Timor-Leste's government is proud of its transparency. In mid-2011, the Ministry of Finance launched a Transparency Portal, including a section on Procurement, to make public finance information available to citizens, suppliers and others. Unfortunately, little information was added during the year after the Portal started, and it still doesn't list any current tenders. La'o Hamutuk blogged our disappointment at Cleaning the glass on the Procurement Portal in September 2011 and LH urges more effective TL Transparency Model in May 2012.

However, the Procurement Portal now has information on 1,090 contracts, so we decided to take another look. When the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice asked us how this Portal could be useful in investigating maladministration or corruption, we gave a presentation (7MB PowerPoint or 2MB PDF, also Tetum PowerPoint or PDF) to their staff. This page is based on that presentation, which describes a few sources and explores some odd-looking patterns. Further investigation is required to know if there is really something wrong.

By sharing this information, La'o Hamutuk wants to encourage people to make transparency effective by utilizing the information it provides. We welcome corrections, suggestions and additional references.

Governu Timor-Leste orgullu ba nia transparénsia. Iha tinan klaran 2011, Ministériu das Finansa publika nia Portal Transparénsia inklui mós parte kona-ba Aprovizionamentu hodi fasilita informasaun finansas públiku ba povu, distributor sira no públiku. Infelizmente, informasaun uitoan mak aumenta durante tinan ida hafoin portal ida ne’e hahú, no ladauk tau iha lista kona ba tenderizasaun atuál. La’o Hamutuk hatudu ami nia dezapontamentu iha blog Hamoos vidru iha Portal Aprovizionamentu iha Setembru 2011 no LH husu Modelu Transparénsia TL atu efetivu liu tan iha Maiu 2012.

Maske nune'e, daudauk ne'e portal aprovizionamentu iha ona informasaun kona-ba kontratu hamutuk 1,090, nune’e ami deside atu hare dala ida tan. Bainhira Provedoria Direitus Umanus no Justisa husu ami kona ba oinsá utiliza portal aprovizionamentu iha investigasaun ba maladministrasaun ka korrupsaun, ami prepara aprezentasaun PowerPoint (7MB) (ka PDF (2 MB)). Pájina ida ne’e bazeia ba aprezentasaun ne’ebé deskreve fonte balun no esplora ho buat halo ita hare la lójiku. Presiza investiga kle’an liu atu hatene se iha duni sala.

Ho fahe informasaun ida ne’e, La’o Hamutuk hakarak enkoraja ema hotu hodi halo transparénsia sai efetivu liu husi utiliza informasaun ne’ebé Portal fornese. Ami prontu simu koresaun, sujestaun no referénsia adisionál.

We also noticed a disturbing trend among the 30 contracts listed as awarded in 2013 -- 90% (27) were single-source awards, and 26 were "restricted," meaning that there was no public notification that the tender was being conducted. Similarly, 15 of the 23 open (not yet awarded) tenders issued in 2013 were "restricted" or "single-source." Many of these tenders are for commodities like vehicle fuel or airplane tickets, and the justifications for secrecy are a bit strained. No justification is shown on the portal for about half of the single-source tenders, including some by UNTL, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and the Minister of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. However, some agencies have posted justifications or other procurement documents, as shown by these examples:

• Foreign Ministry - Harvey World Travel ($300,000 twice). HWT received five single-source awards in March and April, totaling $730,000.
• Parliament - PT Andjani Travesindo tickets ($153,900)
• Presidency of the Republic - Harvey World Travel ($100,531)
• Ministry of State Administration - Aitula Fuels ($100,000) Aitula had four single-source contracts in March and April, totalling over $200,000.
• Finance Ministry - Taking Off Tours ($65,059)
• PNTL - Pousada Natarbora (catering) ($60,000)
• Ministry of Education - Iana Tours & Travel ($31,590)
• Foreign Ministry - Esperanca Timor Oan fuel ($25,000). ETO had five single-source contracts in March and April, totalling over $100,000
• National Defense Institute - Fatubesi Travel ($12,918). Fatubesi got three single-source contracts, totalling $52,000.
• Parliament - S.M. Bark (photocopying, $9,445)

Ami mós hetan lala’ok ne’ebé ladún loos entre lista kontratu 30 ne’ebé ajudika iha 2013 -- 90% (27) ajudika ho prosesu single source, no 26 kontratu "restricted" ne’ebé atu hatudu katak laiha notifikasaun ba públiku kona-ba tender sira ne’ebé halo ona. Similarmente, kontratu 15 hosi kontratu 23 ne’ebé fó sai iha 2013 (maibé seidauk ajudika) kategoria "restricted" ka "single-source". Barak hosi tender hirak ne'e ba komoditi sira hanesan kombustivel ba karreta ka billete aviaun nian, no justifikasaun ba segredu nian ladún maka'as. Laiha justifikasaun mak hatudu iha portal ba maizumenus metade tender single-source, inklui balun hosi UNTL, Ministériu Petroleu no Rekursu Minerais, no Ministériu Estadu ba Prezidensia Konsellu Ministru. Maske nune'e, iha ajénsia balu fó sira nia justifikasaun ka dokumentu aprovizionamentu seluk, hanesan ezemplu tuir mai:

