Noble Peace Laureate, Ramos-Horta to use his voice as ‘President for the Poor’ for East Timor

Ramos-Horta proposes radical fiscal policy to eradicate poverty in East Timor. DILI – April 2, 2007 - The Prime Minister of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta today proposed new fiscal policies he would advocate being introduced to end poverty in East Timor if elected President in the upcoming elections, to be held on April 9, 2007.

[ClickPress, Tue Apr 03 2007] Dr Ramos-Horta, running as an independent candidate, recognises that investment has to be made today to protect the future of the world’s newest country and deliver the population from poverty and unrest. Dr. Ramos- Horta is the only candidate to date to introduce concrete plans to deliver the economic reforms the country so desperately needs.

“As a country we are blessed with rich natural resources, our oil revenues deliver in excess of US$1 billion a year. Obviously we have to preserve and protect this revenue source, but a key percentage of it needs to be put back into the pockets of the people and used to establish a solid foundation for future growth and prosperity,” stated Dr. Ramos-Horta. “Much of our population still currently lives in extreme poverty, a situation that is totally unacceptable.

“I propose that these revenues should be used to eliminate suffering, enhance our proud country’s infrastructure and deliver a sound future to our people. We currently spend more money attempting to collect taxes than we receive from them. I therefore propose that no one earning under US$1000 a month will pay tax, for those earning above this there will be only 10 per cent tax. This will ease the burden on the poor and assist the small businesses struggling to drive our burgeoning economy.

“I will establish the president’s Task-Force on Poverty’, co-chaired by the Head of State, the Speaker of National Parliament and the Prime Minister. The task force will look at the policy of distributing grants to the poorest of households and the extension of the cash for work scheme from tasks such as road sweeping to maintenance of our roads, hospitals and schools. The task force will investigate past successes and failure of previous government initiatives over four years to get money to the poor and look to create employment for our people, while improving our facilities to create a healthier, better educated and more prosperous future.”

“If elected I will advocate for a tight pension plan to help our poorest and most disadvantaged. I have worked closely with some of the world’s top economists on this matter. The country can afford to budget up to US$40 million to pay out pensions to the 100,000 poorest individuals, giving them US$40 a month to ease the burden on the elderly, handicapped, war widows and veterans. The payments should be done on a quarterly basis to save on administrative costs.”

“It is the basic right of every East Timorise citizen to have access to the basic necessities of food, water and hope, to have a roof over their head and access to education and Healthcare. This is my vision for our country. Only through creating a society that allows people to help themselves will we realise the true benefits of democracy and assume our place as an independent economic powerhouse in the Asia-Pacific region.”

José Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, studied Public International Law at The Hague Academy of International Law and at Antioch University where he completed a Master of Arts degree in Peace Studies. He was trained in Human Rights Law at the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg and attended Post-Graduate courses in American Foreign Policy at Columbia University in New York. He is a Senior Associate Member of the University of Oxford's St Antony's College and was considered as a candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as United Nations Secretary-General. He opted out of the race in order to serve as East Timor's Prime Minister and continues his fight to consolidate democracy in East Timor.
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