to live in a healthy, prosperous society free from ignorance, with adequate food, shelter, clothing and security, balanced with fair income distribution.’

The goals for helping the poor include:

❖Help vulnerable groups in rural areas

❖Enough food for everyone all the time

❖Everyone has a “good life”

❖Integrated rural development

❖Poverty reduction and eradication

❖Caring of families of war victims, including widows, disabled and the poor who gave everything for East Timor’s independence

❖Empowerment of the poor

Empowerment Vision

Empowering Women

‘We all want women to be educated and healthy. We want women to be economically, socially and politically empowered and have equal status to men in our society.’

Goals for empowering women include:

❖Respect women’s rights

❖Healthy and educated women

❖Active female participation in the social, economic and political areas of society

❖Equal employment conditions for men and women including wage rates

❖Zero tolerance on domestic and other forms of violence against women

❖Employment opportunities for widows to ensure financial independence

❖Gender disparities in schooling and education reduced and eliminated

Helping Youth

‘We want young people, our future leaders, to be well educated and responsible, contributing to the welfare of our society.’

Goals for helping youth include:

❖Completion of schooling or vocational training by all young people

❖Participation of majority of young people in sports, music and other cultural events

❖Independent and responsible youth

Peace & Reconciliation Vision

‘We want to live without hate and fear, embracing peaceful and democratic principles everywhere in East Timor.’

❖Long term peace, security and stability

❖Living in inner peace and tranquillity

❖Peace and reconciliation in the household and no more domestic violence

❖Reconciliation among all in our sucos and aldeias

❖No more acts of revenge/retribution and violence

❖No beatings, killings and fear from threats by others

❖Acceptance of all East Timorese to work for our country

Cooperation vision

‘We want to be united and working together in the communities, helping each other and building a strong unified country.’

❖National unity

❖Collaboration within and between communities in developing the nation

❖Respect for elders and parents, government and the governed

❖Uphold family values and civic responsibilities

❖Respect for minorities

Democracy and Good Governance

‘We want East Timor to be a democratic country in every respect where individual freedoms and responsibilities are upheld, and where economic, cultural, social and political rights are protected. We want a nation justly applying the Rule of the Law, and managing the economy and finances efficiently and transparently, where the government, private sector, civil society and community leaders are fully responsible and accountable to the people.’

The goals for democracy and good governance include:

❖Enjoyment of human, economic, cultural, social and political rights by everyone

❖Respect and enforcement of property rights and land ownership

❖No corruption and nepotism

❖No discrimination, in any form and manner

❖Stable and democratic nation

The National Development Plan sets out development goals to complement the 2020 vision for the country. The NDP Development Goals are detailed in Appendix 3.

Chapter 5 Timor-Leste & Ireland

Introduction

Ireland played an active role in Timor-Leste prior to the achievement of its independence. Humanitarian and reconstruction assistance was the first focus of DCI in the light of the conflict situation that arose in 1999. In March 2003, Timor-Leste was designated DCI’s seventh Programme Country and its first Programme Country in Asia. A sum of €11.1 million was budgeted for the Country Programme over the period 2003-2005.

In addition to DCI involvement, Irish NGO’s Concern and Trocaire are undertaking programmes in Timor-Leste, details of which are outlined below. The plight of the Timorese people has also been highlighted for many years by Dr. Tom Hyland, an Irishman working as a teacher in Dili. In 2003 Dr. Hyland made a presentation to the Joint Committee¹³ suggesting areas for potential support by Ireland. While the conflict in East Timor received intense Irish media attention during the political turmoil in 1999/2000, it has received significantly less media attention in recent years¹⁴.

Dr. Ramos Horta, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, on a recent visit to Ireland highlighted the need for long term commitment by Ireland to Timor-Leste, especially in the areas of public administration and human relations development.¹⁵ A commitment of at least 10 years was suggested as being the likely timeline to address the very serious problems still facing the country.

