A large amount of money was approved, but roads remain in poor condition

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Televizaun Timor-Leste, April 13, 2011 language source: Tetun

Bishop for Baucau Diocese, Monsignor Basilio do Nascimento, said the Government proposed a large amount of money for the general state budget and it was approved by the parliament to develop this country, but reality shows that road conditions remain poor.

Monsignor Nascimento said the Government increases the amount of general state budget every year, but no positive results have been gained from the development process, particularly regarding the infrastructure of the country.

"As you can see when you come to Baucau, the road condition is bad and it has not been repaired yet. So sometimes I am kidding, but I just want to say that the Government increases the amount of money but the roads remain in bad conditions; therefore the money and roads are proportional in our country. It is unclear what the money is being spent for," Monsignor Nascimento said.

Nascimento added that it is true that the United Nations did many things in Timor-Leste, but it is important for Timor-Leste to not continue depending on other countries and it needs to manage itself.

"In my opinion, we need to grow up, because if we only depend on others' help, it will make us not be independent. It is true that the United Nations did many things in the country and probably we still need something from them, in my opinion, we still need something like assessments to be made by the state leaders so they can say we still need some support in some sectors, but the things we are able to handle than we have to do it ourselves without help from others. For example, a student will not need help from the teacher if he/she thinks he/she is able to do the thing by him/herself. Therefore it is important for us to be independent in managing ourselves in order to identify where our weaknesses are," Monsignor Nascimento said.

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao recently said the International Stabilization Force (ISF) will leave the country together with the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).

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