Presidency of the Council of Ministers published today, March 22nd, 2021, the Government’s legislative plan for the year 2021, which will be soon submitted to the National Parliament.
The plan was compiled by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, on the basis of the proposals submitted by the members of the Government, and consists of a forecast of the government’s legislative interventions and their priorities for the year 2021. Legislative planning is one of the instruments enshrined in improving the quality of the Government’s legislative activity.
Legislative interventions are divided by priority sectors, as defined in the Government Programme, which are the ” social capital development”, “infrastructure development”, “economy development”, “government consolidation” and “good governance and combating corruption”.
In all, in 2021, a total of 241 legislative interventions are expected to be approved in the Council of Ministers, of which 47 are Law Proposals, 172 are Decree-Law Drafts and 22 are Government Decree Drafts.
In the development of social capital, the Government plans to approve 57 legislative interventions and in the infrastructure sector there will be 19 legislative projects. The economy is expected to have 39 legislative interventions. At the level of government consolidation, 24 legislative initiatives should be adopted and in the sector of good governance and combating corruption there will be a total of 102 legislative provisions to be adopted.
In education and training, an area in which the Government reiterates in its Program to be “a fundamental right of the citizen and the main tool for social and economic development, as well as for the creation of a healthy and prosperous society”, the Law Proposal for the creation of the Basic Law of Higher Education and the Decree-Laws for the creation of the Legal Regime of the Administration and Management of the Pre-School Education System and for amendments to the Legal Regimes on Administration and Management of Primary And Secondary Education Systems stand out. There are also amendments foreseen to the “School Lunch” Program and the creation of the Scholarship Program for Higher Education attended in the national territory and amendment to the Scholarship Award Scheme abroad.
The legislative interventions foreseen for the health sector include the creation of the Law on prevention and control of infectious diseases and the revision of the Health System Law, with the objective defined in the Government Program of “ensuring a better provision of services in the health sector, as well as generalizing access to quality health care”.
In the area of Social Inclusion, Social Protection and Solidarity, the Government intends, among other legislative initiatives, to create the minimum pension, the Basic Law on Social Protection and the Child Protection Act. Amendments are also foreseen in the Legal Regime of the Support Allowance for the Elderly and Disabled and in the Conditional Support Grant scheme “Mother’s Allowance” (Bolsa da Mãe).
Also in the development of social capital, in 2021 the Government intends to create the Unique Identifier of citizens, regulate urban buildings and create laws on privacy and protection of personal data, cybersecurity, exchange of data and electronic transactions and cybercrime.
In infrastructure, defined as “crucial to economic and social development” and “which will sustain productivity, job creation and private sector development at national level”, the Government intends to intervene in the regulation of the national road network, water resources management, renewable energy and access to international air routes. It is also intended, in 2021, to move forward with the creation of the legal licensing regime for external telecommunications networks.
In the development of the economy, several legislative interventions are planned to “increase national productivity and create opportunities for sustainable economic growth”. The Government intends to create a Mining Company and a Mining Fund. The installation and management of industrial parks will be regulated in 2021. In the employment area, it is foreseen the regulation of domestic work, the regulation of safety, health and hygiene at work, the regulation of the minimum wage and the regulation of the employment in the extractive industry. The Labour Law is also expected to be revised in 2021 and the National Centre of Excellence for Qualified Training will also be created. The Government will also intervene in the regulation of credit, agricultural, commercial and multisectoral cooperatives. In the environmental sector will be created the National Environmental Licensing Agency and there will be new regulations to respond to climate change, pollution control and environmental education and training.
In terms of government consolidation, the Government planned a set of legislative interventions to promote the development of the financial industry and to improve and strengthen the management of public finances with transparency, accountability, efficiency and sustainability, highlighting the various interventions included in tax reform and in the management of public finances.
To the extent that “good governance and a professional, competent and efficient public sector are essential conditions for the provision of public services and for the implementation of the policies and actions set out in the Strategic Development Plan and the Government Programme”, this will be the sector with the most legislative interventions planned in 2021. In its Programme, the Government assumes that “increasing confidence in governance necessarily implies increasing the performance of the public sector, mainly because, this sector, at first, is the main driver of national economic growth”.
Among the various legislative interventions envisaged, we highlight the revision of the Law establishing the Civil Service Commission and the amendment to its Statutes, as well as changes to the system of procedures, recruitment, selection and promotion of staff for public administration, the regime for evaluating the performance of civil administration workers and the regime of management and leadership positions in public administration. A number of changes related to electoral administration and also in the context of decentralisation and planning are envisaged. In the Justice area, the Government intends, among other initiatives, to approve the land registration code, the legal regime for Community protection areas and Community property, the civil registry code, the general regime of administrative fines and changes to the law of nationality, the criminal code and the witness protection law.
In defence and security area there will be changes to the statutes, regulations and remuneration regimes of the PNTL and F-FDTL. Amendments to the Immigration and Asylum Act are also foreseen and the Single Emergency Number will be created.
You can consult the Government’s Legislative Plan for 2021, in the publications section of the Government Portal in www.timor-leste.gov.tl/?cat=32