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CNRT to Create Small Business Initiatives in Timor Leste

Dili – 21st June 2007

CNRT today outlined plans to change the current hostile environment to the private sector into a market friendly environment with short and long term developments as a national priority. CNRT knows that building a strong private sector in Timor Leste is fundamentally important to the development of the nascent nation. CNRT recognises that the role of government is to provide a regulatory environment and infrastructure that supports, not thwarts business, as does the current environment.

The facts and figures clearly demonstrate that the Fretilin Government has failed in this essential area of economic activity.  The key finding of a seminal World Bank report, that reviewed the legal and regulatory environment governing private sector activities, reads as follows: “The end result it is a business regulatory environment that many existing and potential entrepreneurs still regard as more hostile than welcoming to private investment.”
 
The report ranked 175 countries on the difficulty of starting a new business and East Timor ranked at 174. It scored as the worst in the world for contract enforcement. The report says, “In practical terms the court system has been unavailable to deal with either commercial dispute resolution or the non-criminal aspects of the business regulatory environment affecting private sector activities.”

CNRT commits to change this environment and give the people the economic opportunities to succeed.

Since taking office in 2002, Fretilin has failed to stimulate small business growth, in part attributable to its centralisation of government that has attracted international attention for its inefficiency, its lack of leadership and lack of programmes and education. A key result of this neglect is that East Timor’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has actually decreased during their tenure of Government.  

The vitality of Timor Leste in decades to come will be dependent on the immediate development of a small business sector to stimulate job creation. CNRT intends to provide small business initiatives and tax breaks that will give the people of Timor Leste the freedom to pursue a wide breadth of economic opportunities cross sectors.

CNRT seeks to immediately correct the inefficiencies of the centralised government to stimulate growth of private business.  Firstly, it is necessary that the process by which small businesses are registered be immediately simplified. The Commercial Registry Code, introduced in January 2006, stands at over 300 sections and is overly complex and difficult to understand. This requires urgent amendment and simplification, but in the short term a checklist must be developed to assist in the implementation of the existing law. This step is important because Timor Leste will thrive only once its people are encouraged to create small businesses and provide for their families. The government must foster the entrepreneurial spirit, offering incentives and education to instigate and perpetuate growth across all sectors; the system must encourage, assist and aid citizens in the quest to establish businesses.

To support owners of new small businesses, CNRT will consider implementing a new tax policy, promoted by President José Ramos-Horta and endorsed by experts and the IMF, that would not penalize newly created small businesses. Radical reform to small business policy will reverse the negative economic trends in Timor Leste caused by the inept governance of Fretilin, that continues to operate within a heavily centralised one party regime with a right to rule mentality.

Through the creation of local trade organizations and chambers of commerce on the local and district levels, CNRT will provide small business owners with the information and support necessary to prosper in a competitive marketplace. CNRT is committed to enabling citizens to recognise their own potential and take control of their own destiny using both the human and natural resources of the people, the country and its culture.
 
A strong economy in Timor Leste driven by the contributions of its own people is the ultimate goal of CNRT, as it holds the potential to vastly improve the quality of life across the country. CNRT is focused on strategies to stimulate the economy, establish markets with a vibrant import and export trade and create the foundations of a healthy and responsible economy.

Dionisio Babo Soares, Secretary General of the CNRT states, “Fretilin cannot claim to be good economic managers and administrators while the country is rated at the bottom of the scale to do business in, and we have an appalling budget execution rate.  

“Our country is filled with people who have fought all their lives for the spirit of independence, independence in is their souls and part of the collective consciousness of the nation. We must now help them to create a new found sense of independence through the creation of small businesses, whether they be sole traders, or groups working as a unified team, we must allow them to see their full potential, educate them on the opportunities, and assist them in fulfilling their destiny. Everyone should have the opportunity, the spirit of entrepreneurship is not learned, it is born, but only from a government who acknowledges its level of importance within the overall economy. CNRT will provide the leadership to create a vibrant and healthy small business sector.”

Ends.
For Further Information
CNRT Media Contact
T: +670 735 8696
E: cnrt.media@gmail.com
W: www.cnrt-timor.org

 

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