The Bishop of Dili Diocese, Mgr Carlos Filipie Ximenes Belo said adequate planning must be in the economy of Timor Lorosae and also the process of developing the economy must be democratic. He said the development of the economy must include all sectors of society right from the planning and implementation stage to the control of it.
Speaking at the opening of the Economic Forum of Timor Lorosae yesterday, the 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate said mismanagement of the economy resulted in hunger, poverty, joblessness and social instability.
“Hunger is the result of a lack of food, which is essential in a developing economy,” said Bishop Belo at the forum organized by the East Timor Study Group.
Bishop Belo said that in order to overcome hunger it was essential that political economic policies be based on the principles of solidarity with mankind.
Bishop Belo reminded the forum that the
East Timorese society was an agrarian one and subsistence farming had been
practiced for generations. Because of this, Bishop Belo said, there
had to be proper agricultural planning for the country.