Catalog

By Pamposh Dhar ( pdhar@adb.org )
External Relations Officer

Each Timorese man, woman, and child must live in freedom and have equal access to health, education, and other basic facilities

Poet, freedom fighter, and now president of the world’s youngest nation — President Xanana Gusmão of EastTimor is a legend in his own lifetime. He led East Timor’s FALINTIN resistance army until he was captured by the Indonesian military in November 1992 and spent the next 7 years in jail and under house arrest in Jakarta.

When he returned to East Timor, he found his country devastated after the vote for independence. In April 2002, he was elected president and assumed office the following month when the United Nations Transitional Administration handed over power.

You struggled for long years for independence — how does it feel now that independence is here?

The struggle ended in August 1999 with the vote for independence. That was the end of the struggle and the beginning of independence. Now we are in the process of establishing political, administrative, and judicial systems.

However, independence can only be meaningful if it is enjoyed equally by all Timorese. Each Timorese man, woman, and child must live in freedom and have equal access to health, education, and other basic facilities.

What will be your role as the first president of East Timor?

I intend to fulfill the role prescribed in the constitution where the president is the symbol and guarantor of national independence, unity of the state, and regular functioning of democratic institutions.

I will also honor commitments made during my campaign, such as fostering reconciliation through the development of good relations with other peoples and states in the interest of peace, good neighborly relations, and cooperation. Other commitments include encouraging national entrepreneurship; capacity building for our youth; ensuring the independence and professionalism of the press; and promoting good governance, in particular by combating corruption and nepotism. As president, I’ll play an active role in the process of defining priorities, so that the Government’s program, despite all the current limitations and constraints, will not distance itself from the expectations of the people.

What are the country’s human development priorities?

Human development is a very complex issue. The Government needs to establish the strategy and the programs to increase human resource skills and capabilities. We must have a vision for the future and a strategy to help us draw up programs to fulfill that vision.

Before I became a presidential candidate, I was chairman of the civil society component for the National Planning Commission. We had a consultation with the people about their needs and about what they feel that East Timor should be in 2020.

As an example, in Oecusse District, they told us that they would like every subdistrict to have a doctor in 2020. The Government needs to take note of such priorities. To have in 2020 a doctor in each subdistrict, we must plan now—we must plan how many doctors we will have in 5 years, how many in 10 years, and so on. And as health is a priority everywhere, we can apply this guidance in other districts, too.

When you talk about human development, you talk about the future. We need doctors, engineers, farmers, and so forth, although human development in East Timor is, above all, about the farmer. We must have very good programs to give people confidence in their future, confidence that they can improve their own lives. We have to give people the real means of independence, the means to change their lives for the better.

After the conflict of 1999, the Trust Fund for East Timor financed a project, managed by ADB, to rehabilitate or upgrade roads, ports, and power infrastructure. Have the priorities in infrastructure development shifted in any way since the trust fund was established?

ADB has played a good role in the rehabilitation effort. Roads are very important—people have coffee, rice, and other products to sell, but they are not able to bring them to market. We now have to pay more attention to the second level of roads.

At this early stage of development, we cannot spend too much money in one place—if we pay attention to Dili, we must also pay attention to other areas. People need access to their markets. They don’t ask for asphalt, they just want a road.

I have told the people, if I am elected president, I will make sure that we are not spending money to cover the same holes again and again! Quality of construction is very important to minimize the need for repairs.

But surely roads do need maintenance?

Maintenance in 1 year, yes, but not every 5 months. Quality should be a priority.

When construction of roads is undertaken, it must be long lasting and meet minimum standards. ADB has to ensure that these minimum standards are upheld.

The frequency of slippage in East Timor, for example, means that construction—or indeed maintenance of roads—needs to consider prevention of slippage so that we don’t fall into a cycle of having to attend to the same area season after season because slippage will occur every wet season.

What are the infrastructure needs and priorities of East Timor today?

Aside from road construction for the reasons that I have outlined, there are other priorities also. We must ensure that people have direct access to running water, for example. I understand that much work is already being done in this area, but I have also heard reports that funds have not always been used appropriately.

That there have been projects in some areas that have established pipes, tanks, etcetera—and water is still not reaching the people due to bad engineering. All of these need to be carefully monitored. We must create pride and responsibility in the delivery of these services.

Does ADB have a role to play in achieving East Timor’s short-term and long-term goals?

Oh, of course, of course. We have no money and you are a bank! (laughs) We are aware that we will face very difficult financial conditions in the first 3 years. As a development bank, ADB brings with it the experience of many interventions in other countries.

Personally, I see that ADB can provide valuable assistance to our Government. Because we are at the beginning of our life as an independent nation, we may feel that perhaps we are not so well prepared to do everything at once. That’s why ADB can play a role in helping the Government build the country.

If you had a message to give the children of East Timor, what would you say?

To study and to believe in the future. We are committed to doing our best for that future—to improve the standard of living for our children. Of course, we will face many difficulties, we will face many challenges, but the Government’s goal must be that as the children grow up, they live better lives than their parents. To make this happen, the children themselves must go to school, and they must have dreams: to be doctors, to be engineers, to be teachers, to be farmers—good farmers—to be useful citizens.

Many people think that after finishing school everyone must work in an office. This is an appeal to the children—to be a good farmer is an important profession in East Timor. Even if you do well in school, don’t see office work as the only possibility. Don’t see working under an air conditioner as the real meaning of labor, of work.

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