Covalima was the third district where the Administrative Decentralisation and Local Government Project was disseminated
Covalima was the third district visited by Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão to disseminate the Administrative Decentralisation and Local Government Project. The visit took place on 12 April, 2013.
The Prime Minister called upon “the people, the youth, the veterans, as well as the private sector of Covalima district to place the national interests above all in order to be able to develop your land and your district. Intellectuals should unite to discuss issues of interest to their people because, in the future, it will be the sons of Covalima themselves who will settle the problems of their district. It is therefore necessary for you to keep united and to have the same vision and the same desire”.
In accordance with Inácio da Silva Pires, the district administrator, “Covalima is made up of 7 sub-districts and thirty sucos, and has a potential insofar as mineral resources are concerned. In order to implement the municipality, it is necessary that all sectors in the district be prepared, mainly human sectors, administrative management, and planning.
In addition to the Prime Minister, also in attendance were the Vice President of the National Parliament, Adriano do Nascimento, the Secretary of State for Administrative Decentralisation, Tomás Cabral, the Secretary of State for Local Development, Samuel Mendonça, the Secretary of State for Institutional Strengthening, Francisco “Borlaku” Soares, and the Secretary of State for Support and Promotion of Private Sector, Veneranda Lemos.
Covalima district has a total area of 1,226 square kilometers and a population of approximately 62,000 inhabitants.
The main economic activities are subsistence farming within family businesses, livestock (cattle) and rice. It has an economic development potential in the areas of oil, gas, livestock, new food crops and tourism.
