Media Releases
- 21 of September of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 21st, 2022Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 21st, 2022
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and approved the draft Decree-Law which aims to establish the Legal Framework for the Public-Private Partnership for Diagnostic Services, presented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes and the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo. This draft Decree-Law had already been subject to deliberation at the Council of Ministers meeting on July 27th, 2022, however, due to some amendments introduced in the final drafting phase, it became necessary to submit it to a new deliberation.
The draft Decree-Law, presented by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Joaquim Amaral, for the first amendment to Decree-Law No. 34/2017, of September 27th, on the exercise and licensing of economic activities, was approved.
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With this amendment, there will no longer be a distinction based on the activity risk, giving way to the approval of a common framework for the classification of economic activities, called the Timor-Leste Economic Activities Classification and abbreviated to CAE.
The Government also intends to put an end to the authorisation-type regime currently in force, whose bureaucratic procedures are unnecessary, to guarantee a greater efficiency of the services and true freedom of initiative and business management of the private sector and the cooperative and social sector, as enshrined in Article 138 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.
It is proposed to make the licensing process more predictable, transparent and simple, by consolidating the reform of the licensing of economic activities, which started five years ago, clarifying procedures, shortening timeframes and reducing the burden of opening businesses in the country.
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The Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Resolution, presented by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Julião da Silva, for the approval of the cooperation agreement between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Portuguese Republic on internal security.
The agreement, signed by both countries on September 27th, 2011, has as its objective the mutual provision of technical cooperation and exchange, through professional training actions and advisory services in the area of internal security.
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The draft Government Resolution, presented by the Vice Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, António Guterres and the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports, Abrão Saldanha, on promoting physical activity in public establishments was approved.
To promote physical activity and raise awareness of the population about the importance of physical activity in health and implementation of intersectoral and multidisciplinary policies aimed at reducing sedentary lifestyles, the Government establishes the promotion of physical activity in public administration bodies and services, dedicating a period during the week for the practice of physical activity in its various aspects and modalities.
All public administration bodies and services under the dependence of the Government shall promote the practice of physical activity by the employees who are part of those bodies and services, establishing an appropriate time, not exceeding one hour, on Fridays, between 4:30 pm. and 5:30 pm. This period may be reduced or waived whenever justified by reasons of public interest, namely to ensure the regular functioning of the public administration bodies and services.
The Government also appeals to civil society organizations and private sector companies to join and promote the practice of physical activity by their collaborators and workers for at least 1 hour per week.
This physical activity should not occur on the last Friday of each month, to ensure the organization and implementation of collective actions of general cleaning of the urban areas existing in the national territory, as previously planned.
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The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, on the establishment of the National Institute of Public Health of Timor-Leste (INSP-TL).
It is intended with the establishment of the INSP-TL to aggregate in a single institute the attributions of monitoring, evaluation and analysis of the general health status, collaboration in the epidemiological and health surveillance, scientific research, control of risks and threats to public health, development and training of human resources, research and technological incorporation in public health, as well as quality control in certain health areas.
Within the scope of these attributions, in cooperation/networking with similar institutes in other countries, it is intended to create an organization with a strong scientific base that provides leadership and experience to the efforts made at the national level to achieve substantial and long-term improvements for public health and establishes itself as a reliable source of advice for policy formulation and decision making by policymakers.
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The Council of Ministers decided to authorize the Minister of Finance to start negotiating with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Government of Australia, on the specific conditions of a loan for the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport development project.
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The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Joaquim Amaral, gave a presentation on the World Trade Organization's agreement on information technology (Information Technology Agreement - ITA) and the status of Timor-Leste's accession process to the WTO. The ITA is a multilateral agreement within the scope of the WTO to reduce to zero all taxes and tariffs on information technology products by the signatories.
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Lastly, the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, informed the Council of Ministers that the construction of the Port of Tibar Bay has already reached 92% and that it will start operations on September 30th, thus, from October 1st, the Port of Dili will no longer receive container vessels, transferring this service to the Port of Tibar Bay. The Port of Dili will continue to receive passenger ferries and cruise ships. The official launch of the Port of Tibar Bay will take place on November 30th, to coincide with the celebrations of Timor-Leste's Independence Day. END - 14 of September of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 14th, 2022Approvedmore
1 - procurement procedures for international public tenders and the implementation of expenditure for public works concerning the rehabilitation of roads;
2 - proceedings concerning the rehabilitation of the roads; and
3 - Draft of the 2023 General State Budget Law
Analysed
1 - state of play of Timor-Leste's accession process to the ASEAN; and
2 renewable energy implementation project. - 09 of September of 2022Timor-Leste mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth IIThe Government of Timor-Leste was saddened to receive the news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, this Thursday, September 8th, 2022, at the Balmoral Castle, Scotland, at the age of 96 years.more
Elizabeth II, born on April 21st, 1926, in London, died a few months after celebrating her 70th jubilee of reign, the longest in British history and one of the longest in the world. Charles, her eldest son, succeeded her on the throne and adopted the title of Charles III. - 07 of September of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 7th, 2022Approved:more
1 - signing of the agreement between the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, concerning cooperation in the defence area and the status of the Visiting Forces;
2 - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste in the United Kingdom and the double accreditation of the Ambassador of Timor-Leste to the Kingdom of Belgium for France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland and the Czech Republic;
3 - programs to be included in the draft State Budget for 2023;
4 - State's vehicle regulations and for the first amendment to Decree-Law 21/2021, of November 10th, which created the Monthly Transportation Allowance; and
5 - authorizes and approves the rules of the joint operational engagement between F-FDTL and the PNTL.
