Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Díli, March 24, 2015
Program of the Sixth Constitutional Government presented in National Parliament
This morning the Program of the Sixth Constitutional Government was presented to National Parliament by Prime Minister Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo.
The Prime Minister explained in his presentation that “the Programme that we will be debating is not a new programme but rather the continuation of the policies set in the Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030, which began with the Programme of the Fifth Government.” He pointed out that “when reviewing the Programme of the Sixth Government is not what will be implemented, but rather how it will be implemented. The priorities for the country have already been determined”, he said, “what we now need to decide is how to implement those priorities in an efficient and effective manner.”
Efficiency is at the heart of the composition of the new Sixth Constitutional Government with a smaller executive reduced from 55 to 38 members, a structure that features better coordination between Ministries, and an invigorated focus on results.
The Prime Minister said that improving service delivery was key to implementation and outlined four areas of priority for the Government: improving the quality of public works, reforming public administration, harmonising and standardising laws, and conducting tax reform. He went on to explain the major features of the Program in the four pillars of national development: the Social Sector, the Infrastructure Sector, the Economic Sector and the Good Governance Sector.
Spokesperson for the Government Agio Pereira noted that “The transition from the Fifth to the Sixth Constitutional Government has mandated the presentation of a new Government Program under Section 108 of the Constitution of Timor-Leste. This has allowed a review of the earlier Program and an adjustment of activities to maximize tangible results within the next two and a half years. The success of the Program will be demonstrated by the timely completion of quality infrastructure, the successful delivery of services and measurable improvements in the performance of the public sector. The positive effects of results will impact on national harmony and stability, much needed to further enhance long term sustainable development.”
The Program will now be debated in the Parliament. It is expected that the document will be finalized and accepted before the Parliament turns to consider the Supplementary with debate on the Budget scheduled to begin on the 1st of April.