Development Cooperation Ireland’s programme in Timor-Leste started in 2000 with the establishment of a representative office and the approval of £1 million of funding for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance. A Transitional Country Strategy Paper was approved covering the 2001-2002 period, which focussed on supporting the establishment of government structures. The 2003-2005 Country Strategy Paper was subsequently developed following extensive consultations with Government officials, multilateral agencies and bilateral donors. Planning is currently underway in DCI on the preparation of the 2006-2008 Country Strategy Paper and a number of discussion documents have already been prepared in this respect. It is planned that the Draft Country Strategy Paper finalised by the end of 2005 and submitted to the Projects Advisory and Evaluation Committee (PAEG) by March 2006.

The Timor-Leste programme is managed by a very small team in the Representative Office situated in Dili. The team is made up of a Head of Mission/Development Specialist, an Attaché Administrator and a locally recruited Projects/Administration Officer. The programme is also supported by the Regional Economist and the Public Sector management Specialist of DCI.

DCI have undertaken a range of reviews as part of its ongoing monitoring and review process. The recommendations of reviews on the Judicial System, Governance, Private Sector Development, Education and Strategy are detailed below.

DCI Reviews

Judicial System

A review of the Judicial System in Timor-Leste was undertaken in August 2005 by Dr. William Binchy for DCI. The review made the following recommendations^xviii:

1.That Ireland should continue to support the justice system of Timor-Leste by contributing to the UNDP programme of liaison with the main justice institutions of Timor-Leste through ongoing contact with the Council of Co-ordination.

a.That the Minister of State should extend an invitation to the Provedor (Ombudsman) to visit Ireland to consult with relevant agencies in Ireland (The Ombudsman; The Human Rights Commission; The Equality Authority), with a view to establishing relationships of mutual benefit.

b.That Ireland provide some supplementary support to the National University of Timor-Leste in the development of its law degree. In this regard, Ireland should offer the services of lawyers qualified in comparative constitutional law and human rights to contribute modules to the Law Degree Programme.

c.That the department of foreign affairs provide financial support for the research and for translation expenses in respect of the publication of the textbook on the Constitution of Timor-Leste

d.That the Minister of State provide seed money for the initiation of the Timor-Leste Legal System as a subject on the Master of Law Degree to be spent on the travel and accommodation expenses of two experts in Timorese law to enable them to contribute lectures to the course. One of these experts would be invited to give a public lecture on an aspect of Timor-Leste law when in Ireland.

Good Governance

A field visit to Timor-Leste was undertaken by the Governance adviser for DCI in September 2005. The report^xix on this visit highlighted the following areas for consideration in future strategic plans for development cooperation with Timor-Leste:

1.The judicial sector is particularly weak and in urgent need of strengthening.

2.The legal system in Timor-Leste is complex and specialized. While support through UNDP should continue, there may be a case for the donor community to collaborate and bring another independent perspective to the programme.

3.Support for the Provendor’s office should be considered by DCI, subject to a commitment by the government of Timor-Leste to support and resource the office, as well as a clear strategy and work plan being developed for the office.

4.DCI should support the Presidential and Parliamentary elections to take place in 2006 or 2007, through the technical secretariat for elections, the independent electoral commission as well as through UNDP and civil society organisations.

5.To develop entry points to support community radio, a medium which is used as a practical and effective means to communicate with the people of Timor-Leste.

6.To consider opportunities for support to parliament, in addition to the UNDP parliamentary democracy programme.

7.To address issues relating to the strengthening of governance in Timor-Leste under a broad CSP sub-objective.

8.To address the need for additional support for the mission in Timor-Leste when planning the next CSP.

Private Sector Development

In 2003 DCI commissioned a review of private sector development with a focus on foreign direct development in response to a request from the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The report^xx concluded that:

‘ it is important therefore that Timor-Leste accelerate its legislative programme and seek to establish at an early stage the broad sectors of investment from maximization of the downstream potential from oil and gas exploration work, specialised agriculture and aquaculture, tourism and any value added activities building on the natural resources of the country.’

The report recommended that the Government of Timor-Leste undertake the following:

1.Develop a specific investment focused roadmap following international best practice;

2.Initiate a public awareness and consultation process among existing foreign and domestic investors, social groups and legislators to achieve an overall national clarity and understanding of foreign investment policies;

3.Develop a more focused strategy on identification of areas of potential opportunity. It is suggested that the initial search focus on areas of natural resource, historical value and beauty.

