Council of Ministers’ meeting of September 13th, 2016
Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Sixth Constitutional Government
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Dili, September 13th, 2016
Press Release
Council of Ministers meeting of September 13th, 2016
The Council of Ministers met on Tuesday at the Government Palace in Dili, and was updated on the status of the National Registry System project, managed by the GMN-H/ARM-APPRIZE consortium and under the authority of the Minister of State, Coordinator of State Administration Affairs and Justice and Minister of State Administration, in coordination with the Secretary of State for Land and Property. The project, initiated in 2014, includes the survey and cadastral mapping of the territory, the establishment of a computerised database of registration and the creation of a system of property valuation for tax purposes, with the aim of supporting the implementation of a set of clear and fair rules in regulating the mechanisms of property ownership and transfer.
The Council of Ministers approved the proposed acquisition of a property for the Chancellery and Embassy of Timor-Leste in Singapore, presented by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
The project for the construction of a new passenger terminal for the Dili port, in negotiation with the Government of Japan, through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which will partially finance the project, presented by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, together with the Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications and APORTIL (the Port Administration in Timor-Leste), was also approved.
The Council of Ministers approved the strengthening of bilateral cooperation with Mozambique and Cape Verde, in the area of education, through the signing of three memorandums of understanding. Also related to education was the approval of the Decree-Law establishing the Polytechnic Institute of Betano and approval of its Provisional Statutes. The creation of this public institution of higher technical education fulfils the item of the Government’s Programme which stipulates that the "Government will promote an efficient polytechnic and university sector in order to provide our children with the opportunity to receive quality education and to take part in the building of our country ".
The Government Decree on remuneration of the Bodies of the Authority for Inspection and Supervision of Economic, Health and Food Activities, PI, presented by the Prime Minister's Office, was approved, fulfilling the need for regulation of Decree-Law N. 35/2016, of September 7th, which creates this structure.
The Ministry of State Administration had four proposals approved: the Second amendment to Law N. 11/2009, of October 7th (Administrative Division of the Territory), which allows the extension of the territorial competence of the Special Administrative Region of Oe-cusse Ambeno administrative bodies to the Administrative Post of Atauro, so that it can achieve the objectives for which it was intended, in the context of the Special Economic Zone for Social Market Economy, which will make the island a complementary development area; the Government Decree on the change of dates for the meetings of the Village Assemblies and of the Suco Councils under the procedures for the election of community leaders, changing the dates approved in the August 16th Meeting (to see the updated calendar click here); the Government Decree establishing the rules for electing the members of the Suco bodies; and the Government Decree approving technical procedures for implementation and updating of the electoral data base. This document establishes how the electoral registration will be held throughout national territory as well as in the diplomatic missions and consular posts abroad.
Also approved was the Government Decree that regulates the process of opening escrow bank accounts and signing of escrow deposit contracts, in the framework of the implementation of the Public Private Partnership for the Tibar Port, presented by the Minister of Finance. This legal innovative instrument in Timor-Leste establishes the necessary rules for the opening of accounts that guarantee the availability of State funds to pay its financial contribution in the construction of the Tibar Port project.
From the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment two documents were approved: the Government Resolution Repealing Resolution N. 34/2014, of November 5th, adopting legal measures and regulations for the creation of new solutions in the treatment of waste, suitable for the needs of the people, reviewing those whose results were not effective; and the proposal for ratification of the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be submitted to the National Parliament. Timor-Leste ratified, in 2006, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Minister of Defence, Cirílo Cristóvão, and the MP Carmelita Moniz were reappointed as members (effective and alternate, respectively) to the Superior Council of Magistrates.
The Council of Ministers approved the financial support to the internally displaced persons from the Central African Republic, having granted one million five hundred thousand dollars for humanitarian aid, to support the resolution of the distressing situation of tens of thousands of displaced people, who are concentrated in the country’s capital. ENDS
