14 February 2001 -- In a statement issued today following a visit to East Timor, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) called for a strengthening of Timorese governmental institutions to ensure the territory's smooth transition to full independence.
"There is an urgent need to strengthen essential skills and accelerate rehabilitation of infrastructure," said UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown, who noted that such activities should take place simultaneously with a scaling down of the operations of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).
According to Mr. Malloch Brown, who wrapped up his visit on 12 February, it is crucial to develop the skills of local public servants to avoid a vacuum in experienced officials when the UN transitional administration phases out of East Timor. Pointing out that UNTAET would "not be running the show" by next year, he said one of the biggest challenges for East Timor's leaders would be to agree on a range of national priorities.
In a meeting with senior independence leaders Xanana Gusmão and Jose Ramos-Horta, Mr. Malloch Brown proposed the development of a UNDP-backed programme to meet the training needs of 1,300 professional East Timorese who are currently without jobs and could be integrated into the civil service. He also offered UNDP's assistance in strengthening the country's planning processes, stressing that "you can have lots of money and projects, but nothing compares to having the planning strategy right."
During his stay, the Administrator visited villages and spoke with local leaders about their needs. He also traveled to a Japanese-funded UNDP project in Manatuto, 80 kilometres east of Dili, that has enabled rice farmers to draw water from a local river through the reconstruction of irrigation systems.
While in Dili, Mr. Malloch Brown attended East Timor's first large-scale debate on human rights, reconciliation and elections, organized with the help of UNTAET. "The biggest threat to a nation is poverty," he said during the debate held on 12 February. "And promoting a human rights-based vision of human development is the best way to empower poor people to help themselves."
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