4.From the competitive sectoral analysis develop a focus on the likely markets for new investment.

5.Examine the potential of creating greater interest initially for increased tourist visitor flow into the country.

6.Examine the prospect of international investment for activities such as fish farming, organic specialist agriculture and floriculture and similar in each areas.

Education

In April 2005 an Issues in Education paper^xxi was prepared by DCI. The report recommended that DCI should support three different basic education initiatives i.e.

1.Provision of teaching / learning materials;

2.Teacher education;

3.Multi grade teaching approaches.

The report concluded that ‘Improving the quality of education in Timor-Leste is both a long-term and challenging process.’ It highlighted the following immediate issues to be addressed:

❖Provision of quality pre and in-service teacher development courses;

❖Development of a curriculum that meets the priorities of the country;

❖Provision of essential teaching and learning materials;

❖Establishment of pupil assessment procedures to ensure greater accountability;

❖Efficient management of: (1) pupils’ transition from their mother tongue to the official languages of Portuguese and Tetum and (2) teachers’ acquisition of Portuguese;

❖Effective teacher deployment strategies.

DCI Strategy Discussion Paper

A Discussion Paper ^xxiiregarding the Timor-Leste Country Strategy was prepared in May 2005 by DCI. The Paper concluded firstly that, DCI should recognise that we will be in Timor Leste for the next 10 years at least,’ and secondly that ‘the quality and nature of our engagement is more important than the financial resources we bring.’ This conclusion points to the need to strengthen the Embassy’s capacity in terms of personnel and analytical resources. Areas suggested for additional financial investment included:

❖Supporting ‘critical posts’ in the Government administration;

❖Human capital in education;

❖Local development in terms of local government structures;

❖Watershed management;

❖Financial management.

The Paper also highlighted the opportunity of working directly through government vis a vis Irish involvement, in addition to channelling support through UNDP for the Justice Sector.

Ireland’s Bilateral Aid Programme 2003-2005

This programme sought to alleviate the material consequences of the recent conflict, contribute towards the immediate needs of political development and institutional capacity building, whilst simultaneously creating the conditions for an appropriate longer-term engagement by Development Cooperation Ireland in Timor-Leste’^xxiii.

The programme focussed on:

❖Support to Trust Funds

❖Support to the Transition

❖Supporting the Recovery Process

These supports are outlined below.

Trust Funds

Two Trust Funds were established following the violence in 1999. The Trust Fund for East Timor (TFET) was established to finance reconstruction and social infrastructure and is administered by the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank. The Consolidated Fund for East Timor (CFET) was established to finance recurrent costs of administering the country. The CFET was replaced in 2002 by the Transitional Support Programme (TSP). The TSP is administered, monitored and part-funded by the World Bank. It supports the implementation of the National Development Plan. These Trusts served to channel funds from many sources into clearly defined activities resulting in reduced transaction costs for the Government.

The initial TSP funds were made up of US$4.1 million from the World Bank and US$32 million from 10 bilateral development partners. The first TSP (FY2003) focused on:

❖The creation of institutions

❖The establishment of the legislative and regulatory framework

❖The strengthening of management systems for core government functions

TSP II (FY2004) focussed on:

❖Good Governance

❖Service delivery for poverty reduction

❖Job Creation

Table 14 outlines the contributions that DCI has made to trust funds for Timor-Leste. The TSP constituted 50% of the DCI budget for Timor-Leste over the 2003-2005 period.

Table 14DCI contributions to trust funds

Source: Development Cooperation Ireland

Following on from the success of the TSP, a new three year Consolidation Support Programme (CSP) is proposed as the successor to the TSP. The CSP focus is also on service delivery (including infrastructure), governance and job creation. Gender and monitoring/evaluation are cross-cutting priorities. DCI propose to support the CSP in line with its TSP support during the 2006-2008 Country Strategy¹⁶.

Support to the Transition

This programme focused on institutional strengthening and capacity development in governance and the public sector. Key elements of the programme included:

❖Election support

❖Research on gender studies

❖Planning consultations

❖Technical assistance to the public administration

The channels for undertaking this work are detailed in Table 15.

