Timor-Leste International and Local Media Monitoring Jan 15, 2004

Timor Post

Parliament approves FY03/04 budget

The National Parliament approved yesterday the budget for FY03/04 presented by the Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, where 66 members of the Parliament voted in favour, seven against, and 10 abstained. The Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, said that an amount of USD$74,615,078 is not 100% sure and secure yet as the FY03/04 the budget figure. He said that the Government depends on donors' financial support, and sometimes pledges are only promises. Dr Alkatiri said that the reason for this tight budget is because the Government was expecting revenues from the Timor Sea, but because of technical problems, Timor Sea revenues have been delayed.

Decision in UN's hand ­ says Ruak

The Commanderr of F-FDTL Brigadier General, Taur Matan Ruak, said that is not up to him to request an extension of the UNMISET mandate in Timor-Leste and only UN can make this decision. He added that as an international institution the UN has to come up with a solution to this situation.

Court of Appeal with less money ­ says Tilman

The Vice-President of the Parliamentary C Commission for Economy, Manuel Tilman, said that the budget revision for the FY03/04 left him with no other alternative than to vote against it. He said he did not accept the drastic cut for the Court of Appeal in the budget. Mr Tilman said that if he was the Prime Minister he would borrow money from the World Bank instead of making drastic cuts in the budget.

20 million for road repairs ­ says Alves

The State Secretary for Public Works, Joao Alves, said that the Government has allocated an amount of USD$ 20 million to repair and upgrade the road that connects Lospalos to Iliomar and Viqueque. He added that the money was allocated from the TFET programs for road repair. Mr Alves said this road repair program is important to help the local population and also to help develop the rural economy.

Consultation for better education in Baucau

The Vice-Director for the Department of Education in Baucau, Rodolfo Aparicio, said that to improve the quality of education in Baucau his department has committed to continuing with its program for the development of better teachers and students. Mr Aparicio said that his Department had scheduled a meeting with members of six Sub-Districts of Baucau to discuss the best way to implement the program.

STL

Santos Bayu-Undan project on track

The first stage of Santos Ltd's $US 3,3 billion Bayu-Undan project in the Timor Sea is on schedule to start production in April this year. Santos managing director John Ellice-Flint said the project, operated by the US energy Company, ConocoPhillips, had successfully opened two wells for production as part of the project's commissioning and loaded 1000 metric tones each of propane and butane into a floating storage off-take vessel to pre-cool them in preparation for production. "Bayu-Undan remains on schedule for first liquids production in April 2004…this laatest achievement we will successfully deliver commercial liquids production in coming weeks", said Mr Ellice-Flint.

Why does the Government not have control of Timor Gap? ­ asks Gusmao

During a session in the National Parliament a member of PSD party, Fernando Gusmao, questioned the Prime Minister on why the Government does not have control in the Timor Gap or the Timor Sea exploration. He asked whether the role of the Timor Sea Designated Authority was to defend or not the interest of the Timorese people. The Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, responded by saying just because the Government doesn't control the technical side of the exploration doesn't mean that the Government doesn't control the administration side. He added that on the technical side, only the investors know how many pipes they going to need in the project.

Government did not shutdown CEP ­ says PM

The Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, said that the Community Empowerment Project (CEP) has been established for a while and it was coming to an end, but is not the Government who is shutting it down. He added that CEP ends and leaves a very heavy load for the Government to carry. Dr Alkatiri said that the heavy load left behind by CEP is the Community Radios which he says have better facilities than the National Radio. He said to maintain local radios will require extra finance.

Patients delighted with doctors in Baucau

A patient in the Hospital of Baucau, Maria Dias Carvalho, said that doctors and nurses in Baucau Hospital are very professional and they care for the patients. She said the patients are very happy indeed.

Food shortage in Oe-Cussi

A Member of the National Parliament, Antonio da Costa Lelan, said that people living near the beach in Sakato and Maquelab,Sub-District of Pante Makassar Vila are, lamenting the fact that they have hardly any food to eat. He added that people have appealed to the State Secretary of Solidarity to support them as has been done in the past.

Bobonaro has high numbers of tuberculosis

The Clinic coordinator for TBC in the District of Bobonaro, Jose Manuel da Cruz, said that in Bobonaro alone in 2003 they registered 50% of patients infected with tuberculosis, and some of the patients have not been able to receive treatment. He added that the reason for them not receiving treatment was because they lived too far from the hospital. Mr da Cruz said that a program have been established in Bobonaro with support from Caritas, the Church and the Ministry of Health for treatment and prevention of tuberculosis.

Sledge hammer to knock schools down ­ says Alkatiri

During a plenaryy session at the National Parliament the Prime Minister, Dr Mari Alkatiri, said that he will use a sledge hammer and knock down government schools that are not running properly and are only wasting Government money. He added that the did want to see money wasted on schools where teachers are not performing their duties well. Dr Alkatiri said that the Government is preparing a law that governs teachers' conducts and also another law for the nurses.

