Media Releases
- 19 of August of 2021Day off on August 20th, 2021 - FALINTIL DayPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
.............................................................................................................................
Press Release
Day off on August 20th, 2021 - FALINTIL Day
available soon - 18 of August of 2021Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 18, 2021Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
.............................................................................................................................
Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 18, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and deliberated to authorize the Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Víctor da Conceição Soares, to initiate the necessary and urgent diligences, in view to the possibility of lease with option to purchase, or acquisition, of suitable facilities to accommodate all the services of the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals, which are currently located in several places throughout the city of Dili.
The draft Government Resolution, presented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, to create the Integrated Management Unit for the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport Development Project (UGIP) was approved. This Unit, which will be under the direct dependence of the Interministerial Commission for the negotiation of financial support for the requalification of Nicolau Lobato International Airport (AINL), is a temporary structure for the implementation of the project that will continue with the centralised technical and strategic management of the execution of the AINL project in all its components and all its phases.
The Council of Ministers decided to authorize the Minister of Finance to negotiate, with the Asian Development Bank, the specific conditions of the loan for the project of modernization of the power supply. Considering that the initial negotiations must be developed by a technical team led by the Ministry of Finance, the Minister of Finance may appoint, by ministerial order, the members to integrate this negotiation team.
After the analysis of the presentation on the point of the national epidemiological situation, given by the Situation Room of the Integrated Centre for Crisis Management, the Council of Ministers decided to propose to His Excellency, the President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, the renewal of the state of emergency, for another thirty days. Given that the determining causes that justified the declaration of the state of emergency and its renewal remain in place, in order to prevent and neutralize the risks of spread of new strains of SARS-CoV-2 and thus protect public health and the response capacity of the National Health System, the Government proposes to the President of the Republic that, with the renewal of the state of emergency, the suspension or restriction of some fundamental rights and guarantees be allowed.
Also approved were the draft Government Resolution that maintains the imposition of the sanitary fence in the areas covered by Village (Suco) Naimeco, in Pante Macassar Administrative Post, and Village (Suco) Bobometo, in Oesilo Administrative Post, both in Oe-Cusse Ambeno Special Administrative Region, until August 30th, 2021, 11:59 pm.
Thus, the prohibition of movement of persons between the said areas and the other administrative districts is maintained, except in cases duly justified on grounds of public safety, public health, humanitarian assistance, maintenance of public supply systems or the achievement of public interest. Individuals who provide proof of full vaccination (two doses) against COVID-19, as well as accompanying minors under the age of six years are not covered by this movement ban.
The Minister of Finance presented to the Council of Ministers the political-legislative options underlying the proposals for the creation of a food allowance and a transport allowance for public servants. The options presented for the transport allowance foresee the substitution of the attribution of State vehicles for this allowance, significantly reducing management and maintenance costs with vehicles. The options presented for the food allowance foresee the monthly attribution of locally produced food to civil servants. The creation of these two allowances will be subject to review and deliberation at the next meeting of the Executive. END
- 11 of August of 2021Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 11, 2021Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
.............................................................................................................................
Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 11, 2021
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace, in Dili and, after analysing the national epidemiological situation presentation, by the Situation Room of the Integrated Centre for Crisis Management, approved:
The draft Government Resolutions that maintain the imposition of a sanitary fence in the Municipalities of Dili and Ermera, until 11:59 pm, on August 26th; and
The draft Government Resolution that maintains the general home confinement of the population of the Administrative Posts of Ermera and Railaco, in the municipality of Ermera, until 11:59 pm, on August 25th.
Thus, the prohibition of movement of people between the municipalities of Dili and Ermera and the other administrative districts is maintained, except in cases duly justified for reasons of public safety, public health, humanitarian assistance, maintenance of public supply systems or the achievement of public interest. Individuals who provide proof of full vaccination (two doses) against COVID-19 as well as accompanying minors under the age of six years are not covered by this travel ban.
In the Administrative Posts of Ermera and Railaco, the imposition of general home confinement is also maintained for all persons residing or currently staying in these two administrative posts in the municipality of Ermera, who must remain in their homes or in their temporary accommodation, including shelter centres, except in the situations previously provided, namely for health reasons, for work, for access to goods and services of primary necessity. Individuals who provide proof of full vaccination (two doses) against COVID-19 are not covered by the imposition of home confinement.
The Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Public Works, Salvador Soares dos Reis Pires, for the first amendment to Decree-Law 27/2010, of December 22nd, which approved the Legal Regime of Certification and Registration of Civil Construction and Civil Technical Consulting Companies. The purpose of this legislative intervention is to eliminate the limitation that prevented national companies from performing civil construction services worth more than USD 7.5 million.
