Secretary of State for Social Communication signs MoU on transfer of public funds to the media
The Secretary of State for Social Communication, Nélio Isaac Sarmento, signed on May 8th, a Memorandum of Understanding on transfer of public funds to local newspapers. The agreement was signed in the auditorium of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and aims to support the media. The Secretary of State for Social Communication was accompanied by the Director of the National Directorate for Information Dissemination, Orlando da Conceição and the Director of the Community Radio Centre, Luís Evaristo Soares dos Santos
The Secretary of State Nélio Isaac Sarmento explained that this support follows the first agreement which took place in 2014 and asks “the media institutions that benefit from these funds, to improve your companies because, as it is usually said, use this opportunity wisely, as other opportunities of this nature are not envisaged in the near future. I hope that in the next two or three years this support will no longer be required and that you can ensure your future.”
However, the Secretary of State for Social Communication expects that special attention be given to the human resources and, far more important, to the journalists.
After the signing of this agreement, the Secretary of State Nélio Isaac Sarmento and the Directors of the Media bade farewell to the seven trainees that will join the course at the Dr. Soetomo Training Centre in Jakarta. The group is composed of journalists from the following media organizations: Jornal Business Timor, Timor Post, Jornal Nacional Diário, Jornal Independente, Suara Timor Lorosae, Fokus and Journal Matadalan.
