Meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 28th, 2022
Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 28th, 2022
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, regarding the Remuneration Supplement to public servants and agents of the Public Administration who perform training functions in the Public Administration. This draft Decree-Law had already been subject to deliberation at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 27th 2022, however, due to the introduction of some changes in the final drafting stage, it became necessary to submit it to a new deliberation.
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Two draft Decree-Laws, presented by the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, on the exercise of Healthcare professions and the careers of healthcare professionals, were also approved.
The first draft Decree-Law aims to proceed with the third amendment to Decree-Law No. 14/2004, of September 1st, as amended by Decree Laws No. 40/2011, of September 21st, and No. 4/2019, of March 13th, on the Exercise of Healthcare Professions. This amendment aims to increase the requirements for obtaining a professional license, improve the qualifications of health professionals, improve the quality of the healthcare provided, and increase confidence in those professionals' technical and ethical quality.
The second draft Decree-Law concerns the first amendment to Decree-Law no. 13/2012, of March 7th, on Healthcare Professionals Careers. The aim is to dignify and value healthcare professionals through a career marked by rigorous stages of general and specialized postgraduate training, but also subject to institutional recognition, through legal mechanisms that allow fair and equitable progression and promotion.
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Also approved was the draft Government Resolution, referring to the National Action Plan against Gender-Based Violence 2022-2032 (PAN-VBG 2022-2032), presented by the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, and the Secretary of State for Equality and Inclusion, Maria do Rosário Fátima Correia.
The PAN-VBG 2022-2032 was developed based on an evaluation process of the current plan and an extensive consultation at the national and municipal levels with ministerial lines, national institutions, service providers, civil society organizations and development partners. The plan sets out three strategic pillars or priority areas: violence prevention, provision of essential services to victims of violence, and legal support and access to justice.
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The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law project, presented by the Vice Prime-Minister and Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Armanda Berta dos Santos, for the first amendment to Decree-Law no. 37/2022, of May 25th, regarding the end-of-year allowance for each family.
With this legislative intervention, adjustments are being made to the text of the aforementioned Decree-Law, in an attempt to avoid possible doubts regarding the universe of possible beneficiaries of this social support, to reaffirm the meaning of the decision to award this allowance to all families with a valid registration made until February 28th, 2022, regardless of whether they are in a vulnerable situation or not, or regardless of whether any of their members work in the public administration.
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The Minister of Public Works, Abel Pires da Silva and the President of the Board of Directors of Bee Timor-Leste, E. P. (BTL, E.P.), Carlos Peloi dos Reis, gave a presentation on the implementation of the agreement between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on water, sanitation and drainage.
This component, which is part of the cooperation agreement signed with MCC on July 19th, 2022, aims to reduce the contamination of drinking water and groundwater, which is responsible for causing diseases and hindering the well-being and health of children and adults.
The project comprises the construction of a chemical disinfectant production plant for the city's water supply system, the construction of the country's first central wastewater system, and the improvement of the drainage network for the capital Dili and four neighbouring municipalities. Under this programme, policy and institutional reforms as well as social and behavioural changes will also be undertaken to improve the sanitation system and water management at the household level.
The water, sanitation and drainage component, besides its direct impact on citizens' health, will also act to reduce the risk of flooding, which has affected Timor-Leste so much in recent years, avoiding its environmental and socio-economic impacts, by ensuring sustainable management of water and sanitation.
The water treatment activity is projected to benefit 429,000 people in Dili municipality and 64,000 outside Dili. The sanitation project will benefit more than 106,000 Dili residents and according to the master plan is expected to benefit more than 300,000 people in the capital by 2036.
The water, sanitation and drainage component will have a total investment of US$ 372.2 million. The water treatment activities will cost US$ 8.3 million, the sanitation system will use US$ 342.8 million, and the drainage system will cost US$ 8.9 million. Also included in this project are about US$ 7 million for institutional strengthening and regulatory reform and US$ 5.2 million for social and behavioural change campaigns.
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The Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak and the Deputy Regional Secretary to the President of the Oe-Cusse Ambeno Special Administrative Region Authority (RAEOA- Acronym in Portuguese), Leonia da Costa Monteiro, presented to the Council of Ministers the political-legislative options underlying the initiative to amend the Statute of the Oe-Cusse Ambeno Special Administrative Region.
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The Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, José Lucas do Carmo da Silva, presented the political-legislative options underlying the initiative to create a general regime of rules of origin.
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Lastly, the Council of Ministers approved a vote of condolence for the death of Jape Kong Su, a Timorese businessman who passed away yesterday, September 27th, in Australia, at the age of 97. END
