Member of Parliament (MP) Manuel Gaspar Soares da Silva has called for an investigation into allegations farmers have sold tractors provided to them by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAP).
The tractors given to farmers to use remain the property of the state.
MP da Silva said farmers in Uatu-Lari in Viqueque had brought the matter to his attention.
“This is a crime and justice needs to be done,” he said.
He called on MAP to intervene immediately as farmers were sowing rice now.
“Now is the time for sowing the rice and the tractors couldn’t be found, so the MAP staff came back to Dili without fulfilling their responsibilities,” MP da Silva said.
He said the theft was the fault of MAP because staff did not clearly explain to farmers the conditions of the tractor loan
Commission D (economy and development) president MP Jacinta Abucau Pereira said monitoring did not reveal this problem as the commission met only with local authorities.
“In our monitoring we have not heard directly from extension officers or administrators about people selling tractors distributed by the government,” she said.
She called for the farmers who had sold the tractors to come forward.
Agriculture and Fisheries minister Mariano Asanami Sabino said an agreement had been in place between the government and farmers that dictated that the tractors remained the property of the government.
He asked the issue would be resolved in court.
“If they are found guilty, we have no right to stop the courts doing their job,” he said.
