TIMOR-LESTE’S FRETILIN OPPOSITION CALLS FOR LESS SPENDING AND EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF OIL MONEY

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Dili, 04 Feb (LUSA) - The Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste (FRETILIN), the only opposition party in Timorese parliament, today asked the government to ensure greater efficiency in public spending and sound management of the oil revenues.

"We urgently need a proper macroeconomic and fiscal policy to fight poverty," said Mari Alkatiri, the FRETILIN Secretary-General.

The former prime minister was speaking at the national parliament where he returned as an elected member to participate in the discussion of the State Budget for 2013, now US$1.797 billion dollars (about 1.3 billion euros).

"The guideline followed in recent years, although fundamentally motivated by good intentions, proved to be inadequate, inefficient and ineffective," said Mari Alkatiri, noting that more than 60 percent of the country’s million or so people continue to live in deprivation.

According to the FRETILIN leader, the government must promote and ensure greater efficiency in public spending to create further economic growth to allow for a more equitable distribution of wealth and to reduce poverty.

For this, Mari Alkatiri stressed, it takes a "rational management of the oil revenues."

The State budget is funded primarily from the Petroleum Fund, which in September was about 11 billion US dollars.

"One can only conclude from the structure of the proposed state budget that there is no coherent economic and fiscal policy aimed at combating inflation and poverty," said Mari Alkatiri.

Economic growth in Timor-Leste has been about 12 percent since 2007, but has been accompanied by high inflation which reached 15.4 percent in December 2011.

Currently, inflation has stabilized at 11 percent.

For Mari Alkatiri, the solution for lowering inflation, which the government intends to see stabilized between 3 and 4 per cent by 2017, will be through the "review of expenditure and public spending policies."

According to the opposition leader, we need a regional integrated development, promotion of entrepreneurship, through support to private sector development and to agriculture.

"Looking at this government, I have no doubt that it will only mean a continued draining of public resources for inefficient ends.  A big government, huge for the size country we have," he said.

The government of Timor-Leste has 55 members, including ministers, deputy ministers and state secretaries.

MSE.

Lusa / End

(Translated from original Portuguese text)

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