The Director of NGO Luta Hamutuk (LH) Mericio Akara said he is disappointed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation’s (MNEC) decision to allocate 6 Million dollars for the purchasing of a property in Singapore to house Timor-Leste’s embassy in that country.
Director Akara added the property is big and that there is no urgency in purchasing such a property in Singapore.
“It is not important to purchase a house overseas worth 6 Million,” said Director Akara in Dili.
He said there are other national priorities that are more important than purchasing a property in Singapore.
He urged the government to justify its decision and explain the advantages of purchasing a house in Singapore.
In response to the concerns, the MNEC Minister Hernanio Coelho said the government had been thinking about purchasing a property because the cost of renting a property to house Timor-Leste’s embassy in Singapore works out in the long term more expensive than purchasing a house outright.
“It makes better sense to buy rather than to rent. Buying a house is permanent,” added Minister Coelho.
He added that in 2016 the government will start putting money aside to purchase the property in Singapore and that will look for a house that is affordable but suits the needs of a Timor-Leste embassy.
“We have made the necessary calculations and we based ourselves on the actual market value,” added the Minister.
Minister Coelho added further that so far the government has already spend between 3.5 to 4 Million renting a property to house Timor-Leste’s embassy in Singapore.
Timor currently has 33 overseas diplomatic missions and only has its own owned embassy in Australia. Singapore will be the second one while the remainder embassies rent properties in their host countries.
