Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Dili, December 16th, 2015
National Parliament approves text proposed by “Komisaun Eventual”
Yesterday the National Parliament approved the substitute text presented by the Commission for Collection and Analysis of Proposals for Consensual Amendments to the Draft Law, bringing the 2016 Budget another step closer to completion.
The Commission, constituted by National Parliament and including representatives of all four political parties, concluded its work on the 14th of December after considering 46 amendments proposed by parliamentary members. Its Consensus Report presented yesterday included the “substitute text” proposed for insertion into the draft law of The General State Budget for 2016.
After considering the Report and the substitute text the National Parliament overwhelmingly voted to approve the text for insertion into the draft law in its Plenary Session
The total amount of the 2016 State Budget is to remain at US$1.56 Billion.
The Budget was unanimously approved in generality on the 3rd of December. Now that the Commission has completed its work and the National Parliament has approved the substitute text, members will continue voting on each ministry and article in the budget law. This process of scrutiny is expected to be complete by the 21st of December. Then the proposed Budget Law, after a final vote of approval by National Parliament, will go to the President of the Republic for promulgation.
Spokesperson for the Government, Minister of State Agio Pereira noted “the Government appreciates the many proposals submitted by members of National Parliament to amend the proposed 2016 General State Budget and recognizes the intense work of the ‘Komisaun Eventual’ in carefully considering these amendments. This 2016 Budget with its strengthened links between programs and expenditure, increased autonomy and built in measures for transparency and accountability, is set to serve the Nation well.”