The draft law N.33/III (4th) – The General State Budget (GSB) for 2016 started to be analysed and discussed in its general terms, on December 1st, in the National Parliament.
The draft law was presented by Prime Minister, Rui Maria de Araújo, who, in his speech, pointed out the commitment, the rigor and the will to fulfil the commitments undertaken by the Sixth Constitutional Government.“The new Government structure enabled everyone to be aware of the commitments, programmes, activities and goals to be achieved in every ministry, making the necessary readjustments to prevent waste. This reorganization allowed us to focus our efforts to better understand what could and should be corrected, and to identify needs requiring new dynamics and priorities”.
The total GSB for this year (1,562.233 million dollars) is lower than that of the previous year. However, there was an increase compared to the “fiscal envelope” discussed in the Budget Journeys (“Jornadas Orçamentais”) (1.3 billion dollars). This difference “results from a realistic and thorough review of needs and priorities, taking into consideration the global situation and the low price of oil, which naturally effect the world’s economy, without losing sight of the need to keep investing in areas that enable us to continue to diversify and grow our economy in a sustainable manner”. The Prime Minister explained that the country’s good economic performance in the last years and the forecast of “strong growth is based on the implementation of infrastructure projects and on a balanced mix between investments by the State, the private sector and households”.
To maintain the national development trajectory, the large infrastructure projects, “foreseen in the Infrastructure Fund, namely the Tasi Mane project, roads, ports and airports and sanitation, in economic and social development projects and programmes such as the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cusse Ambeno, the Special Zone of Social Market Economy of Oe-Cusse Ambeno and Ataúro, in the pensions for veterans, the elderly and the disabled, in support to victims of natural disasters and through the Bolsa da Mãe programme”, will continue to represent the largest portion of the State’s investment.
The Sixth Constitutional Government started an internal reorganization “in order to ensure a link between the plan and the budget. Here we adopted a principle: one plan, one budget, one system”, through the creation, within all Government bodies, of“a Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit in every government body, so as to create the structure and capacity to implement this process. The annual plans, performance reports and procurement plans and reports are planning, monitoring and implementation tools that, if used in a coordinated manner, will result in greater transparency and accountability regarding a ministry’s performance in responding to the commitments made”.
The commitment on the preparation of human resources continues to be a priority. The Prime Minister announced that in the first quarter of 2016, the results of the “National Mapping of Human Resources in the Public and Private Sectors by municipality” and the “Assessment of the Outcomes of HCDF [Human Capital Development Fund] Programmes in 2011-2014” would be published.
At the same time, the implementation of several strategic reforms in the public sector is now starting, (Legislative and Justice Sector Reform, Fiscal Reform, Public Administration Reform). These are “measures that we believe will create the conditions for generating the investment and economic diversification that are so essential for the country, and which must be accompanied by a strategy that focuses on people and infrastructure and that seeks to create conditions to nurture private investment”, stated the Prime Minister.
Rui Maria de Araújo ended his speech stressing that the country is enjoying the “benefit from a stable environment with peace and security. This has enabled us to draft a consensus policy on the best strategy for the country, with national interests coming before individual interests. We can all take great pride in this”.
The Draft Law will be voted in its general terms, on December 3rd, and will be followed by the discussion of each individual section, for a maximum of 10 days.
As in previous years, the discussions will be transmitted live on RTL and TVTL.
(For access to the Council of Ministers meeting Press Release that approved the Draft Law for the 2016 GSB, click here).