Lao Hamatuk Part 1 - Dire economic straits for Timor Leste after 2012 Elections

Part one of three


Charles Scheiner and Juvenal are researchers for the Lao Hamutuk
("Walking Together) NGO in Timor Leste. For many years Lao
Hamatuk has been monitoring the governance of Timor Leste. Among
other things, they look at how TL spends its oil revenues, which
come from exporting the nonrenewable oil and gas reserves under
the Timor Sea. Returns on investing the Petroleum Fund are only
about one-tenth of the royalties and revenues paid by oil
companies. As the oil and gas reserves are depleted, and oil
revenues fall, investment returns will not be nearly enough to
sustaining TL's state spending. For more details,
seehttp://laohamutuk.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-timor-leste-got-ten-billion-dollars.html .


At the time of the 2012 general elections they are particularly
critical of the government of the past five years, and concerned
that the incoming government review its spending priorities.


The Lao Hamatuk website can be found
at http://www.laohamutuk.org/