Meeting of the Council of Ministers on july 1, 2021
Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 1, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, in the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Decree-Law that creates the draw " COVID-19 Vaccine Lottery", presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho. This draft Decree-Law had already been subject to deliberation in the Meeting of the Council of Ministers on June 23rd 2021, however the need to review the details of its implementation made it inevitable to introduce substantial changes in its text, forcing a new deliberation by the Council of Ministers. Relatively to the previous project, changes were introduced in the implementation of the raffle and its regulation is now defined through a joint ministerial diploma of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of State Administration and the Ministry of Finance.
The Executive approved the draft Government Resolution, presented by the Prime Minister, which sets the vacancies for promotion of staff under the General Regime of Public Administration Careers for the year 2021. The vacancies for promotion are set annually by the Government, on proposal of the Civil Service Commission, up to a limit of ten per cent of the total staff of each category or professional group.
After considering the presentation of the epidemiological situation of the country, from the coordinators of the Situation Room of the Integrated Centre for Crisis Management (CIGC), the Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Decree on the implementation measures of the Declaration of the State of Emergency, made by Decree of the President of the Republic No. 39/2021, June 30, to respond to the pandemic of COVID-19. The state of emergency, now renewed, covers the entire national territory and is in force between 12.00 am on July 2nd, 2021 and 11.59 pm on July 31st, 2021.
Regarding the implementation measures of the previous declaration of a state of emergency, changes have been made to mitigate the risk of importing the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 into Timor-Leste. The Government determines that all people who wish to enter Timor-Leste must present proof of a negative SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 test result, no older than 5 days. Those who are fully vaccinated and come from or have passed through countries that have reported Delta variant of SARS-COV-2 will have to comply with a five-day quarantine period. Those who have not been fully vaccinated will still have to comply with 14 days of quarantine.
In order to tackle the forgery of documents proving full vaccination, the Government mandated the Minister of Health to approve an official model of document proving vaccination.
The remaining rules remain unchanged, namely the obligation of all individuals residing in Timor-Leste to keep a distance of, at least, three feet from other individuals with whom they do not live in common economy. They are also still obliged to wear a face mask that covers the nose and mouth when having access to or staying in public or private places of collective use and to wash their hands when entering commercial, industrial or service provision establishments or buildings where public administration services operate. Everyone is also obliged to avoid gathering on public places.
Also approved were the Government's draft Resolutions that maintain the imposition of the sanitary fence in the municipalities of Baucau and Dili for a further 7 days. Thus, the prohibition of movement of people between the municipalities of Baucau and Dili and other administrative districts is maintained, except in cases duly justified for reasons of public safety, public health, humanitarian assistance, maintenance of the public supply systems or the achievement of public interest. Individuals who demonstrate full vaccination (two doses) against COVID-19, as well as minors under six years of age accompanying them, are not covered by this travel ban.
The Council of Ministers has decided to authorize the opening of a procurement procedure of International Public Tender type, for the award of a public contract for the purchase and installation of a digital connection of Timor-Leste through fibre optic submarine cable, to the cities of Darwin and Port Hedland in the Commonwealth of Australia. The Council of Ministers also approved the study and development of an operation, management and maintenance model for the national fibre optic network, and preparation, if necessary, of legislative diplomas, by the Ministry of Planning and Territory, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs. The two draft resolutions were presented by the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Planning and Territory, and President of the Interministerial Commission for the implementation of a fibre optic submarine cable system, José Maria dos Reis.
The Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes and the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (UPMA) made a presentation on the procedures and budget cycle for the 2022 General State Budget (GSB). The various phases of the preparation, deliberation and implementation process of the 2022 GSB were presented in order to ensure that the established deadlines are met. It is expected that the Draft Bill (PPL) of the 2022 General State Budget will be approved by the Council of Ministers on September 17th and submitted to the National Parliament on October 1st. During the months of October and November the PPL will be considered by the parliamentary committees, and the discussion and vote in plenary should take place during the month of December.
The Vice Prime-Minister and Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Armanda Berta dos Santos, presented the political-legislative options underlying the project on social reinsertion of victims of gender-based violence and the proposal to allocate monetary support to persons in vulnerable conditions. The options presented aim to ensure the establishment of measures and mechanisms for monitoring and social assistance to victims of domestic violence with a view to their social reintegration and for a quick response from government entities in supporting people in vulnerable situations.
The Vice Minister of Interior, António Armindo and the Head of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Timor-Leste, Ihma Shareef, made a presentation on the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS). This border management information system, developed by IOM, allows for the collection, processing, storage and analysis of traveller information in real time, allowing for more effective monitoring of entries and exits of the territory. MIDAS is a high-quality, easy-to-use and fully customizable system and is being implemented in 29 countries on the African, Asian and American continents. IOM guarantees that governments have full and exclusive ownership of all data recorded by MIDAS.
The Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, José Lucas do Carmo da Silva, as the National Authority for Expo Dubai 2020 (ANED-TL) and the General Coordinator for Expo Dubai 2020, Manuel Vong, made a presentation on the progress of the preparation works for Timor-Leste's presence at Expo Dubai 2020. Expo Dubai 2020 will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, between October 1st 2021 and March 31st 2022 and will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East.
With the theme "Uniting Minds, Creating the Future" and the sub-themes "Mobility", "Sustainability" and "Opportunity", Expo 2020 will count with the participation of more than 190 countries. Timor-Leste will be present in the thematic area "Opportunity", with the theme "Timor-Leste, Explore the undiscovered". This event of enormous international projection will allow Timor-Leste to promote its culture, its landscapes and natural resources and its products to millions of people, attracting potential investors and visitors. During the presentation, was made a summary of the preparation activities already done, having already reached 95% of the preparation. The programmatic activities that are planned during Expo Dubai were also presented, especially the events that will take place on the Timor-Leste national day, which will be celebrated on October 18th. END
