TRANSLATION FROM TETUM TEXT (via Fretilin)

Suara Timor Lorosae, Dili, 22/12/2009

Referendum Package Project lacks quality

Dili ­ The National Parliament’s Committee G considers that the Referendum Package Project being implemented by private companies in many districts lacks quality.

“We have already identified many of these in the districts, but not in Dili. The deadlines for completion are approaching but the projects have only achieved 80% completion and the contracts for some have only just been signed,” the President of the National Parliament’s Committee G, Pedro da Costa told journalists in parliament house Monday 21/12/2009.

This accusation from Committee G is based on the reports of monitoring and oversight already undertaken by the committee on the ground, which indicates that many companies are pursuing deadlines for completion without regard for the quality of the works they are performing for the community, and because of this there are many projects that lack quality.

He added that many works are not going to be completed before the end of this December’s deadline because many of the projects are only 20% complete and many have just signed contracts.

According to him many of the works undertaken pursuant to the Referendum Package will not physically last long, because the companies concerned have merely pursued their deadlines for completion in order to be able to obtain further projects in future, and have not been concerned with the quality of the works they have been contracted to perform.

“Some contractors have indeed contributed by properly undertaking the contract works, but others have instead looked more at the contract moneys,” he pointed out.

According to him the Referendum Package also lacks quality because the works specifications and the monitoring and oversight have been weak, so the support the government has given them has been insufficient to enable them to perform the contract works satisfactorily.

“So some contractors have taken advantage of this situation to cheat,” Pedro said. Pedro said Committee G has already informed the government to take this into account, so that similar problems do not re-emerge in future. “We have already asked the government o establish a system of supervision, monitoring and oversight in order to guarantee good works result,” he stressed.

Pedro said that supervision and monitoring and oversight are ways in which the government can ensure the contractors exercise responsibility with the projects the government allocates to them.

But he added that the government’s system of supervision, monitoring and oversight are very weak and as a result contractors just do what they want.

“We have certainly heard that there has not been good liaison between the two parts, and that the late transfer of moneys have also negatively impacted on the ability of contractors to undertake the contract works quickly. As a result the works done have failed to comply with the set procedures.” (qdy)

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