Table 15DCI programme activities & associated channels

Source: Development Cooperation Ireland

Community meeting to plan initiatives (Photo courtesy DCI)

Recovery Process

The East Timor Direct Action Programme (ETDAP) locally manages a small grants programme with the support of DCI. Small scale rehabilitation and community based projects have been priorities for this programme. The ETDAP has been an important entry point at a local level for DCI to address institutional capacity issues. This in turn can feed policy discussions at a national level.

DCI has also assisted the Ministry of Internal Administration to develop terms of reference on possible Local Government development options. The Minister of Internal Administration has sought ongoing DCI support in the implementation of this study. This entry point is likely to form an element of future DCI strategy for Timor-Leste.

Latrine construction under the DCI Small Grants Programme (Photo courtesy DCI)

The focus of the 2006-2008 Draft Country Strategy Paper is likely to be similar to the previous strategy with the following objectives:

1.To support the reduction of poverty, through a strengthened public administration and access to improved service delivery;

2.To support and promote Good Governance and Participatory Development in Timor-Leste.

The four proposed focus areas include:

❖Macroeconomic support through the consolidation support programme;

❖Public Sector Management through two new programmes - UNDP capacity building for public sector management and a multi-donor planning and financial management capacity building programme;

❖Decentralisation and Local Government - policy development, Fiscal Decentralisation and Community projects;

❖Rights, Equality and Justice - human rights monitoring and education; promotion of gender equality; strengthening the justice sector; strengthening civil society and support for elections.

Trocaire

Trocaire has long term development programmes in eight¹⁷ Asian countries with an overall budget of €3.1 million (excluding emergencies). Its involvement with Timor-Leste extends back to the mid 1990’s during which time it supported the international movement for independence. Since the transition to democracy it has focused on the areas of:

❖Civil society development;

❖Gender;

❖Sustainable livelihoods.

Civil society in Timor-Leste remains in a state of change as new Governmental structures evolve at national and local levels. The role of civil society is moving from organising communities as activists to organising communities for development. This transition brings its own challenge in terms of defining this new mandate and vision.

The Trocaire involvement in Timor-Leste was originally managed from the Maynooth office, however this is changing to a more direct management route with the opening of a new field office in Jakarta. Trocaire works with six partners in Timor-Leste, the details of which are outlined in Table 16. The 2005/06 budget for development work is €139,000.

Women involved in a CDEP rural development project which provides Agricultural support and training. (Photo courtesy of Trocaire)

Table 16Trocaire Partners in Timor-Leste

This woman (Caterine da Silva) was supported by SAHE to set up a weaving business. (Photo courtesy of Trocaire)

Trocaire highlighted the importance of radio as a channel for community empowerment in Timor-Leste. With few people having access to telephones, television, internet or newspapers, radio and face-to-face communication are the main sources of information. Most of the Trocaire partners use radio to share information, while Lao Hamutuk provides a weekly radio programme. Partners CIIR, Sahe and CDEP, use radio for advertising campaigns, interviews on topical issues and promoting development work.

Concern

Concern has long-term projects in eight Asian countries¹⁸ as well as a Tsunami response in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. It has been working in Timor-Leste since 1999. The Concern budget (2006) for the Asia region is approximately €6.4 million excluding the Tsunami response.

Since 1999 Concern’s work has changed from emergency relief, to rehabilitation and on to longer term development work. Its current planning horizon is to 2010 with a view to tackling poverty through its Livelihood Security and Civil Society Strengthening Programme. The current approach is based on a bottom-up strategy with a focus on increasing livelihood security in the Luro Sub-district of Lautem and Turiscai Sub-district of Manufahi.

Watershed Management Project (Photo courtesy Concern)

The programme includes:

Local development planning: This work involves working with communities to identify problems, resources and solutions leading to new actions plans at village (suku) and hamlet (aldeia) levels of the community. The results of this work will be used in the next livelihood programme to integrate with the elected village councils which will have a mandate for facilitating development in villages.

