Media Releases
- 21 of July of 2021Meeting of the Council of Ministers on july 21, 2021Approved:more
1 - Propose for renewal of the state of emergency;
2 - Financial support in the event of death or disability as a result of inoculation with vaccine against COVID-19.
Analyzed:
1 - National epidemiological situation. - 17 of July of 2021Government of Timor-Leste expresses its solidarity with Germany and BelgiumOn behalf of the people of Timor-Leste, the Government expresses its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the severe floods that hit western Germany and eastern Belgium, early Thursday morning.more
- 14 of July of 2021Vote of Condolence on Carmel Budiardjo's DeathThe Council of Ministers, in its meeting on July 14th, approved a vote of condolence for the passing away, on July 10th, of Carmel Budiardjo, human rights activist and defender of self-determination of the Timorese people.more
- 14 of July of 2021Meeting of the Council of Ministers on july 14, 2021Approved:more
1 - maintains the imposition of the sanitary fence in the municipality of Dili;
2 - first amendment to Decree-Law no. 10/2018, of April 9th, that approved the Statute of the Institute for the Quality of Timor-Leste (IQTL);
3 - Public tender procurement procedure for the acquisition of two industrial fishing boats, with a capacity of 250 GT each;
4 - new vaccination strategy against COVID-19 for each municipality;
5 - disaggregated ceilings of the 2022 General State Budget (GSB);
6 - note of condolence for the death of Carmel Budiardjo.
Analyzed:
1 - national epidemiological situation;
2 - preparation of Timor-Leste’s participation in the Summit on Food Systems;
3 - National Action Plan for the Consolidation of Food Security and Nutrition;
4 - Aprezentasaun kona-ba Sorumutuk Parseiru sira Dezenvolvimentu Timor-Leste nian ba tinan 2021. - 07 of July of 2021Meeting of the Council of Ministers on july 7, 2021Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 7, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, in the Government Palace, in Dili and, after analysing the presentation of the national epidemiological status by the Situation Room of the Integrated Centre for Crisis Management, the Council of Ministers decided to approve the draft Government Resolution which maintains the imposition of the sanitary fence in the municipality of Dili for 7 more days, until July 15th. Thus, the prohibition of people circulation between the Dili municipality and other administrative districts is maintained, except in duly justified cases 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 minors under six years of age accompanying them, are not covered by this prohibition of circulation.
The Council of Minister decided not to renew the imposition of the sanitary fence in the Municipality of Baucau.
Also approved was the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, that creates extraordinary assistance for the integration into the labour market of beneficiaries of "cash for work" programmes.
To ensure that "work for pay" programmes can have a longer lasting impact, the insertion of these workers into the labour market is promoted, encouraging their employment through financial support to companies and workers. These programmes were created to help the clean-up and reconstruction efforts using local labour, while providing a source of income for thousands of unemployed workers.
The extraordinary assistance created by this legislation is similar to that created by the Supplementary Budget for workers in general:
The extraordinary labour market integration allowance is granted to employers who enter into a contract valid for at least six months with a participant in "work for pay". The amount of the allowance is equal to 70% of the employee's salary;
Partial exemption from the duty to pay social security contributions, by the company and by the employee; and
Extraordinary unemployment allowance, with a value of 40% of the value of the contractual remuneration relative to the 1st level that constitutes the basis of the contribution to social security upon optional membership.
The assistance will be implemented by the National Social Security Institute in coordination with SEFOPE and will be financed by the COVID-19 Fund.
The Council of Ministers approved, with amendments, the draft Government Resolution, presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Adaljiza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno, which grants a donation of USD 50,000 to the initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), entitled "A common agenda as a response to present and future challenges". It is thus a response to the challenge of the UN Secretary-General, who called for a financial contribution from all members of the United Nations, following the declaration commemorating the 75th anniversary of the creation of the UN, which invokes the need to strengthen multilateralism and revitalize the role of the United Nations in today's world.
