National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) Lautem district commander, Superintendent Marcos Sequeira Nunes says officers are forced to wear old, worn-out uniforms despite the fact money was allocated in the state budget to purchase more.
Superintendent Nunes said even he did not have a satisfactory uniform.
“My uniform is worn-out too and the community has asked about it,” he said.
He called on the government to look into the issue which affected police officers’ dignity.
He said Lautem police officers each received one ceremonial uniform in 2013.
“It’s used to attend the big ceremonies,” he said.
There are 140 PNTL members in Lautem.
PNTL Deputy Commander Afonso de Jesus said the contract to supply PNTL with new uniforms was undergoing a tender process.
A team from the State Secretariat for Security recently travelled to Indonesia to meet with companies competing for the tender.
Commission B (defence, security and foreign affairs) member Cesar Valente said uniforms were an ongoing concern which had been raised many times by district commanders during monitoring visits.
“Some say the uniforms are poor quality while others don’t have enough,” he said.
