DILI: The ruling coalition government has vowed to improve the transparency on tender processes for State projects, with tougher powers to restrict contracts being awarded without due process.
DILI: Dengue season usually begins with new year heavy rain in Timor-Leste. An unavoidable occurrence, that generally effects a number of people across the country before disappearing in the dry season.
But this year the disease has spread rapidly with 532 recorded cases at the Guido Valderes National Hospital in Dili, including five deaths. This has coincided with a lengthening of the wet season.
Ruak Plays Down Rumours Of Cabinet Reshuffle
DILI: Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak has played down rumours he will reshuffle his ministerial cabinet, as senior figures in the ruling coalition government and civil society met on Friday to evaluate the government’s first year in office.
Former National Parliament President To Stand Trial for Corruption In September
DILI: The Former National Parliament President Vicente Guterres has been summoned by the District Court to stand trial in September for alleged fraud, parliament insiders have said.
DILI: Four people have been injured in Dili after police sprayed protestors with tear gas who had been calling for the government to reverse a new law that prohibits street vendors selling in public places.
Timor-Leste to Donate US$1m for Cyclone Idai Relief
DILI: Timor-Leste will donate US$1 million to support the government of Mozambique’s Cyclone Idai relief efforts.
DILI: Timor-Leste has dropped to amongst the bottom of the list of countries in the East Asia and Pacific region that have adopted reform to improve its business environment, in an influential World Bank Ease of Doing Business report.
Human Rights and Justice Report Finds Government’s Agricultural Equipment Unaccounted For
DILI : Around 846 hand tractors owned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) are unaccounted for, according to a report by the Office of the Provedore for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ).
The PDHJ tabled a report in Parliament on Friday warning of mismanagement of valuable agricultural equipment by MAF and poor follow-up assistance to farmers.
Jesuina Maria Ferreira Gomes, the Director of PDHJ, claimed their investigation had revealed poor records of the maintenance of MAF owned equipment and instances where farmers had resold government-owned equipment, pointing to a recent case in Viqueue.
Gomes said it was a failure of government management that left farmers without service assistance and ultimately equipment they could not maintain.
"It is very worrying because the hand tractor that has been distributed to farmers has not been maintained and has not received fuel from the government," she said.
A standard motorised hand tractor used to plough fields can cost from US$1300.
DILI: Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister has vowed that his ministerial cabinet will not contain anyone who has not been cleared of corruption allegations, amid a stand-off over eight vacant positions in the government structure.
DILI: 2018 saw a surge in people working abroad that has led to the first time overseas remittance money was the second largest contributor to Timor-Leste’s economy, behind oil.
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Government Urges 100 Households on Comoro River Bank to Move Amid Flood Danger
DILI: The relocation of families living on the banks of Comoro River in Dili should happen “immediately” due to high risk of the river flooding, according to the State Secretariat for Civil Protection.
Alexandrina dos Reis, speaking from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity, recommended on Friday that more than 100 households were in “danger” of flooding and would need to relocate.
Reis said the household owners had ignored strict housing regulations that prohibit construction within 50 metres of a water way.
"There are regulations that prohibit people from living near the coast and rivers, but how many articles I have written I do not know,” Reis said. “People continue to establish homes in high risk areas.”
The plea comes as flood water from heavy rain destroyed seven houses on the Comoro River bank last week.
Reis said if people did not heed the recommendation and remained living in high risk flood areas, they would not receive compensation from the government if their property was destroyed by flood water.
The push for families living on the Comoro river bank to relocate was supported by Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak, who confirmed that the government would not compensate homeowners for flood damage if their property did not comply with State housing regulations.
"Homeowners must be held accountable because it is not the government that approved them to build their homes on the riverbank," Ruak said on Thursday.
DILI: Taur Matan Ruak has suggested a deadline of April to finalise his Ministerial cabinet but is yet to determine how it will be achieved, in comments on Friday.
DILI: The Opposition Fretilin Party is likely to appeal the Court of Appeal’s ruling about the legality and constitutionality of amendments to the Petroleum Activities Law which opened the way for $650 million from the Petroleum Fund to be used to purchase participation in the Greater Sunrise joint venture.
DILI: Timor-Leste’s Court of Appeal has approved a decree allowing use of the country’s petroleum fund for a $650 million buyout of ConocoPhillips’ and Royal Dutch Shell holdings in the Greater Sunrise gas project, a move that had been questioned on the grounds of its legality by opposition parliamentary members.
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