The National Consultative Council will meet tomorrow at 2 p.m. for an information session and for budget discussions. For the first time, journalists are invited to attend the first part of the meeting, in which UNTAET will brief the members on current issues, such as the situation on civil service, the reconstruction program, judicial affairs and prisons. The session will take between one and two hours.
Policy on public and media access to NCC sessions is under review.
On Wednesday, 17 May, at 2 p.m., the NCC will be discussing tax issues before the audience.
VIQUEQUE ISOLATED AFTER STORM
The situation in Viqueque remains bad after the storm on 12 May. The storm caused the local river to rise by about two meters. There is still no access to Viqueque by road, since the heavy rain caused a bridge five kilometers from Viqueque town to collapse.
A local contractor, East Timor Asphalt Resources, has put gravel on a by-pass road leading down to the river. The only way to get to the town is by helicopter or by crossing the river in four-wheel vehicles.
About 20 houses along the river were flooded and an assessment of the damages is currently being made. Household goods have been distributed to the flood victims. The sub-district of Uatu Carabau remains cut off, and two other sub-districts are in danger of becoming isolated.
Water supply in the area has been reduced to 20 per cent of the normal supply as the water pipes have burst. The repair cost for the pipes is estimated at US$ 100,000.
The span of the gap created by the missing bridge is approximately 15 meters. The Bangladeshi Peacekeeping Force engineering team, which had recently made an assessment of the bridge before the collapse and had indicated that they would return with a pre-fabricated bridge a so-called Bailey bridge in approximately ten days.
The prolonged rainy season, years of inadequate road maintenance and a tendency to overload vehicles continue to be a problem all over East Timor.
POWER IN 85 PER CENT OF THE COUNTRY
Viqueque town has had 24-hour power supply since 29 April, benefiting more than 5,000 people. Around 85 per cent of East Timor is currently served with electricity. Out of the 57 power stations/towns in East Timor with power, Viqueque is the 21st town to have electricity.
Dili, Baucau and Viqueque currently have power around the clock. The supply is 12 hours in Lospalos. Other towns tend to have power for six hours a day, from 6 p.m. until midnight.
Power will be introduced in Suai late this month; in Gleno by mid-May 2000. There is no time set for Ainaro.
Suai, Gleno and Ainaro were badly hit during the violence of September 1999 and the demand for electricity is low. Ainaro has low priority, since it has been virtually abandoned.
Diesel-powered generators are the primary source of electricity in East Timor. Dili s two power stations supply Liquica, Metinaro, Hera and Maubara with power.
STRANDED BOAT PASSENGERS RETURN
The 19 East Timorese passengers from the boat KM Bonito that was found on Wetar Island in Indonesia returned to their Atauro Island home on Saturday 13 May with the help of the Peacekeeping Force (PKF).
On Saturday, at 2:00 p.m., a PKF helicopter was dispatched from Dili to Wetar Island after receiving air-space clearance from the Indonesian Air Force. The passengers were airlifted to Atauro the same day.
On May 10, the PKF transported by helicopter 100 kilograms of dry food from
the World Food Program and 180 bottles of water from UNTAET to Atauro
Island. The food and water should last for four days.
TV IN DILI
Tomorrow, at 5 p.m., UNTAET Television called Televisao UNTAET will
start broadcasting in Dili. The program, an hour-long video magazine,
contain features, interviews, news, entertainment and public service
announcements, and is produced, directed and presented by East Timorese.
A new tape will be produced every week, and broadcast on Tuesdays.
NEW TEPs IN MANATUTO
A new Transitional Employment Project in Manatuto has employed 350 people,
bringing the total of TEP employees in the district to 970, 215 of them are
women. There are seven projects in the district, mainly infrastructure
improvement projects such as road and bridge repairs, cleaning of the sports facility, the market
area, schools and ditches.
All sub-districts in Manatuto, Laleia, Laclo, Natarbora, Laclubar and
Soibada, have ongoing TEP projects. Manatuto town has two TEPs, opened on 24
April 2000.
