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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of January 16, 2019
The Council of Ministers met in the Government Palace in Dili and approved the draft Council of Ministers Resolution presented by the Minister of Public Works, Salvador Eugénio Soares dos Reis Pires, on the extension of the contract, with the consortium of companies Esperança Timor Oan, Lda and JV with Winston Oil International (HK) Ltd., to supply fuel to the power plants until September 30, 2019 and authorization to purchase additional fuel for electric power generation. The agreement in force began on June 22, 2017 and ends in March 2019. This resolution aims to ensure the normal supply of electricity to the country and allows the preparation of a new international public tender for the supply of fuel.
The Minister of Public Works also made a presentation to the Council of Ministers on a proposal for cooperation between the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Electricidade de Timor-Leste (EDTL), which includes a set of recommendations for the strengthening of the national electricity system by reducing production costs, increasing revenues, improving quality of service, institutional reform and training of human resources.
The Council of Ministers reviewed the presentation by the Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agustinho da Silva, on the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency of the Republic of Indonesia with the objective of promoting the cooperation in the fields of meteorology, climatology and geophysics for the mutual benefits, interests and national development of the two countries.
The Minister of Transport and Communications also presented the memorandum of understanding to be signed with the National Agency of Search and Rescue of the Republic of Indonesia for cooperation between this Indonesian agency and the Ministry of Transport and Communications for air and sea search and rescue that will allow a quick exchange and regular information in cases of existence or possibility of danger, joint actions of search and rescue, sharing of knowledge and technical development and training actions.
José Agustinho da Silva also presented the memorandum of understanding between the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia on the delegation of competences in air traffic services to facilitate the safe conduct of international air operations in the airspace of the two countries and the conclusion of an agreement for the provision of Air Traffic Services (ATS) in accordance with international standards and practices recommended by the Chicago Convention.
The Council of Ministers delegated powers to the Minister of Transport and Communications, in coordination with the relevant Ministries, to discuss and sign the above-mentioned three memoranda during his working visit to Jakarta, taking place between the 21st and the 22nd of this month.
The Minister of Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, presented a proposal for a Government Resolution, approved by the Council of Ministers, on the Legislative Reform Policy. The continuation of the implementation of the legislative policy, for a simple, systematized and accessible quality legislation, is one of the priorities of the Eight Constitutional Government, as stated in the Government program and its organizational structure, which ensures, at ministerial level, an effective policy direction in this area of government intervention. This policy action on legislative reform is aimed at improving the legislative procedure, from the decision to legislate until the entry into force of the legislation of the Government, promoting greater consistency of the systematic operation of the legal system and the ultimate objective of improving the quality of citizens’ lives.
The Council of Ministers approved the proposal for a Judicial Reform Policy, presented by the Minister for Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs. Considering that the program of the Eight Constitutional Government establishes that the consolidation of the justice sector proves to be of fundamental importance for the construction of the State and also a crucial factor for transmitting trust and attracting investment in the development of the economy, the ultimate objective of this reform is to improve the quality of life of citizens and is part of the fulfillment of the general political objectives of the Government.
Finally, the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, presented a proposal for a Government Resolution, approved by the Council of Ministers, which defines the vacancies for the process of career promotion of staff under the General Civil Service Regime for the year 2019. The vacancies admitted to be filled shall be fixed annually by the Government, based on a proposal from the Civil Service Commission, up to a limit of ten per cent of the total number of staff in the respective professional category or group. The competition for the promotions is carried out through a system of classification of the candidates by points, determined by the analysis of seven criteria and the results of a written test. ENDS