• Ministériu Negosiu Estrangeiru - Harvey World Travel ($300,000 dala rua). HWT simu ajudikasaun single-source iha Marsu no Abríl, total $730,000.
• Parlamentu - PT Andjani Travesindo billete ($153,900)
• Prezidensia Republika - Harvey World Travel ($100,531)
• Ministériu  Estatal - Aitula Fuels ($100,000) Aitula iha kontratu single-source hat iha Marsu no Abríl total liu $200,000.
• Ministériu Finansas - Taking Off Tours ($65,059)
• PNTL - Pousada Natarbora (fornese ai-han) ($60,000)
• Ministériu Edukasaun - Iana Tours & Travel ($31,590)
• Ministériu Negosiu Estrangeiru - Esperanca Timor Oan fuel ($25,000). ETO iha kontratu single-source lima iha Marsu no Abríl, total liu $100,000
• Institutu Defeza Nasional - Fatubesi Travel ($12,918). Fatubesi hetan kontratu single-source tolu, total $52,000.
• Parlamentu - S.M. Bark (halo fotokopia, $9,445)

Sources of information

• Procurement portal, La’o Hamutuk’s spreadsheet from the portal, and lists of recent Single-Source projects extracted by La'o Hamutuk (April 2013)

• Lists of Single-Source and Emergency projects extracted by La'o Hamutuk (Feb. 2013)

• Ministry of Finance website, including some current tenders

• General State Accounts for 2011, including list of payments from Contingency Fund

• Audit reports from Deloitte on procurement processes between 2009 and mid-2011 for:

  • Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

  • Ministry of Defense and Security

  • Ministry of Infrastructure  (also April 2011 report on EDTL (also Portuguese))

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  • Ministry of Health

  • Ministry of Education

  • Ministry of Social Solidarity

  • Ministry of Territorial Administration

  • National Electoral Commission

  • National Parliament

  • Presidency of the Republic

  • Prosecutor-General’s office

  • Courts

• General State Budget documents and analysis (2008,  2008 mid-year rectification,  2009,  2010,  2010 rect.,  2011,  2012,  2012 rect.,  2013)

• Budget execution reports (2008,  2009,  2010,  2011,  3q2012) and Budget Transparency Portal

• La’o Hamutuk website and DVD-ROM

• Notices published in local newspapers

• Portal Aprovizionamentu, La’o Hamutuk nia Excel spreadsheet husi portal, no lista projetu Single-Source no Emerjénsia, hasai husi Portal ba La’o Hamutuk

• Ministériu Finansas nia website, inklui tenderizasaun atuál balun

• Konta Jerál Estadu 2011, inklui lista pagamentu husi Fundus Kontinjénsia

• Relatóriu auditoria husi Deloitte iha prosesu aprovizionamentu entre 2009 no médiu 2011 (hotu Ingles) ba:

  • Ministériu da Agrikultura e Peska

  • Ministériu da Defeza e Seguransa

  • Ministériu das Infrastrutura (mós hare Relatóriu Deloitte nian kona-ba EDTL iha Abríl 2011 (mós Port.))

  • Ministériu dos Negósiu Estranjeiru

  • Ministériu da Saúde

  • Ministériu da Edukasaun

  • Ministériu da Solidariedade Sosiál

  • Ministériu da Administrasaun Estatal

  • Komisaun Nasionál de Eleisaun

  • Parlamento Nacional

  • Presidência da República

  • Procuradoria-Geral da República

  • Tribunais

  Analiza no dokumentu ba Orsamentu Jerál do Estadu (2008,  2008 retificativu,  2009,  2010,  2010 ret.,  2011,  2012,  2012 ret.,  2013)

• Relatóriu ezekusaun orsamentál  (2008,  2009,  2010,  2011,  3q2012) no Portal Transparénsia ba Orsamentu

• La’o Hamutuk nia website no DVD-ROM

• Notísia ne’ebé publika iha jornál lokál

A few examples (documents and more graphics are in the presentation)

• Procurement of new cars for Parliament. The first six went through tender, the last 60 were single-source. The vendor who sold them, Auto Timor-Leste, is coded three different ways on the Portal.

• The two largest contracts in TL history are for power plants. Puri Akraya Engineering got $406 million, and Chinese Nuclear Industry 22nd Construction Company got $298 million. According to the April 2011 Deloitte audit of EDTL:

• PAE was a newly-created company with “significant difficulties” and there was no consultation with other suppliers.

