Meeting of the Council of Ministers on june 23, 2021
Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on June 23rd, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the authorization for the opening of a public tender procurement procedure for the acquisition of two industrial fishing boats, with 250 GT capacities, according to the project presented by the Secretary of State for Fisheries, Elídio de Araújo. The acquisition of these boats aims to contribute to the development of the national fishing sector and has as its main objectives the increase in the quantity of fish caught, the reduction in the price of fish in the national market, the reinforcement of national maritime sovereignty, to put an end to illegal fishing activity and to ensure the use of fishing resources in a responsible and sustainable way for the future.
The draft Government Resolution, presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Adaljiza Magno, for the anticipated payment of Timor-Leste's financial contribution to the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), regarding the years 2022 and 2023, was approved. With this advance payment of around USD$ 485,000, Timor-Leste reaffirms its commitment to this international organization and to its success and development. With this measure, not only will it guarantee the necessary conditions for the Executive Secretariat, which will be chaired by Timor-Leste, to execute its program for the 2021-2022 biennium, but it will also ensure that the International Institute for Portuguese Language (IILP – Portuguese acronym) has the necessary financial means for its functioning.
Also under the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Council of Ministers approved the Deliberation project regarding the name of the person to be proposed to the President of the Republic to chair the Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the CPLP.
The draft decree-law which creates the Commission to Combat Human Trafficking and defines its composition, structure and mode of operation, was approved. This project, presented by the Minister of Justice, Manuel Cárceres da Costa, fulfils the provisions of the Law on the Prevention and Fight Against Human Trafficking, ensuring the existence of an inter-ministerial coordination structure especially responsible for coordinating, at national level, the different entities responsible for the prevention and fight against human trafficking. The Commission will also be responsible for promoting and ensuring cooperation with foreign entities in combating human trafficking, as well as monitoring the application of the provisions of the conventions that Timor-Leste has ratified or will ratify in the area of human trafficking. Several public services and entities are represented in this structure, particularly in the areas of justice and security, but also representatives from civil society itself.
The Executive also approved the Integrated Strategy for the Implementation of a Unique Identification System (Unique ID, IDU), presented by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães. Therefore, the said Strategy is approved, including its Operational Plan and Draft Execution Budget, to be submitted to the Infrastructure Fund for funding. Guidance is also given to proceed with the creation of the Mission Unit for the Implementation of the Unique Identifier, provided for in the Strategy, and the Eventual Technical Commission shall maintain its operation to ensure the implementation of what has been decided herein until the said Mission Unit is set up.
The Unique ID will establish a digital identity, based on a minimum set of data, including a unique random number, biographic data and biometric information. The system will enable citizens and residents to have more reliable access to a wide range of public and private services. It will also help the private sector and the Government to reduce fraud and fake identities and cut transaction costs in identity verification. This strategy will be implemented between 2021 and 2025. By 2025, it is intended to register one million people and link digital identities to the banking and telecommunications sectors, the civil registry, the electoral registry, health and education registries, the business register and several other important functional databases. This strategy and operational plan were developed internally by the Government, through a consultative process, by a Technical Committee led by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Justice and TIC Timor. The Ministries of Health, Education, Finance, Interior, State Administration, Solidarity and Social Inclusion and the Civil Service Commission directly participated. In the process, options were presented, discussed and mutually agreed upon in the Council of Ministers.
After the analysis of the presentation of the national epidemiological situation, given by the Situation Room of the Integrated Centre for Crisis Management, the Council of Ministers decided to propose to His Excellency, the President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, the renewal of the state of emergency, for another thirty days. Given the worrying evolution of the epidemiological situation and the proliferation of registered cases of COVID-19 infection, and in order to prevent and neutralise the risks of SARS-CoV-2 spreading, so as to protect public health and the National Health System's response capacity, the Government proposes to the President of the Republic that, with the renewal of the state of emergency, the suspension or restriction of some fundamental rights and guarantees be allowed.
The Council of Ministers also approved the draft Government Resolutions that maintain the imposition of the sanitary fence in the Municipalities of Baucau and Dili, for 7 more days. Thus, the prohibition of circulation of people between the Baucau and Dili municipalities and other administrative districts is maintained, except in duly justified cases for reasons of public security, public health, humanitarian assistance, maintenance of the public supply systems or the achievement of public interest.
The Council of Ministers decided not to renew the sanitary fence imposition in Covalima and Bobonaro Municipalities.
The Vice Prime Minister, Armanda Berta dos Santos and the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, responsible for leading the Interministerial Commission for the Preparation and Coordination of Implementation of the Vaccination Plan against COVID-19, presented to the Council of Ministers the status of the vaccine procurement processes and implementation of the vaccination campaign. To date, a total of 294,000 vaccines have been received, of which 144,380 have already been administered and there is currently a total of 149,620 vaccines in stock. On June 30th, 20 thousand more vaccines offered by Australia should arrive and Timor-Leste is seeking to acquire, through purchase or donations, from entities and partners, more vaccines for the remaining population, namely citizens under 18 years old.
The Council of Ministers approved the first amendment to the Government Resolution that defines the objectives for the vaccination campaign and guidelines to ensure compliance with the preventive measures in place. With this amendment it is now defined as an objective to reach, in the vaccination campaign, the number of 10,000 inoculations per day, at national level, guiding the relevant departments to create the necessary mechanisms to accelerate the pace of vaccination.
In order to encourage vaccination, the Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree-Law to create the "Vaccine Lottery against COVID-19", presented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes. This lottery consists in the attribution of prizes in a random manner to individuals who validly participate in the lottery. All persons who are inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine in the national territory, from July onwards, can participate in the "COVID-19 Vaccine Lottery". Each prize is worth USD $100 and the draw is conducted monthly in each Suco, by the 20th of each month. The number of prizes awarded for each draw depends on the number of people who have been inoculated in the Suco area. Between 50 and 150 people inoculated in that month, one prize is awarded; between 151 and 300 people inoculated in that month, three prizes are awarded; between 301 and 500 people inoculated in that month, six prizes are awarded; and more than 501 people inoculated in that month, nine prizes are awarded. No draw takes place if there are fewer than 50 people eligible to participate in a given month, and those people will be included in the next or subsequent month.
Also on the proposal of the Minister of Finance, a draft Decree-Law was approved for the creation of compensation in the event of death or disability as a result of inoculation with the COVID-19 vaccine. Although the risk of serious side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine is quite low, which is largely compensated by the benefit of vaccination for the general population, this legislative initiative aims to prevent situations where more serious side effects are observed and to provide for adequate compensation for persons who experience such side effects. The Decree Law defines that in case of incapacity of less than 30% caused by the vaccine against COVID-19, a compensation of one thousand American dollars will be attributed; if the incapacity is between 30% and 70%, a value of 2100 American dollars will be attributed; and in case the vaccine causes a disability higher than 70%, a value of 7000 American dollars will be attributed. In the event of death as a result of vaccine inoculation, a compensation of 10,000 US dollars will be awarded.
The Council of Ministers decided to authorize the opening of the procedure for the procurement of three x-ray machines for vehicle inspection, hand luggage and people, for use by the Customs Authority in the Integrated Border Posts of Batugadé and Salele, according to the project presented by the Minister of Finance.
Lastly, the Council of Ministers approved the draft Deliberation regarding the criteria for the rationalization of the programmatic structure of the General State Budget (GSB) for 2022, also presented by the Minister of Finance. For the 2022 State Budget some changes were made in the rationalization of the programmatic structure to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its execution, as well as to improve the capacity to monitor and control the implementation of the proposed programs and activities. END
