Meeting of the Council of Ministers on February 10th, 2021
Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on February 10th, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the Government Decree draft that creates the Municipal Portal and establishes the general rules for its operation, presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho.
This Government Decree draft had already been subject to deliberation at the Council Ministers’ meeting, on February 12th, 2020, however, due to the introduction of substantial changes in the final drafting phase, it become necessary to submit it a new deliberation of the Council of Ministers.
The Municipal Portal consists of a permanent repository of the various information relating to each municipality, of public and free access, containing data and information on the goods and services provided by the bodies and services of the Local Public Administration, on public investments made in each Municipality, or several surveys and statistics from various public institutions.
The Minister of State Administration also presented three Government Resolution drafts, which were approved by the Council of Ministers, for the appointment of Abel da Conceição as Administrator of the Municipality of Aileu, Leovigildo Amaral Pereira as Administrator of the Municipality of Ainaro, and Francisco de Andrade as Administrator of the Municipality of Covalima. The three nominee will serve on secondment service basis for a five years term.
It was also approved the Law Proposal draft on the organization and functioning of the courts, presented by the Minister of Justice, Manuel Cárceres da Costa, which had also been subject to deliberation on October 28th, and that, due to substantial changes in its final wording, needs review.
This Law Proposal draft refers to the organization and functioning of the Supreme Court of Justice, creating conditions for, once meeting career judges with sufficient experience and number, to proceed to its installation. Until that moment, their duties continue to be carried out by the Court of Appeal.
It is also proposed to approve the legal framework that will allow the future installation of administrative and fiscal jurisdiction, which is responsible for judging the appeals of decisions of State bodies, as well as other administrative and tax disputes.
The nature of the current district courts, as courts of common jurisdiction is reiterated, with the possibility of splitting this courts of common jurisdiction into specialized jurisdiction’s courts: in civil and criminal matters, and also whenever the volume and complexity of the cases committed to a specific judicial court of first instance justifies it, to jurisdictions specializing in matters of family and minors.
The Council of Ministers approved the first amendment, proposed by the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, to Government Decree No. 3/2021, of January 29th, on the measures for implementing the declaration of the State of Emergency made by the Decree of the President of the Republic 6/2021, of January 27th.
With this amendment, the prior authorization for foreigners to enter national territory through land border posts is now provided by the Minister of the Interior, after an opinion by the Minister of Health.
The need for the authorization of entry of foreigners, through the land border, to be concentrated in the unique Government body responsible for the migration service, is related to the current requirements to intensify control of Timor-Leste’s international land borders and to guarantee better coordination between the government departments that are responsible for the management of the places of compliance with the prophylactic isolation period (“quarantine”), and migration services, which are responsible for monitoring the legality of the entry of individuals into national territory.
The Government Resolution draft on the donation to the Permanent Representation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, proposed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mrs Adaljiza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno, was approved by the Council of Ministers.
This measure reinforces the historical ties that unite Timor-Leste and the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, based on the common desire to fight for self-determination, on the principle of solidarity with the peoples’ struggle for national liberation and on the right to their self-determination and independence, present in the Constitution of the Republic, in the Resolution of the National Parliament of solidarity and support for the Saharawi people, and in the fact that Timor-Leste has contributed, since 2011, to the functioning of the Permanent Representation in Dili, through the granting of an annual subsidy for the exercise of its activities in Timor-Leste and the region.
The Minister of State Administration presented the political and legislative options underlying the project relating to the sixth amendment to Law no. 7/2006, of December 28th, on the Electoral Law for the President of the Republic. Given the upcoming presidential elections, the options presented are aimed at adapting to the current situation, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and at strengthening capacity to better respond to citizen’s needs. It is therefore intended to reinforce the formal requirements for candidacy, to clarify and organize the electoral process and to facilitate the conditions for the exercise of citizens voting rights.
The Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Armanda Berta dos Santos and the Interministerial Committee for the Elaboration and Coordination of the Execution of the Vaccination Plan against COVID-19 gave a presentation on the COVID-19 national vaccination plan. This Plan will be re-examined at later meeting of the Council of Ministers.
Lastly, the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, gave a presentation on the normative framework of the remuneration regime applicable to the indirect administration of the State. Given that there is no general legal regime, in the national legal system, that determines the remuneration for the exercise of duties of the holders and members of the State’s indirect administration bodies, this normative framework aims to avoid loopholes and harmonize the remuneration regime of the bodies of the indirect administration of the State. END
