Delivery of Documents about the results of the National Consultation on the distribution mechanism of Rice MTCI and local products by NGO LABEH to MTCI

DILI –  The NGO Lalenok ba Ema Hotu (LABEH), Friday (23/07) officially handed over documents about the results of national consultation , about distribution mechanism of rice as a Government grant, including the purchase of local products to the Ministry of tourism, Trade and industry,  directly received by the Minister of TCI Gil da Costa Alves, in his Cabinet, Fomento  Mandarin Dili.

Within these documents, the LABEH presented the concerns of the community, civil society, NGO, PNTL, local authorities, academics through socialization carried out during three months in 13 districts.

From the results of the consultation,  the NGO LABEH had performed with the theme "National Consultation Program about a Good Governance and Transparency in the process of distribution and sale of rice MTCI grant, including buying local products," LABEH found many concerns of the community , mostly about the system and process of selling rice that is not being well underway during this time in the comunity bases and caused many parts became  victims of the process of selling rice subsidy through PNTL and local authorities that have been entrusted by the Government.

The LABEH through its Director/General Manager, in his presentation about the results of socialization, was based upon the facts that happen in community bases, finding that, the mechanism that the Ministry of Tourism, Trade an Industry aplied in the rice process distribution,  is not so well implemented . And this is  because of, the lack of an   integrated system. Besides ,   the rice subsidy of  MTCI did not reach  all villages in  Timor-Leste , as well as, the  insufficient number of human resources  and some  employees of MTCI  don't show maturity and responsibility in the performance of  their  tasks.

During the socialization  , people recognized that, there had been manipulation of the rice price in the market  commited by managers and Head of the Villges ; also, there was strong evidence that  proved, some employees of MTCI manipulated the quantity of the  transportation process of rice, not according to Rice Delivery Order  (Delivery Order).

Furthermore, also the heads of the villages and the PNTL consider that they are also victims of the process of distribution and sale of rice MTCI, which the Government through MTCI has not taken concrete measures and sanctions to entrepreneurs who sell rice outside the established price, without a good inter-ministerial co-ordination and there is not also a team of monitoring of  MTCI to move directly  to the field  to perform the monitoring tarks.

About the problems relating to local products, the LABEH find out that, the people  did not obtain a good socialization by MTCI about the program POVU KUDA GOVERNU SOSA; there is no coordination between MTCI and local authorities about what types of products  that the MTCI must buy  and there isn´t a  table of prices; the people also don't know which  Agency of MTCI  carries out the Purchase of Local Products, and  there is no good coordination between MTCI and MAP.

With all the problems and concerns collected by NGO LABEH in the field , there are  recommendations that the LABEH intends to submit to the  Government, mainly  about the process of distributing rice, of which the MTCI will have to create a monitoring team to control the process of distributing rice, change the old mechanism, create an order to regulate the matter in the price of rice subsidy, deliver the process of selling  rice to the companies  that MTCI can rely, change the name of rice subsidy to the cheap rice of the Government , increase the number of employees to manage food safety, use transport of entrepreneur and transport assistance by the Government, construction of warehouses in 13 districts, establish a Company of the State under the tutelage of MTCI, call attention to employees that make manipulation  and bad administration.

About local products, the LABEH recommends the Government to change the old system on buying local products by applying the system of mini bazar, establish  the price of local products, make the socialization of local products and the  prices up to the  villages, prepare the calendar for buying local products, collaborate with NGOs, local authorities, MAP that has relationships with local products, create a monitoring team, create small industries of local products and carry out promotion, creating new mechanisms for selecting the entrepreneurs who will shop for local products.

Finally the NGO LABEH asked the MTCI to submit the entrepreneurs , who had  comitted manipulation  on the price of  MTCI/AAA rice  to the  court because it can bring down the Government's credibility, MTCI.

When replying to all of these recommendations, the Minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry, Gil da Costa Alves, accompanied by the Director General of MTCI Dra, Manuela G.B. Corte-Real, General Manager of the management of food safety, Osorio Correia, National Director of administration and finance, António Soares, said that the Government will take into account the recommendations made, after studying the report delivered by  LABEH to MTCI. "The recommendations that the LABEH had presented to  MTCI, part of them are being performed by MTCI, and this month i we don´t have  the problem of lack of rice on the market, because our Food security team has already changed the old mechanism for a new mechanism such as mounting selling posts in Dili that are in total 58, like what LABEH, recommended " said Gil da Costa Alves Minister of TCI to journalists. According to  Gil, this report is as information and evidence that the LABEH presented to  MTCI through socialization that during this time has performed throughout the territory of TL.

"We consider all recommendations, because they are like the aspirations and concerns that during this time the people faces and we will deliver these documents to our Manager to study and perform on stages." informed Gil.

Gil also hopes that the new mechanism created that uses the sales posts  can reduce problems of rice in the community.

"Our new mechanism created can now reduce the problems of handling, and moreover also the storage problem we solve also already, because now the whole rice is no longer concentrated in the warehouse of Promotion, which always has arisen problems but we already have a new warehouse in Tibar, with better conditions, and also are new workers," noted the Minister.

The Minister of TCI, thanked the effort that LABEH has done, helping MTCI to know the real causes of the problems related to the process of distributing rice of this Government, including local products.

"I thank LABEH and all his team struggled in preparing this report" expressed Gil.

(Media-MTCI)