Tuesday 17 November 2009

Internet Exclusive: Rice Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry Starts. $41 Million in February 2009 contracts revealed.

The National Parliament of Timor-Leste has established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the facts and circumstances of Government rice contracts as a result of the ongoing Ricegate scandal and the massive rice contracts being awarded to businesses allegedly as a result of political connections in Timor-Leste.

Tempo Semanal broke several issues relating to this story in 2008 and again in 2009.  See here for background stories. The Parliamentary Opposition has been calling for the establishment of such a Commission for many months.

The Members of the Commission of Inquiry are as follows.
  1. Presidente Komisaun Inkeiritu; Arsenio Bano, FRETILIN
  2. Vice Presidente Komisaun; Carmelita Moniz, CNRT
  3. Secretario: Domingos, ASDT
  4. Relatora; Teresa Carvalho, PD
  5. Membro; Jose Texeira, FRETILIN
  6. Membro; Duarte Nunez, CNRT
  7. Membro; Hermes, PSD
  8. Membro, Jaco Xavier, PPT
  9. Membro: EL 7 UNDERTIM
  10. Membro: Mesquita PUN
  11. Membro; Aicha Baserewan
The Terms of Reference for the Commission is below.



Two days ago the Commission of Inquiry questioned the Former Head of Procurement and currently Director General of the Ministry of Finance Fransisco Borlako. Yesterday, the Commission questioned the Minister responsible for managing the rice contracts - Minister for Tourism Commerce and Industry (MTCI), Gil Alves, as well as Directors from the MTCI.  

According to the Commission's plan it will question the Minister for Social Solidarity Micato Alves, along with the Secretary of State for Natural Disaster.

The matter of rice continues to remain a major political issue in Timor-Leste and Tempo Semanal can reveal, as result of a new documentation being leaked to Tempo Semanal in the last few days, that 26 February 2009 an additional $41 million in rice contracts was awarded to 12 companies - the many of which also received similar size contracts in late 2008.


These companies being:
  1. Atramor Sucesso 
  2. Maubara Fitun Naroman
  3. United Food
  4. Juxibel
  5. Monte Viado
  6. Hercio
  7. Suai Indah
  8. Lunarsol
  9. Taci Tolu
  10. Prima Food
  11. Veteran General 
  12. Ran Aitana
To view the Ministry of Finance Requisition document view below.


5 comments:

Ir.Eng.Luis Pereira said...

We hope the Commission of Inquiry findings will come up with some outcomes, or else it is just a waste of money and time of creating such an inquiry commission to inquire the related-problems eventually turn up with unproductive, ineffective and unreliable. And we as citizens really are looking into the outcomes of the findings of the commission. Or else it is just a silly politic games played by the politicians.

hanania said...

Mr. Rocket Scientist, I reckon you should not blame or attack the parliament commission of inquiry on this matter, if you really think and sense as an intellectual, as your title(s) show(s), then you should have asked why, or the main reason for, this commission was established in the first place. Unless you are partially benefited from this fake development policy by Xanana's AMP government with its Referendum Packet that will create some projects across the country with the lowest quality ever to be produced and constructed, then you will at least with a minimum conscience, can see that this so called Referendum Packet is wrong, unconstitutional, waste of money, and most importantly will only create bad quality results for infrastructures, motivated just as a pretext for enrichment of a group of people in the expenses of majority of poor people and tax payers!

How on earth one of the poorest countries in the world with an inexperienced, recent established and unprofessional private sector can be expected to properly and wisely spend U$ 65 millions just in 3 months times with some good and positive results expected from their works?????..Some projects (from Referendum Packet) that being shared and implemented by local companies are just suddenly and rush-inly done, without even properly planned, in order for the government to really avoid CARRY OVER of State Budget from the previous Year!

Even worse of all this sad drama is that the money taken from another failed project (Heavy Oil) to fund the next potentially failed projects across the country! This the most stupid development policy ever produced by a govenment in this planet!

Timor Leste under Xanana, the Prime Minister of AMP is heading back in term of infrastructure development to the time of Timor-Timur! A territory with an economy system characterized by huge subsidies at all level, buildings, roads and all sort of infrastructures with the lowest quality in Indonesia (no need to mention Asia or the world) created and constructed with huge amount of money just to easily enrich certain group of Mafia like businessmen, the flourishing and widespread of corruption, collusion, nepotism and easy money for lazy and unproductive state officials, as well as sudden enrichment of fakes business people!!

There are to many ridiculous and stupid policies in the name of development that this government have been implementing which deserve to be scrutinised, a one figure's (Xanana Gusmao-AMP) acting in a total disrespectful manner towards all State Institutions!... Previously he disrespected Judicial Institution with Martenus Bere's case as an example, now he had the National Parliament just as a rubber stamp, creating the so called Referendum Packet just to avoid the paranoia of carry over, rushing toward unplanned projects without even a proper quality assessment. The ultimate goal from such policy is just to waste tax payer's money and to enrich the so called timorese businessmen or private sector (undeserved term for a group of seasonal traders, not real business people in a real private sector term).

Most unbelievable of all this Referendum Packet or 'referendum mess' created by the sudden ridiculous dream of Xanana is due to it being implemented without any legal approval from the National Parliament! A government that is acting in reverse against all possible understanding of democracy and the rule of law! As such a former hero who is behaving unfortunately towards the dictatorial regime practices of governance! A real Shame! Only in the Xanana/Banana government you can see this ridiculous policy of the so called development happens to be a real thing in the real world!

Ir.Eng.Luis Pereira said...

You missed the point, I don't even get your point. What you are trying to voiced out. Oh.. boy some body gotten make himself stupid...

hanania said...

hahaahha... Mr.Rocket Scientist thinks he is so smart. Poor boy;D
Look..you are just a poor little guy that dream for the sky but actually is sleeping under the shadow of a donkey. You know why? because the proud you are with your funny titles, unfortunately the way you write in English is like my little 10 years old nephew on primary school..hahaha..I tell you what, it's better for you maybe to write in Indonesian then in English. Otherwise you just I funny little guy and that way you don't need to make me laugh when reading your funny English grammar.

Quote a funny one from your writing Mr.Under the D**Ky :
"What you are trying to voiced out"= IS WRONG!!! The correct one: "What you are trying to voice out" = CORREECT! See this smarty little primary school boy ;)).

My point is your are making foolish of yourself by acting as a smarty man but in fact your brain function is the one of a little smarty primary school cheeky boy... hmmm..I little stupid banana boy, I reckon...hahahha.

you are just a waste of my precious time!!

Ir.Eng.Luis Pereira said...

Wow. Becoming interesting, we discussed some common issues suddenly we dived into more personal, which I think you are pathetic. You have every right to tell people that you are more cleaver than anybody on earth, there is no one could stop you being an arrogant or maybe frustrated in some points. But I think I am much better than you think.
But for me you just been arrogant because just elegant vocabularies that you have, this makes you think of a superior, but as the matter of fact you are not, just having an elegant English, It doesn't mean that you intellectual, cleaver or anything. language is just a tool. So you think when you write a phenomenon English with elegant words you think people will judge you that you are more cleaver, maybe but not all.