Comunicado - PM

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR-LESTE
OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
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MEDIA RELEASE

Dili, November 13, 2006

Prime Minister vows to build school and health center in remote Suco Uaibobo

Prime Minister Dr José Ramos-Horta has vowed to build a new school and health center in the remote Suco of Uaibobo in Ossu Sub-District of Viqueque.

“It broke my heart to see the state of the so-called school building that the children of Uaibobo have been using,” Dr. Ramos-Horta said after touring the existing facilities. “The building isn’t fit for human beings,”

“Why after five years of independence are those children still being taught in those deplorable conditions? This is unacceptable.”

The Prime Minister said all people in Uaibobo deserve access to a clinic without walking for long distances, and promised to send a technician to the remote area to study the community’s needs.

The Prime Minister said that he would contact the Ministers of Education and Public Works as there may be a budget in the current government program to establish a proper school. However, the Prime Minister said that if no such budget has been allocated, he vowed he would make a personal contribution with building materials while the Ministry of Labor and Community Re-insertion could allocate funding for labor through the Cash-for-Work program.

He said that within six months he wants the new school to be ready.

Dr Ramos-Horta’s prompt action is consistent with his assurance that the poor and forgotten in the rural areas would be the main focus of his government.

“The people of Uaibobo will no longer be forgotten. It is time to give them some dignity, hope and human respect,” Prime Minister Ramos-Horta told the hundreds of people who greeted him enthusiastically.

“Regardless of the party of the government, the government should care for everyone. If you are strong, you should care for the weak. In politics, and in democracy, we should take each other’s hands so we can stand stronger together, united.”

The Prime Minister’s visit to Uaibobo on Sunday was organized by Antonio Aitahan-Matak, the Coordinator General of CPD-RDTL. Prime Minister paid tribute to the veterans and addressed the large crowd with a message of peace and tolerance.

In his visit to Uaibobo, the Prime Minister was accompanied by the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports, José Manuel Fernandes; the Vice-Minister of State Administration, Valentim Ximenes; the Vice-Minister of Heath, Luís Lobato; Members of Parliament Januário Soares, Osório Florindo, Norberto J. Espirito Santro and Dr. Rui Antonio da Cruz.

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