Paulina Quintao – The Commissioner of the Public Service Disciplinary Process Alexandre Corte Real said the majority of public servants who committed irregularities came from the Ministry of Education.
Based on statistics from the Public Service Commission (KFP) this year, more than 300 public servants were involved in irregularities.
"From more than 300, 80% of the cases were from the Ministry of Education, because a lot of teachers are placed all over the country and in isolated areas teachers broke the rules, some abandoned work and some committed sexual violence," said Commissioner Corte Real in Colmera, Dili.
Apart from the Ministry of Education, he said there were also cases from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Ministry of State Administration and Territorial Management and the Secretary of State for Security.
From the 300 cases, about 20 people have been dismissed and some were given a penalty like a written warning, suspension or expulsion depending on the gravity of the case.
Many other cases were still pending because of the lack of human resources for investigations.
He said the cases involved public servants who had abandoned work, committed sexual violence, practiced corruption or violated the public service stature.
Apart from the disciplinary process, he said they also recommended the Anti-Corruption Commission hold a deep investigation into civil servants involved in corruption.
When the KFP had strong proof, they also passed it onto the Prosecutor General.
The Commissioner called on civil servants to tidy themselves up to serve the people and avoid irregularities, as civil servants involved in irregularities would not get promoted or receive pay rises.
On the other hand, Vice President of National Parliament Aderito Hugo da Costa said KFP was the regulatory body for all civil servants, set up to give penalties to those who do the wrong thing.
"We must have it, otherwise the work standards of civil servants would drop, starting at eight and leaving at 12, they wouldn't go for regular work hours and would fill the restaurants and streets," he said.
He added that penalties could motivate public servants to make an effort to improve their work performance and contribute to the public administration of the country.
Meanwhile, Minister of Education Bendito Freitas acknowledged the problem and promised to pay more attention to civil servants so they could give positive support to the education system.
"We will look into civil servants connected to government institutions like the Ministry of Education, for example the irregularities, as this does not give positive support to the Ministry of Education system."