DILI, 16 october 2020 (TATOLI)- Timor-Leste Parliament President, Aniceto Longuinhos Guterres Lopes, requested for the revision of the request for the revision for the country Strategical Plan since it has been showing many agriculture weaknesses.
The President said, it had been 18 years of independence and the 8th constitutional government has spent about $14 billion from the petroleum fund, but there is no progress in the development.
He said, a great concern is covid-19 pandemic, that raise the global health crisis, reducing economy activities in the agricultural production.
He said that the situation is potentially contribute to the vulnerability of huger and bring up the malnutrition. Health crisis, hunger and malnutrition as national downfall that is not determine a political option.
Mr Guterres explained, Strategic plan up to 2030, Timor Leste will be free from hunger, malnutrition to achieve a healthy life. because PEDN views on nutrition as a very important period in national development
“the alarming situation shows weaknesses in agriculture sector, it defies our measure of policy and strategies that we owned, acknowledge our weakness and remodeling all the goals in the National Strategic Plan. Here we all conjugate our potentiality to take adequate measure, to review the politic, measures that is available, also to review the goals in the PEDN,” President of Parliament, Aniceto Guterres at the global food commemoration day, at CCD Dili.
The President also stressed the need for a binding of willingness and strong policy also coordination to face the national downfall.
He added that the government had elaborated the food policy during 5th Government Constitutional also he recalled in 2014 Timor-Leste join the CPLP launching zero hunger at the meeting of CPLP.
In 2017 the government approved the politic of food security, nutrition and food sovereignty in Timor-Leste.
Following the request from FRETILIN, in September 17, 2020, stated the need to review on the country Strategy Plan, since the goals were overtaken and failed.
A Representative of FRETILIN, Joaquim dos Santos, justify global situation under covid-19 pandemic that when Timor-Leste was able to make a prevention toward the disease through the implementation of State of Emergency.
For this reason, COVID-19 in Timor-Leste has become decent outbreak and without any local transmission, despite of this Timor-Leste must continue to vigilant since the actual situation shows some countries are becoming the center of corona virus outbreak.
FRETILIN noted this situation has given Timor-Leste opportunity to do the reflection to the entire fragilities.
“Uniquely to start thinking on how to minimize our dependent on outside countries, almost all the sectors begin from economy, agriculture and fishery, health, education and others. We need to revise PEDN distinctive goals that have not been completed and outperformed. It is means to renovate all the plans and the priorities on the economy diversification to invest in the other potential areas, by means not to depends only in oil,” Joaquim dos Santos speaks out during the third legislative session at the parliament.
The Political declaration from FRETILIN is followed directly by the President of Republic, Francisco Guterres Lu Olo, during the opening of legislative session.
FRETILIN also confirmed that Timor-Leste has large agriculture properties which are located in South and North.
Thus, it is time for the country to seriously investing in the agriculture sector, the government should create irrigation system that can guarantee the development of this sector.
Government must construct water dam, in a normal dimension that can conserve the water during the rainy season. Government also should encourage the bank sectors to make capital injection with the attractive fee to attract private sector to invest in the agriculture.
“It is time to Timor-Leste to affirms itself as Estate of Sovereignty to be free from total dependence, and exclusive from other countries. Because in view no political strategy that will be appeared to reinforce our independence, but to tighten our dependence to other countries. Maybe this is the reason the Estate has spent $14 billion within 12 years but all the productive sectors such as agriculture, tourism, education and health are still poor,” FRETILIN disagreed.
Journalist: Evaristo Soares Martins
Editor: Cancio Ximenes
