Prime Minister appeals for avoidance of another crisis like the one in 2006
“The development of our country is on a good path, so I am appealling to avoid another crisis like the one that took place in 2006, in our Nation, Timor-Leste” referred the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmão, on the occasion of the Strategic National Development Plan (SNDP) at the Liquiça sub-district, Liquiça district, on the 11th of August.
About the problems that rose from the 2006 crisis, Xanana Gusmão referred that the 2007-2010 budget wasn’t used for infra-structure repair such as roads, electricity, housing or potable water but served, above all, to overcome the crisis in what concerns the displaced persons issue.
The Head of the IV Constitutional Government also highlighted that “to repair the basic infra-structures such as roads, potable water, electricity, housing and telecommunications, the system would have to be transformed. The Government now has a system that allows to move forward with the construction of the basic infra-structures projects in the sub-district itself, where the businessman that will be the beneficiary of said project should be a citizen from that the same sub-district”.
The presentation of the Liquiça Vila sub-district was done by its Administrator: to the South it is confronted with the sea, to the North with the Ermera sub-district, to the East with the Bazartete sub-district and to the West with the Maubara sub-district. The Liquiça Vila sub-district is composed of 7 Sucos and 39 Villages. The majority of the population devotes itself to agriculture: coffee, fruit tree plantation, horticulture and also to fishing in the coastal regions.
The 7 Suco chiefs from the Liquiça Vila sub-district also had the opportunity to present their concerns to the Prime Minister. These were related with roads that connect the sub-district to the villages, education, health, electrical power services and elderly issues, where data verification was done by a team from the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS), however without producing results regarding pensions.
This sub-district’s veterans representative, Gregório dos Santos, also asked of the Head of Government, in the scope of the veterans’ legislation, that he revise the criteria for the veteran qualification, since, according to him, it doesn’t value the Clandestine Front.
The SNDP consultation, in the Liquiça Vila sub-district, had the participation of the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, the Vice Prime Minister for the Social Issues, José Luís Guterres, the Minister of Justice, Lúcia Lobato, the Vice Minister of Economy and Development, Cristiano da Costa, the Secretary of State for Professional Training and Employment, Bendito Freitas, The Secretary of Culture, Vírgilio Smith, the Secretary of State of Defense, Júlio Tomás Pinto and the Member of the National Parliament, from the Fretilin party, Francisco Jerónimo.
