Government of Timor-Leste

Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and

Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste

 Díli, June 1st, 2015

New team for the Civil Service Commission sworn into office

On Friday, in a ceremony held at the Noble Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, a new President of the Civil Service Commission and four new Commissioners were sworn into office by Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo.

The Prime Minister thanked the outgoing President Mr. Libório Pereira and Commissioners; Ms. Isabel Ferreria, Ms. Jesuína Ferreira Gomes, Mr. Abel dos Santos Fátima and Mr. Alexandre Gentil Corte-Real de Araújo for “the exemplary service they provided over the first five years of the Commission.”

The Civil Service Commission was established by law in June 2009 as an independent entity tasked to ensure “a civil service that is politically unbiased and impartial, based on merit and on high standards of professionalism and capable of providing quality services to the State and population of Timor-Leste.”

The Commission is composed of five members, two elected by National Parliament and three nominated by the Government, who also nominates the President. Commissioners are appointed for a five-year term.

The new President of the Civil Service Commission is Mr. Faustino Cardoso Gomes and the new Commissioners are Ms. Maria Domingas Alves, Ms. Jacinta Bernardo, Ms. Maria Olandina Caeiro Alves and Mr. José Telo Soares Cristóvão.

The gender balance of the Commission did not go unnoticed at the ceremony. Also commended was the international support given to the Civil Service Commission, in particular the technical support of Australia and training support of Portugal and Brazil.

Prime Minister Rui Araújo highlighted the achievements of the Commission since its inception including the regulatory and legislative framework for managing and evaluating national human resources, the creation of the Group of Human Resource Professionals, the 2014 launch of the Human Resource Manual and the administration of the Personal Management Information System [PMIS]. He also explained the rationale for upcoming reforms in the Public Sector noting that “in order to improve service delivery it is crucial to reform public administration” and that the government “is committed to having a civil service that is more efficient, that works with more rigor, quality and responsibility and that is less bureaucratized and more ‘simplified’.”

New regulations to come will describe tasks, translating annual activity plans into outcomes to be achieved and describe even more specifically the duties and responsibilities of civil servants. The Civil Service Law and Civil Service Statues are being revised in partnership with the Commission and leaders in the area of human resources.

Recruitment of new permanent new staff has been frozen while the legal framework is being revised and the effectiveness of the current public sector work force of approximately 32,000 is being assessed.

The end goal of reforms is a work force comprised of individuals with a true sense of team-work, responsibility and commitment who can deliver quality public services with competence, transparency and speed.

In the organic law of the Sixth Constitutional Government the Civil Service Commission is under the Prime Minister.

Spokesperson for the Government, Minister of State Agio Pereira noted “We congratulate the outgoing members of the Civil Service Commission for their fine work and welcome to office the new team. As the Government becomes even more focused on sustainability and quality service delivery the work of the Commission will be crucial in the development of our human resources in the years to come.”