IV CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
PRESS RELEASE
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on the 31st of March 2010
The Council of Ministers held a meeting this Wednesday, the 31st of March 2010, in its meeting room, in the Government Palace, in Díli, which started with a presentation by the academic Professor, Mr. Jeffrey Sachs, on “The end of Poverty – Moving Timor-East away from Conflict towards Development”).
This North American Professor, of the University of Colombia, explained to the Council of the Ministers his vision of development by presenting a plan with short, medium and long term priorities that he considers important to put the Country on the way to progress.
In this meeting, the Council of the Ministers approved:
1. National Policy for Telecommunications in Timor-Leste.
This new policy of telecommunications in Timor-Leste, approved with amendments, has as its main objective help the development of the Country, in the sense that telecommunications are, currently, one of the main factors of giving dynamism to any society.
The use of telephone and Internet in Timor-Leste has been increasing throughout the last few years and, despite the investments that have been made by the services operator, the quality is not to the standard of the current needs, and therefore it is important to liberalize the sector.
The key-objective of this policy is that the entire population has access to a telephone in 2013, the year that broadband Internet will also be, within reach of the district capitals and surrounding areas.
The Council of the Ministers still analyzed:
1. The Draft of Law that Approves the System of Forest Management.
The aggravation of the impacts of the human action on the natural resources has led to an increasing consciousness of the problems that threaten these resources, and therefore, there is a growing necessity to apply management practices that secure its sustainability.
The administration and the use of the forests and forest areas must be carried out in a way and a rhythm that maintains its biodiversity, productivity, capacity for regeneration, vitality and potential to perform, in the present and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions to the local, national and global levels, without intervening negatively with other ecosystems.
It is worth emphasizing that the Forest constitutes an important sector for the economy of Timor-Leste, both in the rural and urban areas.
2. Resolution that approves the Strategic Plan for the Justice Sector
The Strategic Plan for the Sector of Justice is an initiative of the Minister of Justice, supported by the Council of Coordination for Justice, and developed with the support of the technical secretariat created for this purpose. This initiative is based on the recognition that, it is necessary to strengthen the coordination align the action of the main institutions of justice around a common vision and a strategic direction for the sector at short, medium and long term.
Securing the rights, duties, freedom and fundamental rights set out in the Constitution and, particularly, the access of all citizens to justice; serving the values and the culture of Timor-Leste; and obtain the confidence of the Timorese people. These are the bases that are intended for the justice system that is being developed for the Country.