Meeting of the Council of Ministers of August 7, 2019
Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of August 7, 2019
The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace in Dili and heard a presentation by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, concerning the first "census on progress in the national agricultural sector”. The "Agricultural Census" aims to collect data from the agriculture sector to define a policy and strategy for the sector, to support the national Agriculture Program of the Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030, to develop the indicator of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) - Zero hunger and sustainable agriculture, provide statistical data on the sector at the administrative level of juice and provide a framework of the national agricultural sector. The data collection will take place from August 12 to October 12, 2019. The final report will be released in April 2020 and the results will be disseminated at the municipal level between May and June 2020. The "Agricultural Census" team includes 1 292 interviewers, 646 GPS operators and 646 supervisors, for a total of 2 584 people from all over the country, of which 36.8% are women.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares, presented to the Council of Ministers the progress report on the accession process of Timor-Leste to ASEAN. The accession of Timor-Leste is considered a priority in the context of foreign policy and will represent a positive impact on national development, with significant economic and social benefits. The year 2019 should be decisive for a positive assessment of Timor-Leste's capacity to comply with the requirements of the three pillars of ASEAN, and consequently accession as a Member State. After the visit of the largest ever delegation of Timor-Leste to the ASEAN secretariat, between the 22nd and the 24th of July 2019, Timor-Leste will receive the exploratory mission of ASEAN, between the 3rd and the 7th of September, representing the activity with the most impact in Timor-Leste's accession process, since the formal submission of the application in 2011.
The Acting Minister of Finance, Sara Lobo Brites, presented the proposal for Decree-Law on the First Amendment to the organic structure of the customs authority. This amendment aims, given the complexity of the duties performed by the customs authority, to make some adjustments that allow the administration to respond more transparently to the challenges it faces daily. In this way, the structure and attributions of some of the central services of the customs authority are amended to restructure and reformulate their tasks and competences in order to better respond to the needs and ensure the effective and efficient provision of services to citizens. The present diploma adds to the structure of the customs authority the services of planning and finance, logistics and asset management and maintenance, administration and human resources, as well as the unit of appeal. The designation of the maximum director of the customs authority, which is renamed Commissioner, is also amended. This proposal will again be analyzed at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers, awaiting the opinion of the Civil Service Commission.
The Acting Minister of Finance also presented the proposal of Decree-law, concerning the First Amendment to the organic structure of the Tax Authority. The present diploma shall amend the structure and attributions of the central services of the Tax Authority, the services of declaration and liquidation, anti-fraud management, return and reimbursement of value added tax, management of procurement and contracts, information systems and taxpayer registration, international tax relations, communication and public relations and contracting and subcontractor of petroleum tax inspection and mineral tax inspection. This proposal will again be analyzed at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers, awaiting the opinion of the Civil Service Commission. ENDS
