3 January 2014 - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary - General for Guinea-Bissau held his New Year's visit in the South Region this weekend to get firsthand information on voter registration. People came out in their hundreds to welcome him in Buba, Quinará.

José Ramos-Horta was the honorable speaker at the municipal market of Buba - under reconstruction thanks to the support of the Cooperation Mission of East-Timor in Guinea-Bissau led by Mr. Alberto Carlos Alberto. The governor, Mamadou Balde, military, police, civil authorities, and religious leaders, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also attended the event.

The SRSG began the tour in the capital, on the way to Bafatá (east) and then, Buba (south), where two of the three regional offices of UNIOGBIS are settled, along with St. Domingos (north). Prior to the walkabout at the municipal market in Buba, SRSG held a meeting at the headquarters of the regional government with local authorities. At the end, he said:

"I came to see by myself the ongoing registration process for general elections on 16 March and I'm pleased with the progress, despite the setbacks that have caused some slowdowns".

The Nobel Peace Prize had the opportunity to visit the National Park of Cufada and followed the census - with two operating I.D. tables - in the village of Danture .

The tour ended with a visit to the Institute of Biodiversity and Protected Areas ( IBAP ) and to the Pond of Cufada -" Rio Grande de Buba" , one of seven protected areas of Guinea-Bissau. José Ramos-Horta was accompanied by Governor Mamadou Balde and the director of IBAP, Joãozinho Mané.