Working with Community Based Organisations (CBO’s); Community Based Organisations are the main partners with the Concern programme. It works with 29 CBO’s in Luro and 40 in Turiscai. The CBO’s represent an important agent for developing social capital, enabling collective management of resources and a venue for women to learn and work on their own development priorities. It is planned that research will be undertaken in 2006 to establish if this is the most effective strategy for developing social capital.

Strengthening and diversifying livelihood strategies: a range of activities have been implemented as part of the strengthening and diversifying the livelihoods. The activities range from developing community foods management plans, to technical training and adult education. New technologies in agriculture and food processing such as aquaculture, terracing and contour making, permaculture¹⁹, composting, planted spacing and ploughing with cattle, as well as carpentry and sewing form key strands of this programme.

Gender Equality: Concern is actively promoting gender equality in its programme with a view to improving access, participation, control and benefits for women. Working with 11 women’s groups it undertakes training in public speaking and literacy while also encouraging women to stand as candidates in the local village council elections. Improving maternal health is being addressed via advocacy around health issues and the development of nutritional programming. Concern will be appointing a regional adviser for HIV/AIDS to be based in Phnom Penh. The issue of sexual orientation and HIV/Aids will be addressed by the regional adviser.²⁰

Impact of Programmes: Table 17 provides a summary of the impact that the Concern programme in Timor-Leste has had up to December 2004.

Table 17Concern Programme Impact in Timor-Leste

Future Plans

The new livelihood programme will span 2006-2010. It will focus at the District rather than the previous sub-district level in order to better influence and develop processes that promote the involvement of other stakeholders, especially local Government, in providing support to the village level. Changing to district involvement, with the prior experience of the sub-district level, will seek to drive a broader policy agenda. The implementation of Government decentralisation policies will therefore play a crucial role in the roll out of the 2006-2010 strategic plans of Concern.

A Nutrition Programme also forms a central role in the future plans for Timor-Leste. An emergency feeding intervention is planned during the hungry season with supplementary feeding and nutrition education in order to respond to the high levels of acutely malnourished children. Extensive assessments are planned during this supplementary feeding programme in order to design an intervention to address the underlying causes of malnutrition.

Chapter 6 Conclusions & recommendations

Conclusions

Timor-Leste is a country undergoing radical transition following the devastation it suffered during the withdrawal of Indonesia in 1999. The impact of the killings, displacements, destruction of public property and services will only be fully addressed by a combination of emergency relief and long term development strategies. In association with an array of international donors, the Government of Timor-Leste is implementing a long term vision which seeks to achieve a sustainable and vibrant economy. In the long run, this scenario will provide the Timorese with new employment opportunities, improved living standards, social services and infrastructure. Timor-Leste is now the youngest democracy in the world and continues to face many national and global challenges as it works to implement its long term 2020 vision. The development of new systems and structures for governing and administering the country is but one of the critical tasks for the Government.

The ongoing developments in Timor-Leste receive little attention in the current Irish news media. Relative to Ireland’s work in Africa, there appears to be little public understanding of the work being undertaken in Timor-Leste. Increasing public awareness in Ireland of the ongoing Timor-Leste development programme should be a feature of DCI’s future planning process.

For Ireland, Timor-Leste represented a strategic policy shift, when it became Ireland’s first programme country in Asia. While the geographic size of Timor-Leste and its colonial background provide obvious linkages with Ireland, the development priorities of the country far exceed its scale. This situation provides a special set of circumstances for Ireland’s development cooperation programme to partner Timor-Leste from its new democracy to a sustainable economic future. This journey will enable Ireland’s development cooperation programme to learn from the experience and develop its policy framework in an Asian context.

While Irish NGO’s Concern and Trocaire are actively working in Timor-Leste in recent years, they both have extensive development programmes in Asia. Their work in Timor-Leste is pursuing a ‘bottom up’ strategy, working at a local level to define priorities and developing sustainable solutions e.g. water management and agricultural projects while also addressing issues of gender equality and adult education. The future expansion of Irish NGO work is in part linked to the creation of a decentralised local government framework which will provide new opportunities for implementing development solutions on a broader scale.