Analysed:
1 - political-legislative options underlying the initiative to create the National Institute of Public Health of Timor-Leste (INSP-TL Portuguese Acronym); and
2 - Evaluation Report on the Implementation of the second phase of the Strategic Development Plan 2011 - 2030. 
02 of September of 2022Day off on September 6th, 2022 on the occasion of the commemoration of the appointment of Dom Virgílio do Carmo da Silva as the first Timorese CardinalDay off on September 6th, 2022 on the occasion of the commemoration of the appointment of Dom Virgílio do Carmo da Silva as the first Timorese Cardinalmore- 26 of August of 2022Day-off on August 29th 2022 on the occasion of the Anniversary Celebrations of the Popular ConsultationDay-off on August 29th 2022 on the occasion of the Anniversary Celebrations of the Popular Consultationmore
- 24 of August of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 24th, 2022Approved:more
1 - legal regime of higher education institutions;
2 - Support Mission for the 2022 Guinea-Bissau Voter Registration Process (MAPRE-GB 2022 Portuguese Acronyms); and
3 - financial support for the activities of welcoming and commemorating the elevation of Dom Virgílio do Carmo da Silva, SDB, to Cardinal. - 17 of August of 2022Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 17th, 2022Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 17th, 2022
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Decree-Laws, presented by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, for the first amendment to Decree-Law no.15/2017, of May 17th, which creates and defines the organic structure of the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP – Portuguese acronym).
This diploma aims to give this public institute, in line with the Government's Programme, greater responsibilities regarding the qualified training of human resources in the Public Administration, namely by providing leadership programmes and advanced training programmes in Public Administration. Thus, the new role of INAP regarding professional training in the Public Administration aims to strengthen professional training as a strategic instrument for the modernization and transformation of the Public Administration, through the establishment of strategic training areas.
Also approved was the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Public Works, Abel Pires da Silva, for the second amendment to Decree-Law No. 8/2019, of April 24th, with the wording given by its first amendment approved by Decree-Law No. 50/2022, of October 14th, on the Organic Law of the Ministry of Public Works.
Given that a new Head of the Ministry of Public Works has taken office, the intention is to make the necessary changes to reorganise some of the services that make up the Ministry, to make it more efficient in the execution of its attributions.
Thus, the Directorate General of Administration and Finance is divided into two general directorates with differentiated vocations. One focused on budget execution, which comprises the National Directorates of Procurement and Budget and Finance, which also includes the Strategic Planning Unit which is now a national directorate. The second is focused on issues of the general administration of the Ministry's resources, which includes the National Directorates of Administration and Management of Assets and Human Resources, with the addition of the National Directorate of Information Technology, which aims to provide support for the digitalisation of the ministry's services.
The General Directorates that were extinguished with the appointment of the governing bodies of the public companies, Bee Timor-Leste, E.P. and Eletricidade de Timor-Leste, E.P., are also removed.
The National Directorate of Roads, Bridges and Flood Control is also divided into two national directorates, one focusing only on roads and the other on flood prevention and control, to provide the ministry with an entity with specific skills to mitigate the risks of flooding that have increasingly occurred as a result of climate change.
The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law on Land Registry Information, presented by the Minister of Justice, Tiago Amaral Sarmento. This draft Decree-Law had already been subject to deliberation in the meeting of the Council of Ministers on June 8th, 2022, however, due to the decision to amend Article 46, referring to the date of entry into force of the diploma, it became necessary to submit it to a new deliberation. Thus, it is now defined that the diploma will come into force on November 1st, 2022, it was previously defined that the diploma would come into force 120 days after its publication.
The Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho and the Vice Minister of State Administration, Lino de Jesus Torrezão, presented to the Council of Ministers, the Report of the Mission to Support the Electoral Census Process in Guinea-Bissau. The Timorese delegation, led by Deputy Minister Lino de Jesus Torrezão, visited Guinea-Bissau, from July 22nd to August 8th, to meet with local authorities to verify the existing conditions and identify the needs for the organization of voter registration and free and democratic elections in Guinea-Bissau, scheduled for December 18th.
Lastly, the Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Victor da Conceição Soares and the Heads of ANPM, Timor Gap and IPG, gave a presentation on the progress in the petroleum and minerals sector. The presentation had the objective of giving the members of the Council of Ministers an overview of the main activities planned or already done, to strengthen the national petroleum industry. END
