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Wolfowitz hails East Timor's management of energy revenues
AFP
DILI
Petroleumworld.com 04 11 06East Timor's management of its oil revenues can set an example for other countries but the world's newest nation must put safeguards against corruption in place, World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz said Monday.
"The system in place is sound and can stand as something for a model for other countries," he told a press conference on the last day of his visit.
Wolfowitz said that "in many cases, oil revenue has hurt developing countries more than it has helped. It has often undermined discipline in public accounts, increased corruption and actually made social divisions and poverty worse but I have every confidence that will not be the case in Timor Leste (East Timor).
"But this is definitely an area for continued vigilance going forward," said Wolfowitz, who met energy officials during his stay.
The World Bank chief said energy revenues must benefit the people and reduce poverty in a nation which was Asia's poorest upon independence in 2002.
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said his country had established a Petroleum Fund so that revenue from energy resources in the Timor Sea would benefit future generations.
"We are building infrastructure that the population needs. We will create jobs and improve the living conditions in the districts, not just in the capital of the country," he told the press conference.
More than half the population is aged under 18 and the country has one of the world's highest population growth rates.
Wolfowitz praised Alkatiri for his country's "remarkable performance" in recovering from years of conflict.
East Timorese guerrilla forces battled Indonesian troops during their almost 24 years of occupation. A report presented to the United Nations in January estimated that the occupation killed between 84,000 and 183,000 people.
More than 90 percent of the deaths were due to hunger and illness.
Last month rioting blamed partly on hundreds of army deserters hit the capital Dili. Some 600 soldiers walked out in protest at their conditions.
Alkatiri, in answer to a question, said he was working on a solution with President Xanana Gusmao and parliament and expected to reach one soon. He said he did not see the incident as a threat to national peace.
AFP 04 10 06 1354 GMTCopyright © 1994-2006 Agence France-Presse. All Rights Reserved.
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