The Ministry of State Administration and Territorial Management has mobilized clean-up patrols in 21 Dili district sukus to rid the capital of rubbish.
State Administration minister Jorge da Conceicao Teme said the role of patrols was to collect rubbish and transport it to the trash facility at Tibar.
He said the Ministry of State Administration provided money to all Dili sukus to fund the twice-weekly clean ups.
Responsibility for the execution of the program fell to individual sukus, he said.
“It’s dependent on the sukus to raise awareness and increase the consciousness of the community about how to love the environment,” he said.
Santa Cruz xefe suku Manuel Correia said rubbish collection staff worked with a management team – made up of community leaders – to manage the trash burden.
Comoro resident Jose Fernandes appreciated the effort of the government but said the underlying problem of people haphazardly disposing of rubbish needed to be addressed for a lasting solution.
“There should be sanctions for people who throw away their rubbish incorrectly and let animals go through the trash,” he said.