Finally, the Council of Ministers approved the draft resolution, regarding the review of the value of tariffs, the concession fee and penalties of the Port of Tibar, presented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes. This project had already been subject to deliberation at the Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 28th, 2021, however due to the introduction of some changes in the final drafting stage, it became necessary to submit it to a new deliberation of the Council of Ministers.
The revision of these values, with an indexation factor of 1.061, takes into account the decrease in cargo traffic compared to forecasts, the economic reality of recent years, the constraints resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the will of the concession holder to continue to develop the project and start operating as soon as possible, as well as the fact that the values resulting from the revision are similar to the values that would be in force if the concession holder had started operating on the scheduled date. END
- 04 of August of 2021Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 4, 2021Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
.............................................................................................................................
Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on August 4, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Justice, Manuel Cárceres da Costa, which aims to make the Second Amendment to the Civil Procedure Code, approved by Decree-Law No. 1/2006 of February 21st and amended by Law No. 6/2021 of March 31st. With this Decree-Law, the Government, making use of the legislative authorisation granted by the National Parliament (through Law no. 3/2021, of March 2nd), provides more flexibility to the process reorganisation phase, in particular regarding the preparation of the hearing for discussion and trial, and contributes to the relief of civil justice. With this amendment, the reorganisation phase is maintained as an intermediate procedural phase of the proceedings, but it is no longer necessarily based on the specification and questionnaire, and alternative preparatory schemes are provided for. The selection of the preparatory scheme for the discussion and trial hearing is made by the judge, by non-appealable order, in accordance with the option that concretely proves to be most appropriate to the specific characteristics of the litigation.
The Council of Ministers approved the Second Amendment to decree-law no. 17/2020, of April 30th, which creates a remuneration supplement for public administration employees, agents and workers who perform their professional activity in the prevention or control services of COVID-19, or in conditions of direct exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
In this amendment, the list of categories of beneficiary workers is revised, given that the universe of workers who perform their respective activity in conditions of direct exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is now broader than that provided for in the previous Decree Law, namely with the inclusion of technicians involved in the vaccination programme against COVID-19, prison guards and gravediggers, among others, who were not covered until now.
The amount of this remuneration supplement, to be funded by the COVID-19 Fund, ranges between 5 and 25 US dollars per day, depending on the degree of risk to which the employees are exposed, in accordance with the table approved with the present decree-law.
The amendments provided for in this Decree-Law shall come into effect from April 30th, 2020, the date of entry into force of the amended Decree-Law.
The right to supplements is extended until December 31st, 2021, without prejudice to the possibility of later extension through new legislative intervention.
The draft Government Decree, presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho, for the first amendment to the Government Decree regarding the remuneration of the Presidents of Municipal Authorities and Municipal Administrators was also approved. The purpose of this decree-law is to adjust the remuneration of the Presidents of Municipal Authorities and Municipal Administrators to the high responsibility that the performance of their office implies, as representatives, at municipal level, of the Central Government, who hold responsibilities over a wide range of services that the Government provides, locally, to citizens. With this draft Government Decree, as of January 2022, Municipal Presidents will receive a monthly remuneration of US$ 1,600, and Municipal Administrators will receive a monthly remuneration of US$ 1,300.
The Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Resolution, also presented by the Minister of State Administration, on the update of voter registration abroad and approval of the schedule for voter registration operations abroad, for the election of the President of the Republic to be held in 2022. The Government's Resolution aims to ensure the conduct of voter registration operations abroad, to enable Timorese citizens residing abroad to exercise their right to vote. The voter registration and update activities will take place between September 3rd, 2021 and January 14th, 2022, which will be a longer period than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to diplomatic missions and consular posts, these activities will also take place at mobile registration posts in Australia, South Korea, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
Lastly, the Council of Ministers also deliberated to approve the draft Government Resolution that imposes a sanitary fence in the areas comprised by the Naimeco Suco (village), in the Administrative Post of Pante Macassar, and by the Bobometo Suco (village), in the Administrative Post of Oesilo, both in the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cússe Ambeno, between 12:00 am on August 5th, 2021 and 11:59 pm on August 18th, 2021.
Thus, the movement of people between these areas is prohibited, except in cases duly justified for reasons of public safety, public health, humanitarian assistance, maintenance of public supply systems or the achievement of public interest. Individuals who can demonstrate full vaccination (two doses) against COVID-19, as well as minors under six years of age accompanying them, are not covered by this travel ban. END - 30 of July of 2021Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of July 30th, 2021Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
.............................................................................................................................
Press Release
Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of July 30th, 2021
The Council of Minister met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and started the meeting with the analysis of the presentation of the epidemiological situation in the Municipality of Ermera, given by the Situation Room of the Integrated Centre for Crisis Management.
