Presidency of the Council of Ministers

Eighth Constitutional Government

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Press Release

Meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 16th, 2022

The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, for the first amendment to the Decree-Law No. 26/2021, of November 26^th, on the exceptional and temporary measures of sanitary surveillance in response to the pandemic of the COVID-19 disease.

With this amendment:

entry into the national territory is subject only to the presentation of a full vaccination certificate or, alternatively, to quarantine; and
there is no longer any limitation on the working hours of land border posts, which return to their normal daily operation.

The draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, regarding the new Legal Regime of Procurement, public contracts and respective violations, was approved. The aim is to create a new, clearer, simple, more objective, rigorous and transparent legal regime, to promote the country’s economic and social development.

Among the planned changes, are:

the integration of the legal regimes of procurement, public contracts and their violations in a single legal regime;
the simplification of procedures, with the categories of procedures being reduced from seven to just three.
a better systematization and detailed description of each procurement phase;
the strengthening of planning processes;
9. greater transparency, with the strengthening of the procurement portal; and
strengthening of the attributions of the National Procurement Commission.

The Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Resolution, presented by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Julião da Silva, approving the agreement between the Government of Timor-Leste and the g7+. With this agreement, aiming to contribute to the g7+ activities, the Government allocates, between 2022 and 2027, the amount of one million American dollars per year. This grant is to be used to promote cooperation between the Member States and to finance the operating expenses of the g7+ and the organization of the annual ministerial meeting.

Two draft Resolutions to the National Parliament were also approved, also presented by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, for the approval of the agreements between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Kingdoms of Cambodia and Thailand for visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and service passports.

Lastly, the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães gave a presentation on the preparation of the Government’s legislative plan for 2022. The legislative plan is being prepared based on the proposals submitted by the members of the Council of Ministers and consists of a forecast of the Government’s legislative interventions and their priorities, divided by sectors, for the year 2022. Legislative planning is one of the instruments established to improve the quality of the Government’s legislative activity. END