Ireland is but one of a large international donor community in Timor-Leste. Development trust funds and multilateral agencies are important channels for implementing Ireland’s development strategy. The Transitional Support Programme constituted 50% of the DCI budget for Timor-Leste over the 2003-2005 period. This scenario provided improved administration efficiencies for the Government of Timor-Leste and for the small Irish mission in Timor-Leste. Defining a distinctive development role for Ireland is therefore challenging, especially in the context of the array of donors in the country. However the opportunity for defining strategically distinctive Irish development work should be a focus of the next Country Strategy Paper, against a long term strategic commitment to the country.

Literacy education class organised by SAHE, a Trocaire partner.

(Photo courtesy of Trocaire)

The Government of Timor-Leste has mapped its National Vision extending to 2020 and is rolling out its policies in line with its five year National Development Plan framework. A key element in the roll out of the Vision will be the impact that oil and gas revenues will play in the medium and long term. Timor-Leste will move from relying on donor assistance to a sustainable economic model based on revenues from the Petroleum Fund. This development context is very different from the challenges facing Ireland’s African programme countries which face an array of serious long term development problems. Mapping Ireland’s long term development programme for Timor-Leste is therefore important in terms of strategic development targets and facilitating longer term planning. While the next DCI Country Strategy will span the period 2006-2008, future strategic policies should be developed against a longer-term planning framework.

The overstretched resource base in the Irish mission has been noted during this review. It is clear that the potential expansion of the Irish programme is in part related to the human resource base in the Irish Mission, as well as the absorption capacity across the development priorities. Increasing the size of the Irish Mission would not only increase the programme potential but also facilitate longer term human resource planning for the Timor-Leste programme.

Irish Mission in Timor Leste

L to R - Kerry O’Sullivan, Administrative Attache; Fernando Mendonca, Projects Officer; Carol Hannon, Head of Mission; Januario Dos Santos, Driver.

(Photo courtesy of DCI)

Channelling a significant proportion of funds through multilateral organisations has been an efficient and appropriate modality to date, in line with the development cycle of Timor-Leste. Looking to the future, opportunities for direct linkages with the Government of Timor-Leste should be investigated in areas where DCI can implement distinctive competencies. Linkages with private sector radio channels offer the prospect of communicating programme messages directly to a wide audience, while also supporting the fledgling radio network. Trocaire partners are currently using radio media to promote their development work.

Increasing coordination and understanding between DCI and Irish NGO strategies should provide a more holistic development framework. The Joint Committee recognises that while organisations will pursue their own independent development strategies, benefits are likely to accrue from sharing experiences and communicating respective strategies in the context of the Timor-Leste 2020 vision.

Recommendations

6.That DCI undertake their strategic planning against a 10-12 year development cooperation timeframe for Timor-Leste;

7.That the resource base of the Irish Mission be increased to enable expansion of Ireland’s programme activities;

8.That DCI increase its media coverage of Ireland’s development cooperation work with Timor-Leste with a view to increasing the Irish public’s awareness of our development work in the country;

9.That DCI investigate opportunities for new linkages with the Government of Timor-Leste to increase the level of direct development cooperation programmes. In the long term, this will enable Irish development work to create a more distinctive development presence in Timor-Leste;

10.That DCI incorporate regular briefings with Irish NGO’s working in Timor-Leste, as part of its ongoing strategic plans. In this context, alignment of strategic planning in the context of Timor-Leste local government decentralisation should create opportunities for Irish development cooperation.

¹ Bernard Allen T.D. replaced Gay Mitchell T.D. by Order of the Dáil on 20^th October 2004

² Bernard J. Durkan T.D. replaced Michael Noonan T.D. by Order of the Dáil on 20th October 2004

³ Michael Mulcahy T.D. replaced Dan Wallace T.D. by Order of the Dáil on 16th November 2004

⁴ Human Development Index, measured by the UNDP

ⁱ Development Cooperation Ireland, Report on Study Visit to Timor Leste by William Binchy, August 2005.

⁵ Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste.

ⁱⁱ The Government of Timor-Leste, Planning Commission, East Timor - National Development Plan, May 2002.

