The Prime Minister, Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo, opened, on June 26th, a seminar on the National Action Plan for 2016 of the Sixth Constitutional Government, at the Noble Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, in Dili.
This seminar introduced to participants the different instruments aimed at ensuring the establishment and execution of the Government plan linked to the budget – by assigning the activities to each one of the fiscal packs – as well as the launching of the reports identified on the Annual Action Plan.
“When we were drawing the action plan for each year, sometimes plans were not according to the budgetary process we had outlined”, referred the Prime Minister.
The Annual Plans by the Sixth Constitutional Government for 2016 and 2017 have, as priorities, to strengthen four different areas: agriculture, education, health and basic infrastructures, in which are included water and sanitation.
The Prime Minister insisted on that the annual plan that the Government will have to develop, needs to have an effective connection with the General State Budget, which is annually approved by the National Parliament.
“Are you, gentlemen, or are you not, conscious that, in terms of management, you are not being very efficient on the usage of management tools, aimed at checking-up if we are really following the plan we outlined? The budget we are spending, does it have, or not, a connection with the plan we outlined?”- asked the Head of Government. “During the execution of the plan we outlined, according to our needs, have we found any contradictions so far? The annual action plan has to accomplish the needs we have, but the budget is what determines the resources we have.”
In his final note to participants, the Head of the Executive warned for the planning process to be logical and the fiscal pack to be bound to the action plan.
This seminar was an initiative by the Planning, Monitoring and Assessment Unit (PMAU) of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, along with the Ministry of Finance.
The event was attended by Ministers, Secretaries of State, General Directors and National Directors, Heads of Department, Advisors and those responsible for the management of public finances.