• PAE’s directors are Indonesians Eng Ho Tan, Dany Subrata, Raul Puri and Chander Vinod Laroya.

• The first two shareholders, in July and August 2010, were Full Blossom Limited (Hong Kong) and Pearl Energy Worldwide Ltd (British Virgin Islands), who invested only $2.

• 69% of PAE shares are owned by Dooks Group Holdings Ltd from the British Virgin Islands. Total value of stock issued: $7.8 million.

PAE was an unjustifiable single-source contract, as described in Deloitte’s audit of the Infrastructure Ministry (abridged):

2.3.1.5 Direct award without justification

The lack of documentation provided has made the determination of instances of direct award difficult to determine. However,  Puri Akraya was a direct award (single sourced) contract. The contract was subsequently approved by the Council of Ministers. Decree-Law 10/2010 permits direct award under specified circumstances. In this case there was no evidence that this procedure had been followed or the justifications for the purchase provided. When direct award cases are processed without any justification, it can result in procurement procedures being circumvented under the guise of being urgent or special matters.

• Fuel for EDTL’s generators involved seven large contracts totaling more than $158 million and many smaller ones. According to the 2011 Contingency Fund report, $9 million was set aside as a "placeholder" for Esperanca Timor Oan (ETO), even though the Contingency Fund is intended for urgent and unforeseeable needs. Late last year, ETO got a $50 million contract which is not yet on the Portal, although six others totaling more than $50 million are listed. See LH blog Timor-Leste gov't also pays too much for fuel.

• Aprovizionamentu karreta foun ba deputadu sira. Primeiru karreta neen liu husi prosesu tenderizasaun, maibé depois karreta 60 ikus ho prosesu single-source. Kompañia ne’ebé fa’an karreta, Auto Timor Leste, iha kódigu tolu ne’ebé diferente iha Portal.

• Kontratu rua boot iha istória Timor-Leste hanesan sentru elétrika. Kompañia Puri Akraya hetan tokon $406, no Chinese Nuclear Industry 22nd Construction Company hetan tokon $298. Bazeia ba relatóriu Deloitte kona-ba EDTL iha fulan Abríl 2011:

• PAE nudár kompañia foun ne’ebé estabelese ho “difikuldade signifikante” no la iha konsultasaun ho fornesedór seluk.
• PAE nia diretór sira mesak Indonesia-oan: Eng Ho Tan, Dany Subrata, Raul Puri no Chander Vinod Laroya.
• Asionista na’in rua primeiru iha Jullu no Agostu 2010, mak Full Blossom Limited (Hong Kong) no Pearl Energy Worldwide Ltd (British Virgin Islands) ne’ebé investe de’it $2.
• 69% PAE nia asoens (share kapitál) nia na’in mak Dooks Group Holdings Ltd husi British Virgin Islands. Valor total asoen fó sai: tokon $7.8.

Tuir relatóriu Deloitte kona-ba Ministériu Infrastrutura, laiha justifikasaun atu fó kontratu single-source ba PAE:

2.3.1.5 Ajudikasaun direta la ho justifikasaun

Tanba dokumentasaun ne’ebé laiha, ita labele hatene klaru kazu ajudikasaun direta. Maske nune’e Puri Akraya hetan ajudikasaun direta (single source). Kontratu ne’e tuir mai hetan aprovasaun husi Konsellu Ministru. Dekretu-Lei No. 10/2010 permite bele iha ajudikasaun direta ho kondisaun espesífiku. Iha kazu ida ne’e la iha evidénsia katak tuir ona prosedúr ka justifikasaun alojamentu ne’ebé iha. Bainhira prosesu kazu ajudikasaun direta la ho justifikasaun, sei rezulta violasaun prosedúr aprovizionamentu ho justifikasaun falsu hanesan buat ne’ebé urjente ka sirkumtansia espesiál.

• Fornesimentu mina ba jeradór EDTL envolve kontratu boot hitu ho montante total liu tokon $158 no iha kontratu ki’ik sira seluk. Bazeia ba relatóriu kona ba Fundu Kontinjénsia iha 2011, tokon $9 rai ba “placeholder” Esperansa Timor Oan (ETO), maske bele uza Fundu Kontinjénsia de’it ba nesesidade urjente no buat ne’ebé labele hatene antes. Iha tinan kotuk ikus, ETO hetan tokon $50 kontratu ne’e seidauk publika iha Portal, maske kontratu neen seluk ho total liu tokon $50 iha ona lista. Haree La’o Hamutuk nia blog Timor-Leste mós selu barak liu ba kombustivel.

• Sixty-eight contracts signed on 24 August 2010 with different vendors are on the Portal. Each one is for $249,999 to import 441.18 metric tonnes of rice.

