UN inaugurates new public service commission for East Timor
24 March -- The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) today inaugurated a public service commission that will oversee the creation of a civil service and the appointment of permanent staff.
Speaking at a press briefing in Dili, the Director of UNTAET's public employment department, Andrew Whitley, said the UN mission would probably hire 7,000 people this year, in accordance with the salary scales, procedures, and terms of employment established by the new commission.
When asked how the commission envisaged hiring 7,000 people in Dili without creating a riot, Mr. Whitley agreed that there was a great deal of pressure on the UN mission to put people into jobs.
"Our purpose in setting up the civil service is not to create mass employment," he said. "It is to create lean and efficient civil service. Therefore we are not going to respond to the demands simply to be able to fill posts without concern for what those people would actually do."
Meanwhile, as overall security conditions improve in East Timor, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has stepped up its distribution of shelter materials. To date, UNHCR has handed out 4,187 shelter kits and plans to distribute 35,000 this year.
