By Damon Evans
East Timor's main opposition party Fretilin has asked the
constitutional court to rule that the National Petroleum Authority
created by the Gusmao government last June is unconstitutional and
breaches the Petroleum Fund Law.
The party's MPs lodged a petition with the court of appeal on Friday
seeking a ruling that the Gusmao government did not have the
constitutional power to create by decree, laws, penalties and
sanctions governing petroleum exploration without parliamentary
approval.
The petition also asks the court to find that, in providing that the
National Petroleum Authority could charge and directly receive fees
from oil companies operating in the Timor Sea, the Gusmao government
breached the Petroleum Fund Law approved by parliament in 2005.
The Petroleum Fund Law provides that all payments by oil companies to
the state of Timor-Leste must be made directly into the Petroleum Fund.
"Fretilin and many other organisations pointed out last year that the
new petroleum law was drawn up in haste and secrecy, avoiding proper
parliamentary and public scrutiny, and opened the door to corruption
and mismanagement of the country's gas and oil revenues," Fretilin
said in a statement issued today.
No comments:
Post a Comment