Given the worsening of the evolution of the epidemic situation in Ermera, with a large increase in the number of diagnosed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the municipality and in order to safeguard the growing risk of spreading COVID-19, the Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Resolution imposing the general home confinement of the population of the Administrative Posts of Ermera and Railaco, in the municipality of Ermera, between July 31st, 12:00 a.m. and August 11th, 2021, 11:59 p.m.
Thus, the general home confinement of all persons residing or presently in these two administrative posts in the municipality of Ermera, who must remain in their homes or in their temporary accommodation, including shelter centres, is imposed, except in the situations foreseen in this Law, namely, for health reasons, for work, for access to goods and services of basic necessity.
Individuals who provide proof of full vaccination (two doses) against COVID-19 are not covered by the home confinement requirement.
The circulation of Public Transportation is prohibited in the whole area of the administrative posts of Ermera and Railaco, namely microletes, biscotas and angunas.
Collective religious celebrations are prohibited, and the organisation and holding of funeral ceremonies involving the participation of more than ten persons is also prohibited. During these ceremonies, these persons must wear a face mask that covers the nasal and mouth cavities and keep a distance of at least three feet from other persons present at the ceremony.
All commercial, industrial, artisanal or service provision establishments must remain closed to the public, with the exception of establishments authorized in this Government Resolution, namely establishments selling food and other essential goods, electricity, telecommunications, and establishments providing medical care, pharmacies, gas stations and financial institutions.
Restaurants can provide take-away or home delivery meals, and other establishments that are closed to public may develop their activity through home delivery services.
The activity of street food vendors and other essential goods is allowed. The markets in the administrative posts of Ermera and Railaco, remain open between 6 am and 6 pm.
The Council of Ministers also approved a deliberation to direct the Minister of Health and all departments responsible for the vaccination campaign, to mobilize all the necessary resources to intensify the daily number of inoculations in the area of the Municipality of Ermera and, thus, increase the percentage of the population vaccinated in this municipality. END
- 29 of July of 2021Prime Minister expresses solidarity with the community of the old Comoro Market that was affected by a fire early this morningPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
.............................................................................................................................
Dili, July 29th, 2021
Press Release
Prime Minister expresses solidarity with the community of the old Comoro Market that was affected by a fire early this morning
The Prime-Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, expressed his sadness at reports of a fire that broke out early this Thursday morning in the old Comoro Market, affecting the community, burning to ashes some four hundred houses.
Given this situation, the Head of Government expressed his solidarity and gave courage to the affected families, having already directed the relevant Ministries, such as the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, the Ministry of State Administration and the Secretary of State for Civil Protection to act immediately to support the affected families.
“This morning, I received information about a fire in the old Comoro Market, which is said to have burnt close to 400 houses in the community. I am very saddened and really sorry to hear this news. I take this opportunity, on behalf my behalf and on behalf of the Government, to express our solidarity with the affected families and ask everyone for courage to face this situation.”
“I have immediately directed the relevant Ministries to mobilise at once to the ground to conduct the identification of the damage and a first intervention with some emergency support to the affected families.” - 28 of July of 2021Meeting of the Council of Ministers on july 28, 2021Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
.............................................................................................................................
Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 28, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili and, after analysing the presentation given by the Situation Room of the Integrated Centre for Crisis Management on the national epidemiological situation, the Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree of Government on the implementation measures of the Declaration of the State of Emergency, made by the Decree of the President of the Republic No. 56/2021, of July 27th, to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The state of emergency, now renewed, covers the entire national territory, and is in force between 12.00 a.m., August 1st, 2021 and 11:59 a.m., August 30th, 2021.
The enforcement measures of the previous state of emergency declaration are maintained, namely, the requirement for all individuals residing in Timor-Leste to keep a distance of at least three feet from other individuals with whom they do not live in common economy. Individuals are also required to wear a face mask that covers the nose and mouth when having access to or staying in public or private places of collective use, and to sanitize their hands when entering commercial, industrial or service provision establishments or facilities where public administration services operate. Everyone is also obliged to avoid crowding in public places.
The Council of Ministers also decided to approve two draft Government Resolutions, which aim to:
Maintain the imposition of a sanitary fence on the municipality of Dili until 11:59 a.m., August 12th, 2021; and
Impose a sanitary fence on the municipality of Ermera between 12:00 a.m., July 29th, 2021 and 11:59 a.m., August 12th, 2021.
Thus, the circulation of people between the municipalities of Dili and Ermera and the other administrative districts is prohibited, except in cases duly justified for reasons of public safety, public health, humanitarian assistance, maintenance of the public supply systems or the achievement of public interest. Individuals who provide proof of full vaccination (two doses) against COVID-19 as well as accompanying minors under the age of six years are not covered by this travel ban.
