DILI, 10 november 2021 (TATOLI)-Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak acknowledged that the economic fragility in Timor-Leste was caused by four factors such as political instability, economic recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and natural disasters.
“There are four things that contribute to our economic situation, political instability, economic resection, the COVID-19 pandemic, and natural disasters that have caused many losses from 2020 to 2021,” said Taur at the Timor Hotel, Monday.
PM Taur explained that the state lost and the people suffered during the disaster in 2020 it reached more than $50 million, for 2021 it was around $200 million, and to rebuild the country, the state had to spend around $300 million.
“If we have a disease like this, we are already in a fragile period and what we need is recovery and we have taken various steps so that it doesn’t turn short, we realize that TL is still in difficult times,” he explained.
He also realized that to improve the economy of Timor-Leste it was very important that every part of it was heard. The country’s economic recovery is needed through the productive sector, but it is still very difficult, one example is the location of tourism and the productivity of the agricultural sector.
“We have a lot of work ahead to do and it is possible to diversify the country’s economy such as creating new innovative and productive businesses, increasing the potential of our human resources and improving the population’s access system to information,”
He added that to increase people’s knowledge about social and economic issues. They should have the opportunity to access the right information about their contribution to developing the public and private sector, as well as the opportunities offered by the market.
Economic improvement in the country is considered easy from the demand side through income transfer measures for producing countries. However, the challenge lies in the supply side of economic recovery, where the country’s real productive base lies.
The supply side is needed for infrastructure, training and community empowerment, institutional reform. These requirements will help the economic recovery to react and run properly. Many public policies, during a pandemic, tend to stagnate in the first part, which is helping people and companies, because this is a fight against the negative impact of the pandemic in the short term.
Therefore, the assistance received by the government from development partners does not contribute to economic growth in the country.
“Countries will differentiate themselves in combating the medium and long term impacts. How to position Timor-Leste in the post-COVID-19 pandemic? We have a challenge on our hands to come out of this crisis well and position the country with more energy, more dynamics of economic growth, towards a better future,”
“Indeed, we have an Economic Recovery Plan, which is an economic recovery program. But it is also true that we face challenges to effectively implement the Economic Recovery Plan,” PM Taur added.
Journalist: Jose Belarmino de Sa
Editor: Nelia B