⁶ Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

⁷ Timor Living Standard or Household Expenditure Survey

ⁱⁱⁱ World Bank, East Timor, A Survey of the Coffee Sector, May 2001

^iv Government of Timor-Leste, National Development Plan, Part 3 Sectoral Plans,

^v www.transparency.gov.tl/geology

^vi USAID / MOFA, Program Assistance: The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Country Case Study, March 2005

⁸ The JPDA is a maritime boundary established between Indonesia and Australia and subsequently recognised by Timor-Leste as a temporary measure. The JPDA covers the entire Bayu Undan field, but only part of the Greater Sunrise fields.

⁹ Data that is acquired by reflecting sound from underground strata, which is processed to yield a picture of the sub-surface geology of an area.

^vii Timor Sea Office, Press Release, Timor-Leste completes highly successful seismic survey, 17th February 2005, www.timorseaoffice.gov.tl

¹⁰ Liquid Petroleum Gas

^viii Timor Sea Designated Authority, Release of Petroleum Exploration Areas, 2005

^ix The Government of Timor-Leste, Ministry of Planning and Finance, The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Combined Sources Budget 2005-2006, Draft Budget/Background Paper for discussion at the Timor-Leste Development Partners’ Meeting 25-26 April 2005.

¹¹ The opening balance of the Fund on 1st July 2005 included all the accumulated First Tranche Petroleum (FTP) payments and was increased by such amounts to be determined by the Government.

^x Government of Timor-Leste, Ministry of Planning and Finance, Establishing a Petroleum Fund for Timor-Leste, Public Consultation Discussion Paper, October 2004

^xi European Commission, Country Strategy Paper East Timor 2002-2006.

¹² B7 304: Aid to the Rehabilitation and Construction of East Timor. The Commission proposed €14 million for 2002 and the Council and the Parliament in their first reading of the 2002 Budget increased this amount to €28 million.

^xii Asia Development Bank, Country Strategy and Program Update 2005-2006, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, August 2004.

^xiii USAID, USAID Strategic Plan for East Timor, A new Nation Moving Forward, 2005-2009.

^xiv AusAID, AusAID Strategic Plan —Improving Effectiveness in a Changing Environment, December 2001

^xv AusAID, Australia’s Overseas Aid Program 2005-06. 10th May 2005

^xvi United Nations, East Timor United Nations Development Assistance Framework (2003-2005), www.unagencies.east-timor.org

^xvii The Government of Timor-Leste, Our National Vision, 2002

¹³ Presentation to the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs on 20^th February 2003 by Tom Hyland.

¹⁴ The number of news reports on East Timor / Timor-Leste on the RTE website in recent times were: 2003/2005 -19 reports; 2000/2002 -80 reports; 1999 -231 reports.

¹⁵ Meeting with members of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs on 12^th April 2005.

^xviiiDevelopment Cooperation Ireland, Report on Study visit to Timor-Leste, 15-19 August 2005 by Dr. William Binchy.

^xix Development Cooperation Ireland, Report on Field Visit to Timor Leste 29th August — 2nd September 2005 by Kevin Carroll, Development Specialist.

^xx Development Cooperation Ireland, Timor Leste, Report on short-term mission by Kevin J Moore, August 2003

^xxi Development Cooperation Ireland, Issues In Education - Timor-Leste, Draft Paper by Cathal Higgins, April 2005.

^xxii Development Cooperation Ireland, Timor-Leste Country Strategy Discussion Paper, by Ger Considine, Fintan Farrelly & Carol Hannon, 11^th May 2005.

^xxiii Development Cooperation Ireland, Timor-Leste Country Strategy Paper, Bilateral Aid Programme 2003-2005, February 2003.

¹⁶ Department of Foreign Affairs, Briefing Paper on Timor-Leste Country Programme 2003-2005

¹⁷ Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Burma, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

¹⁸ Bangladesh, Pakistan, Timor-Leste, Lao PDR, Cambodia, India, DPRK & Nepal.

¹⁹ Permaculture is a system of agriculture which can be sustained indefinitely. It also includes social aspects of sustainability.

²⁰ Presentation to Joint Committee of Foreign Affairs on 8th November 2005 by Peter Baynard Smith, Concern’s Regional Director.