The draft Government Resolution, presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho, to appoint of Guilhermina Filomena Saldanha as President of the Dili Municipal Authority, for a period of five years, counting from the date of taking office, was approved.
The Council of Ministers approved, with amendments, the draft Law Proposal of the Civil Service Commission, presented by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães. After ten years since its creation, it is intended with this law to strengthen the guarantees of independence of action of the Commission and its Commissioners, while proceeding to reform its scope of intervention, in particular, to solve problems already identified and that have been an obstacle to the efficient functioning of the Civil Service. In this sense, building on the experience acquired in the meantime, it is intended that the Civil Service Commission play a supporting role in the definition of public policies on civil service, and proceed to strengthen the attributions of the Ministries and the competencies of the respective bodies regarding human resources.
Also approved, with amendments, was the draft deliberation on the Port of Dili Development Plan, presented by the Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agustinho da Silva. The plan provides for the restructuring and modernisation of the Port of Dili, after the transfer of the cargo port functions to the new port of Tibar, and its transformation into a marina and cruise port. It is expected that the investment in this project will guarantee a great return in terms of increased tourism, private investment, business development and job creation.
The Council of Ministers deliberated to give full powers to the Minister of Defence, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus, to sign an agreement between the Ministry of Defence of Timor-Leste and the Australian Department of Defence (DDA), regarding infrastructure and facilities activities for the Port of Hera. The agreement aims to promote the development of infrastructure to improve the capacity and sustainability of the FALINTIL-Forças de Defesa de Timor-Leste (F-FDTL) in assistance to the mutual interests of Timor-Leste and Australia. With this agreement, the DDA will undertake the necessary construction activities in the Port of Hera for the handover, in 2023, of two patrol vessels (GSB) donated by Australia to Timor-Leste.
The draft resolution, presented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, to revise the tariffs to be charged to users of the Port of Tibar, the concession fee to be charged to the concession holder, as a royalty, and the penalties to be paid by the concession holder for failure to comply with the minimum service and equipment requirements, was approved, with amendments. The revision of these values, with an indexation factor of 1.061, takes into account the decrease in cargo traffic compared to forecasts, the economic reality of recent years, the constraints resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the will of the concession holder to continue to develop the project and start operating as soon as possible, as well as the fact that the values resulting from the revision are similar to the values that would be in force if the concession holder had started operating on the scheduled date..
The Council of Ministers approved, with amendments, the draft resolution regarding the celebration of a Financing Agreement and a Financial Contribution Agreement with the Asian Development Bank. The two agreements refer to the water and sanitation infrastructure development project in the localities of Viqueque, Lospalos and Same. The Council of Ministers has granted the Minister of Finance the power to sign the aforementioned agreements on behalf of the State of Timor-Leste.
The Interministerial Commission for Civil Protection and Natural Disasters Management gave a presentation to the Council of Ministers on the execution of the declaration of the situation of calamity in face of the occurrence of floods and inundations in the Dili municipality, in the early morning of the April 4th, 2021. Presentations were given by the Ministry of State Administration and the Ministry of Public Works, and the impacts of the floods and the emergency response and recovery of the damages were shown..
Currently there are still 731 displaced persons in six shelter centres still active in Dili city. A total of 34 people have died and 14 are still missing. Nationwide, a total of 30,322 families have been affected by the floods, of which 24,816 are in the Dili municipality and 4,231 houses suffered significant damage. A plan is being developed for the creation of a multi-functional shelter centre, to respond to emergency situations, as well as to contribute to the process of urban reorganisation and policy of administrative decentralisation and local government.
At the governmental response level, in terms of emergency humanitarian support, human resources were mobilised and goods, equipment, water and food, medicines and other essentials were made available to the affected population.
Regarding public works, the necessary clean-up activities, the normalisation of public roads and the rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructures were carried out. During the presentation, the ongoing or planned short and long term projects were also presented, not only to solve the damages already identified, but also to prevent and reduce the risks of natural disasters and create more resilient infrastructures.
The Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Víctor da Conceição Soares, made a presentation on the project plan for the construction of the Petroleum Import Terminal in Metinaro. The terminal which will be located in the Village of Manuleu, Suco Wenunuk, Administrative Post of Metinaro, in the Municipality of Dili, will have an oil storage capacity for 120 days, in order to guarantee the objective of having a national strategic stock of oil for 90 days and an additional stock of 30 days for commercialization by Timor Gap. END - 22 of July of 2021Government of Timor-Leste expresses solidarity with ChinaThe Government of Timor-Leste extends its heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of the People's Republic of China following the massive devastation and loss of lives resulting from the last few days' torrential rains in central China, which the country's meteorological authorities say were the heaviest in the last thousand years.more
