The Government of Timor-Leste, through the Secretary of State for Social Communication (SECOMS), Mericio Juvinal dos Reis “Akara”, handed over financial support from the public transfers budget category to the public company Rádio e Televisão de Timor-Leste (RTTL, EP). The handing-over ceremony took place on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, at the Government Palace.

The Secretary of State said that “this support provided by the Government to the RTTL, with a total value of US $ 1.6 million, of which US $ 800 thousand will be delivered in the first phase, will enable the institution to carry out its mission and responsibility in the best way”.

“It is a commitment of the Eight Constitutional Government to continue the support and collaboration with RTTL and to ensure access to information throughout the territory,” said Akara.

During the meeting the Secretary of State also informed that the “Government plans to build a new building for RTTL next year, to be located in Aimutin, Díli” and will also be built “seven new towers of television broadcast in areas already identified to allow access to information for the population of the entire national territory”.

RTTL President Francisco Gari said after the meeting that “the money will be used to meet the needs of RTTL, mainly the urgent purchase of equipment, to replace the equipament that was damaged in the floods of the March this year. In addition, part of the amount will be used for the digitalization of documents, for the preparation of the new building construction and for the transmission towers that RTTL needs to build in strategic zones in order to be able to increase the area of coverage and to allow access to all the community of the whole national territory”.