The Council of Ministers deliberated to nominate Carlito Martins as effective member of the National Elections Commission (CNE) and Elvino Bonaparte do Rêgo as substitute member of CNE, following the proposal presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho.
The Secretary of State for Equality and Inclusion, Maria José da Fonseca Monteiro de Jesus, presented to the Council of Ministers the draft report on the implementation of the 2020 National Action Plan Against Gender-Based Violence (PAN-VBG). The report presents the specific actions implemented in 2020 and the respective challenges and results achieved in each pillar of the PAN-VBG. The four pillars of the PAN-VBG are: prevention of GBV; provision of services for victims; access to justice for victims; and coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the initiatives developed.
Lastly, the Vice Prime Minister, Armanda Berta dos Santos and the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, responsible for leading the Interministerial Commission for the Preparation and Coordination of Implementation of the Vaccination Plan against COVID-19, presented to the Council of Ministers the status of implementation of the vaccination campaign. Until the June 6th, a total of 359,800 vaccine doses were received, of which 243,949 have already been administered. Through the COVAX mechanism, a total of 124,800 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine arrived, while Australia offered 135,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and China donated 100,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine. Of the total 243,949 doses administered nationally, 224,155 were AstraZeneca vaccines and 19,797 Sinovac. At national level, 217,677 people (28.7%) have already received the first dose and 26,272 people (3.5%) have completed the vaccination. In Dili Municipality, 115,737 people (54.1%) have already received the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 and 14,418 people have already received both doses (6.74%). END
- 01 of July of 2021Meeting of the Council of Ministers on july 1, 2021Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 1, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, in the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Decree-Law that creates the draw " COVID-19 Vaccine Lottery", presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho. This draft Decree-Law had already been subject to deliberation in the Meeting of the Council of Ministers on June 23rd 2021, however the need to review the details of its implementation made it inevitable to introduce substantial changes in its text, forcing a new deliberation by the Council of Ministers. Relatively to the previous project, changes were introduced in the implementation of the raffle and its regulation is now defined through a joint ministerial diploma of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of State Administration and the Ministry of Finance.
The Executive approved the draft Government Resolution, presented by the Prime Minister, which sets the vacancies for promotion of staff under the General Regime of Public Administration Careers for the year 2021. The vacancies for promotion are set annually by the Government, on proposal of the Civil Service Commission, up to a limit of ten per cent of the total staff of each category or professional group.
After considering the presentation of the epidemiological situation of the country, from the coordinators of the Situation Room of the Integrated Centre for Crisis Management (CIGC), the Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Decree on the implementation measures of the Declaration of the State of Emergency, made by Decree of the President of the Republic No. 39/2021, June 30, to respond to the pandemic of COVID-19. The state of emergency, now renewed, covers the entire national territory and is in force between 12.00 am on July 2nd, 2021 and 11.59 pm on July 31st, 2021.
Regarding the implementation measures of the previous declaration of a state of emergency, changes have been made to mitigate the risk of importing the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 into Timor-Leste. The Government determines that all people who wish to enter Timor-Leste must present proof of a negative SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 test result, no older than 5 days. Those who are fully vaccinated and come from or have passed through countries that have reported Delta variant of SARS-COV-2 will have to comply with a five-day quarantine period. Those who have not been fully vaccinated will still have to comply with 14 days of quarantine.
In order to tackle the forgery of documents proving full vaccination, the Government mandated the Minister of Health to approve an official model of document proving vaccination.
The remaining rules remain unchanged, namely the obligation of 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. They are also still obliged 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 wash their hands when entering commercial, industrial or service provision establishments or buildings where public administration services operate. Everyone is also obliged to avoid gathering on public places.
Also approved were the Government's draft Resolutions that maintain the imposition of the sanitary fence in the municipalities of Baucau and Dili for a further 7 days. Thus, the prohibition of movement of people between the municipalities of Baucau and Dili and other administrative districts is maintained, 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 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.