• Three contracts list Timor-Leste's Embassy in Beijing as the supplier, for a total of almost $2 million.

• Six contracts, including two to build the official residence of the Minister for Finance, were awarded to Nevan Construction.

• Carya Timor-Leste Party Ltd was awarded 18 contracts, the most of any vendor, for a wide range of projects totaling $111 million.

• 273 contracts are listed as "single-source," totaling more than $116 million.

• Two contracts on the portal are listed as "restricted" for procurement audience; the rest are "public."  The non-public ones are a Preliminary engineering study for the Sunrise gas pipeline (October 2011) and supplying 60 cars to the National Parliament (December 2012). Although the portal does not say who these were awarded to or the amounts involved, the bidding documents for the first one include "KOGAS" (Korea Gas, one possible vendor) in the title of the project, although the contract is not called "single-source."

• Portal hatudu kontratu 68 asina iha 24 Agostu 2010, ho fornesedór ne’ebé diferente. Kada fornesedór hetan $249,999 atu importa foos tonelada 441.18.

• Portal inklui kontratu tolu ba Embaixada Timor-Leste iha Beijing nudár fornesedór ho total kuaze tokon $2.

• Kontratu neen, inklui rua atu harii rezidensia ofisiál Ministra Finansa nian, fó ba Nevan Construction.

• Carya Timor-Leste Party Ltd hetan ajudikasaun kontratu 18, liuliu fornesedór hotu seluk, ba projetu oioin ho montante hamutuk tokon $111.

• Iha kontratu 273 ne’ebé lista hanesan “single source” ho montante hamutuk tokon $116.

• Kontratu rua iha lista portal “la autoriza (restricted)” ba audiénsia aprovizionamentu; no sira seluk “publika (public).” Husi kontratu restricted, ida sei iha estudu preliminaria enjeheiru ba kadoras gas Sunrise (Outubru 2011) no fornese karreta 60 ba Parlamentu Nasionál (Dezembru 2012). Maske portal la hatete katak se mak hetan ajudikasaun ne’e no montante hira mak envolve, dokumentu tenderizasaun primeiru inklui liafuan “KOGAS” (Korea Gas, ho vendedór ida mak iha posibilidade) iha títulu projetu maske iha kontratu la hatete “single source.”

• The MDG-Suco (5 imported pre-fabricated houses per aldeia) project has been through multiple changes in budget, price, quantity and schedule. Although an $87 million contract was signed in October 2011 for the first year of a five-year project (reduced from a $100 million "intent to award" notice), only $22 million had been spent by the end of 2012, and only $39 million is budgeted for 2013.

• The portal lists 128 contracts with "emergency" in their name, totaling $41 million.

• The portal shows only six contracts from the Contingency Fund, all in 2010, totaling nearly $12 million (the Budget Transparency Portal says $16 million was spent from the Contingency Fund in 2010). However, State Accounts show 223 Contingency Fund expenditures in 2011 alone, totaling $30 million (the Budget Portal says only $5.3 million was spent in 2011, mostly in March and December). Both lists include many items which clearly do not qualify as urgent or unforeseeable.

•  The portal lists only six tenders from the Provedor's office, including only two awarded contracts. They will explore why their other procurements are not listed.

• Iha Projetu MDG-Suku (importa uma pre-fábrikadu lima ba kada aldeia) ne’e iha mudansa dala barak ona iha orsamentu, presu, kuantidade no oráriu. Maske iha tokon $87 ba kontratu ne’ebé asina ona iha Outubru 2011 tinan primeiru ba projetu tinan lima nian (hamenus tokon $100 “intensaun atu atribui” publika), tokon $22 de’it mak gasta ona to’o tinan 2012 remata, no iha tokon $39 de’it aloka ba orsamentu 2013.

• Lista portal iha kontratu 128 hanaran “emerjénsia” ho montante hamutuk tokon $41.

• Portal hatudu katak iha kontratu neen de’it husi Fundu Kontinjénsia, hotu iha tinan 2010, ho montante hamutuk kuaze tokon $12 (Portal Transparénsia Orsamentál hatete tokon $16 gasta ona husi Fundu Kontinjénsia iha 2010). Maske Konta Estadu hatudu pagamentu 223 husi Fundu Kontinjénsia ona iha 2011 de’it (Portal Orsamentu hatete katak tokon $5.3 de'it gasta durante 2011, barak liu iha Marsu no Dezembru). Lista rua ne’e inklui item barak mak la kualifikadu nudár nesesidade urjente ka responde ba buat ne’ebé ita labele haree antes.

• Lista portal iha tenderizasaun neen de’it husi Provedoria, inklui ajudikasaun rua de’it. Sira sei esplora tanba sá mak sira nia aprovizionamentu sira seluk la iha lista.