News Release from ADB

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK-JAPAN SCHOLARSHIP (funded by the Government of Japan)

Qualified citizens of developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank, who intend to pursue post-graduate studies in economics, management, science and technology, and other development-related fields are invited to apply for scholarships under the Asian Development Bank-Japan Scholarship Program. It is anticipated that upon successful completion of their graduate studies under the Program, the scholars should return to their countries and contribute to its socio-economic development. Scholarships are awarded for graduate studies at designated institutions in courses of study approved by ADB. The Program especially welcomes women applicants who are qualified but have limited financial means to obtain university education.

THE SCHOLARSHIPS: LEVEL OF EDUCATION: Post-graduate (Diploma, Masters and Doctorate degrees); DURATION: From one to two years; COVERAGE: Tuition fees, books, subsistence and housing allowance, insurance, economy airfare, and research subsidy

ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS: 1. AUSTRALIA—NATIONAL CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES/AUSTRAALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY ( URL:http://ncdsnet.anu.edu.au/, E-mail: billie. headon@anu.edu.au), UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE (URL:http://www.unimelb.edu.au, E-mail:pg-schols@unimelb.edu.au), UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY (URL:http://www.usyd.edu.au/ su/io/ scholarships, E-mail:Infoschol@io.usyd.edu.au) 2. CHINA, PEOPLE’S REPULIC OF—UNIVERSITY OFF HONG KONG (URL:http://www.hku.hk, E-mail:rss@reg.hku.hk) 3. INDIA—INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, DELHI (URL::http://www.iitd.ac.in , E-mail:kps_iit@hotmail.com ) 4. JAPAN—INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF JAPAN(URL:http://wwww.iuj.ac.jp, E-mail:iabe@iuj.ac.jp, admgsir@iuj.ac.jp, admgsim@iuj.ac.jp), GRADUATESCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NAGOYA UNIVERSITY (URL:http://www.gsid.nagoya-u.ac.jp/index-en.html, E-mail:Adb@m.gsid.nagoya-u.ac.jp), NATIONAL GRADUATE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES (URL:http://www.grips.ac.jp/index-e.html, E-mail:admissions@grips.ac.jp), Saitama University (URL:http://www.civil.saitama-u.ac.jp/fso/fso.html, E-mail:fso@sun.civil.saitama-u.ac.jp), UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO (URL:http://www.civil.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/, URL: http://env.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp, URL: http://www.k.u-tokyo. ac.jp/e/index.html, URL: http://www.sih.m.u-tokyo.ac.jp/, E-mail:Fso@civil.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp, takizawa@ env.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp, fso@k.u-tokyo.ac.jp, adb@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp) 5. NEW ZEALAND—UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND (URL: htttp:// www.auckland.ac.nz, E-mail: international@auckland.ac.nz) 6. PAKISTAN—LAHORE UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT SCIIENCES (URL: www.lums.edu.pk/, E-mail:admission@lums.edu.pk) 7. PHILIPPINES—ASIAN INSTITUTE OFMANAGEMENT (URL: http://www.aim.edu.ph, E-mail: Admissions@aim.edu.ph), INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE/University of the Philippines in Los Baños (URL: www.training.irri.org/, E-mail: adb-inquiry@irri.exch.cgiar.org ), 8. SINGAPORE—NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE (URL: http://www.fba.nus.edu.sg/, http://www. fas.nus.edu.sg/ppp/mpp/core.html, E-mail: ecsbox10@nus.edu.sg, Bizbox18@nus.edu.sg, mppbox1 @nus.edu.sg, ecssec@nus.edu.sg, sdelvlc@nus.edu.sg) 9. THAILAND—ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (URL: http:///www.ait.ac.th, E-mail: admissions@ait.ac.th), THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY—(URL:http://grad.tu.ac.th/, E-mail: Turevieew @alpha.tu.ac.th) 10.USA—EAST-WEST CENTER (URL: http:://www.eastwestcenter.org, E-mail: adbjsp@eastwestcenter.org)

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Prospective applicants must: be a citizen of an ADB developing member country, have at least two years work experience, have gained admission to an approved course in a designated institution, be in good health, not more than 35 years old at the time of application. (Staff of ADB and the designated institutions and their close relatives are not eligible to apply).

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: Applicants should: obtain application forms from the designated institutions of their choice; submit the completed application form and required documentation to the Institution, indicate on the application form that the applicant wishes to be considered for an Asian Development Bank-Japan Scholarship. (From among those admitted by the institutions, ADB will select candidates for award of scholarships. A separate application to ADB is not necessary).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT THE ADB-JSP web site: http://www.adb.org/jsp

World Bank Job vacancies

Jose Filipe External Affairs World Bank, Dili Office Ph: 723 3110 Tel: 332 4649 Email: ffilipe@worldbank.org Email: maubere07@yahoo.com.au

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