The Council of Ministers has decided to authorize the opening of a procurement procedure of International Public Tender type, for the award of a public contract for the purchase and installation of a digital connection of Timor-Leste through fibre optic submarine cable, to the cities of Darwin and Port Hedland in the Commonwealth of Australia. The Council of Ministers also approved the study and development of an operation, management and maintenance model for the national fibre optic network, and preparation, if necessary, of legislative diplomas, by the Ministry of Planning and Territory, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs. The two draft resolutions were presented by the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Planning and Territory, and President of the Interministerial Commission for the implementation of a fibre optic submarine cable system, José Maria dos Reis.
The Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes and the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (UPMA) made a presentation on the procedures and budget cycle for the 2022 General State Budget (GSB). The various phases of the preparation, deliberation and implementation process of the 2022 GSB were presented in order to ensure that the established deadlines are met. It is expected that the Draft Bill (PPL) of the 2022 General State Budget will be approved by the Council of Ministers on September 17th and submitted to the National Parliament on October 1st. During the months of October and November the PPL will be considered by the parliamentary committees, and the discussion and vote in plenary should take place during the month of December.
The Vice Prime-Minister and Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Armanda Berta dos Santos, presented the political-legislative options underlying the project on social reinsertion of victims of gender-based violence and the proposal to allocate monetary support to persons in vulnerable conditions. The options presented aim to ensure the establishment of measures and mechanisms for monitoring and social assistance to victims of domestic violence with a view to their social reintegration and for a quick response from government entities in supporting people in vulnerable situations.
The Vice Minister of Interior, António Armindo and the Head of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Timor-Leste, Ihma Shareef, made a presentation on the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS). This border management information system, developed by IOM, allows for the collection, processing, storage and analysis of traveller information in real time, allowing for more effective monitoring of entries and exits of the territory. MIDAS is a high-quality, easy-to-use and fully customizable system and is being implemented in 29 countries on the African, Asian and American continents. IOM guarantees that governments have full and exclusive ownership of all data recorded by MIDAS.
The Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, José Lucas do Carmo da Silva, as the National Authority for Expo Dubai 2020 (ANED-TL) and the General Coordinator for Expo Dubai 2020, Manuel Vong, made a presentation on the progress of the preparation works for Timor-Leste's presence at Expo Dubai 2020. Expo Dubai 2020 will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, between October 1st 2021 and March 31st 2022 and will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East.
With the theme "Uniting Minds, Creating the Future" and the sub-themes "Mobility", "Sustainability" and "Opportunity", Expo 2020 will count with the participation of more than 190 countries. Timor-Leste will be present in the thematic area "Opportunity", with the theme "Timor-Leste, Explore the undiscovered". This event of enormous international projection will allow Timor-Leste to promote its culture, its landscapes and natural resources and its products to millions of people, attracting potential investors and visitors. During the presentation, was made a summary of the preparation activities already done, having already reached 95% of the preparation. The programmatic activities that are planned during Expo Dubai were also presented, especially the events that will take place on the Timor-Leste national day, which will be celebrated on October 18th. END - 30 of June of 2021Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers on june 30, 2021Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers on june 30, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and after reviewing the presentation of the epidemiological situation in the municipalities of Baucau and Dili, by the Situation Room of Integrated Centre for Crisis Management, decided to approve the draft Government Resolutions that maintain the imposition of sanitary fencing in the municipalities of Baucau and Dili, until the end of the validity of the current period of the state of emergency, until 11:59 pm on July 1st, 2021. Tomorrow, in the ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers, the possibility of continuing the imposition of sanitary fencing in these two municipalities will be analysed again.
Thus, the ban on the movement of people between the municipalities of Baucau and Dili and the other administrative districts is maintained, except in duly justified cases 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 the full vaccination (two doses) against COVID-19 and accompanying children under the age of six are not covered by this movement ban. END
