Repairing the damages caused by the bad weather
The Secretariat of State for Public Works has, still in 2010, an ongoing action plan to repair the damage caused by the strong rains that have occurred through the country. Some regions were quite affected , specially the eastern, central and part of the western areas. The acquisition of heavy equipment for the construction works was approved by the Council of Ministers, on the 15th of September.
The National Directorate for Roads, Bridges and Flood Control is raising detailed data related to the damages. With this report, the Secretariat of State for Public Works will understand which are the most urgent repairs that should be done next year. This is because it’s necessary to calculate the costs of the projects to be contemplated in the State General Budget for 2011, which will be approved in the beginning of next year.
The report is not yet concluded, but the General Director of the Secretariat of State for Public Works, José Gaspar Piedade, says that “according with information that we have gathered, the most affected population is the population in the eastern areas, due to landslides that have caused road cuts. Pictures sent by our staff and also by the local population show that almost all the eastern areas – Baucau, Baguia, Quelicai, a part of Laga, Viqueque (between Beaço and Uatolari) – are very affected at the infrastructure level. A part between the south area and the north area, between Manatuto e Nartarbora was also much affected during this year, as well as the western part, Ermera, Letefoho, from Atsabe to Maliana and from Bobonaro to Suai”.
In order to accelerate the repair of the most affected areas, the Secretariat of State of Public works is working directly with the Public Institute for Equipment Management, that manages the State equipment, preferably intended for civil construction works such as road and bridge reconstruction and other necessary work due to damages caused by natural disasters.
The General Director from the Secretariat of State for Public Works explains that “the Public Institute for Equipment Management belongs to the Secretariat of State for Transport, Equipment and Communications, which, just as the Secretariat of State for Public Works, is under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Infra-Structures. But although the Institute is not directly connected to the Public Works, we work together on a daily basis. They have the equipment. We provide the money that we have available for the projects concerning damage repair caused by the bad weather that has been registered lately”.
