Dili, August 28, 2025 (Média Democracia) – Former Prime Minister and Secretary General of the FRETILIN Party, Mari Alkatiri, in his statement said that the Government has abandoned the basic sanitation and health system, which has affected the tourism sector in the homeland.
The Secretary General of FRETILIN, Mari Alkatiri, stated that the tourism sector is not progressing because the government has not yet resolved fundamental problems such as clean water, roads, electricity, and health in the homeland.
“I just want to say that we still have not resolved the problems of basic sanitation that our communities currently face, such as clean water and the health system. If tourists come, everything must already be well prepared,” said FRETILIN Secretary General Mari Alkatiri.
He added that when these basic sanitation facilities are not yet resolved by the government, it becomes a major problem, especially for tourists who intend to visit Timor-Leste.
“If tourists come to Timor-Leste and want to visit tourism sites, we will take them there, but when they suddenly get sick, we have to take them to another place. Our tourism sites lack facilities. So, I think this needs to be resolved or acted upon first in order to develop better,” continued FRETILIN Secretary General Mari Alkatiri.
Mari Alkatiri emphasized that leaders in the tourism sector often travel abroad and organize big events, but continue to neglect in the homeland.
“I ask the Deputy Prime Minister to look at the development of nation tourism, because we all know that the tourists who come want to visit Timor-Leste’s tourism sites, especially places like Cristo Rei. Therefore, I continue to request the Ministry of Tourism not to abandon tourism sites in the homeland,” affirmed the Secretary General of FRETILIN.
The Secretary General of FRETILIN is also very concerned that the Government has already spent a huge amount of money, yet the country economy, especially homeland tourism, remains stagnant, while other sectors that the people demand, such as clean water, roads, electricity, and health are still unresolved.
“If we see wide roads but the people don’t have clean water, it means the people’s economy will not exist. In the health sector, even now there are not enough medicines to save the people, despite having many doctors and specialists. But when we look at diagnostic equipment needed for treatment, they are inadequate, even though we have already spent 26 to 27 billion from the Petroleum Fund. That is not a small amount,” stressed FRETILIN Secretary General Mari Alkatiri.
He reaffirmed that while this year marks the 30th of August Popular Consultation which will now celebrate 26th anniversary (26 years since the referendum), the government continues to spend huge sums of money, but development has not reached the level it should.
Reporter: Domingas
Photo: Domingas