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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 28, 2021
The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili and, after analysing the presentation given by the Situation Room of the Integrated Centre for Crisis Management on the national epidemiological situation, the Council of Ministers approved the draft Decree of Government on the implementation measures of the Declaration of the State of Emergency, made by the Decree of the President of the Republic No. 56/2021, of July 27th, to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The state of emergency, now renewed, covers the entire national territory, and is in force between 12.00 a.m., August 1st, 2021 and 11:59 a.m., August 30th, 2021.
The enforcement measures of the previous state of emergency declaration are maintained, namely, the requirement for 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. Individuals are also required 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 sanitize their hands when entering commercial, industrial or service provision establishments or facilities where public administration services operate. Everyone is also obliged to avoid crowding in public places.
The Council of Ministers also decided to approve two draft Government Resolutions, which aim to:
Thus, the circulation of people between the municipalities of Dili and Ermera and the other administrative districts is prohibited, 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 provide proof of full vaccination (two doses) against COVID-19 as well as accompanying minors under the age of six years are not covered by this travel ban.
The draft Government Resolution, presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho, to appoint of Guilhermina Filomena Saldanha as President of the Dili Municipal Authority, for a period of five years, counting from the date of taking office, was approved.
The Council of Ministers approved, with amendments, the draft Law Proposal of the Civil Service Commission, presented by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães. After ten years since its creation, it is intended with this law to strengthen the guarantees of independence of action of the Commission and its Commissioners, while proceeding to reform its scope of intervention, in particular, to solve problems already identified and that have been an obstacle to the efficient functioning of the Civil Service. In this sense, building on the experience acquired in the meantime, it is intended that the Civil Service Commission play a supporting role in the definition of public policies on civil service, and proceed to strengthen the attributions of the Ministries and the competencies of the respective bodies regarding human resources.
Also approved, with amendments, was the draft deliberation on the Port of Dili Development Plan, presented by the Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agustinho da Silva. The plan provides for the restructuring and modernisation of the Port of Dili, after the transfer of the cargo port functions to the new port of Tibar, and its transformation into a marina and cruise port. It is expected that the investment in this project will guarantee a great return in terms of increased tourism, private investment, business development and job creation.
The Council of Ministers deliberated to give full powers to the Minister of Defence, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus, to sign an agreement between the Ministry of Defence of Timor-Leste and the Australian Department of Defence (DDA), regarding infrastructure and facilities activities for the Port of Hera. The agreement aims to promote the development of infrastructure to improve the capacity and sustainability of the FALINTIL-Forças de Defesa de Timor-Leste (F-FDTL) in assistance to the mutual interests of Timor-Leste and Australia. With this agreement, the DDA will undertake the necessary construction activities in the Port of Hera for the handover, in 2023, of two patrol vessels (GSB) donated by Australia to Timor-Leste.
The draft resolution, presented by the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, to revise the tariffs to be charged to users of the Port of Tibar, the concession fee to be charged to the concession holder, as a royalty, and the penalties to be paid by the concession holder for failure to comply with the minimum service and equipment requirements, was approved, with amendments. The revision of these values, with an indexation factor of 1.061, takes into account the decrease in cargo traffic compared to forecasts, the economic reality of recent years, the constraints resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the will of the concession holder to continue to develop the project and start operating as soon as possible, as well as the fact that the values resulting from the revision are similar to the values that would be in force if the concession holder had started operating on the scheduled date..
The Council of Ministers approved, with amendments, the draft resolution regarding the celebration of a Financing Agreement and a Financial Contribution Agreement with the Asian Development Bank. The two agreements refer to the water and sanitation infrastructure development project in the localities of Viqueque, Lospalos and Same. The Council of Ministers has granted the Minister of Finance the power to sign the aforementioned agreements on behalf of the State of Timor-Leste.
The Interministerial Commission for Civil Protection and Natural Disasters Management gave a presentation to the Council of Ministers on the execution of the declaration of the situation of calamity in face of the occurrence of floods and inundations in the Dili municipality, in the early morning of the April 4th, 2021. Presentations were given by the Ministry of State Administration and the Ministry of Public Works, and the impacts of the floods and the emergency response and recovery of the damages were shown..
Currently there are still 731 displaced persons in six shelter centres still active in Dili city. A total of 34 people have died and 14 are still missing. Nationwide, a total of 30,322 families have been affected by the floods, of which 24,816 are in the Dili municipality and 4,231 houses suffered significant damage. A plan is being developed for the creation of a multi-functional shelter centre, to respond to emergency situations, as well as to contribute to the process of urban reorganisation and policy of administrative decentralisation and local government.
At the governmental response level, in terms of emergency humanitarian support, human resources were mobilised and goods, equipment, water and food, medicines and other essentials were made available to the affected population.
Regarding public works, the necessary clean-up activities, the normalisation of public roads and the rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructures were carried out. During the presentation, the ongoing or planned short and long term projects were also presented, not only to solve the damages already identified, but also to prevent and reduce the risks of natural disasters and create more resilient infrastructures.
The Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Víctor da Conceição Soares, made a presentation on the project plan for the construction of the Petroleum Import Terminal in Metinaro. The terminal which will be located in the Village of Manuleu, Suco Wenunuk, Administrative Post of Metinaro, in the Municipality of Dili, will have an oil storage capacity for 120 days, in order to guarantee the objective of having a national strategic stock of oil for 90 days and an additional stock of 30 days for commercialization by Timor Gap. END