Meeting of the Council of Ministers of february 5, 2020

Presidency of the Council of Ministers

Eighth Constitutional Government

.............................................................................................................................

Press Release

Meeting of the Council of Ministers of February 5, 2020

The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and heard a presentation of the Minister of Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, on the Public Administration Reform Program. This program presents a set of administrative reforms aimed at strengthening the management and improvement of the functioning of the Ministries and Agencies of the Central Government.

The Minister of Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs also made a presentation to the Council of Ministers on the Draft Law on the approval of the Legal Regime of Social Security of Holders of Organs of Sovereignty. This legal regime seeks to promote the exercise of the right to social security on an equal footing, valuing the contributory career of former members of sovereignty institutions.

The Council of Ministers also heard a presentation on a Draft of Law presented by the Minister for Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs regarding Legislative Authorization on the General Bases of the Organization of Public Administration.

The Acting Finance Minister, Sara Lobo Brites, presented the government deliberation project, approved by the Council of Ministers, on the budget ceiling for February under the duodecimal regime. The total amount of expenditure for salaries and salaries will be USD 17 852 076, for goods and services will be USD 38 614 980, for public transfers will be USD 26 591 048 and for development capital will be USD 33 390 953, totaling USD 116 449 057.

The Council of Ministers approved the Draft Resolution, presented by the Minister of Justice, Manuel Cárceres da Costa, on the allocation of residence to former holders of sovereignty bodies, former President of the Republic and former Prime Minister, Kay  Rala Xanana Gusmão, former Prime Minister Marí Bim Amude Alkatiri and former President of the National Parliament, Vicente da Silva Guterres.

The Minister of Public Works, Salvador Soares dos Reis Pires, presented the Draft Deliberation, approved by the Council of Ministers, on the First Amendment to the Subcontract Nº ICB/099/MOPTC-2016 with Shanghai Construction Group Co. Ltd., for the Road Network Improvement and Maintenance Project, Dili-Ainaro: C16/17, Package 1,  Aipelo-Bazarte,in the amount of USD 5 083 690.14, dated December 29, 2017.

The Council of Ministers approved a proposed Decree-Law, presented by the Acting Minister for the Affairs of National Liberation Combatants, Gil da Costa Monteiro 'Oan  Soru', which approves the 6th amendment to Decree-Law No. 15/2008, of June 4, which regulates the pensions of combatants and martyrs of national liberation. With this amendment, part of the pension of combatants and martyrs of national liberation is withheld, except in cases where there is express opposition to such retention. The amounts retained by the State are intended to be deposited into a bank account under title and administered by the Council of National Liberation Combatants.

Finally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Dionísio Babo Soares, presented a draft Government Resolution, approved by the Council of Ministers, which regulates the implementation of temporary measures to interdict and restrict the entry of foreign citizens who travelled from the People's Republic of China into the national territory, considering the risk associated with the rapid spread of Coronavirus 2019-nCoV. Through this Resolution, the measure of interdiction of entry into national territory is applied to foreign citizens who have been in transit in the last four weeks in the province of Hubei, People's Republic of China, to foreign citizens who have been out or transited in the People's Republic of China in the last four weeks, and may be allowed entry into the national territory by submitting a medical report with photo, issued by a medical institution internationally recognized. The measures to prohibit and restrict the entry of foreign citizens from the People's Republic of China, defined in accordance with this Resolution, will be reviewed fortnightly with a view to their maintenance or elimination. Under this Government Resolution, the Acting Minister of Health was mandated to instruct the competent services of the Ministry of Health to, in coordination with the relevant ministries, act in accordance with the protocols established by the World Health Organization. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation was also mandated to ensure frequent diplomatic communication with the authorities of the People's Republic of China in a show of solidarity with the Government and people of the People's Republic of China, taking into account the strong relations of cooperation and friendship between the two peoples and their continuity as well as instructing diplomatic missions to establish proper communication with the relevant authorities of neighboring countries on the restrictive measures set out in the this resolution.  ENDS

   Top