Presidency of the Council of Ministers

Eighth Constitutional Government

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Press Release

Meeting of the Council of Ministers on February 16th, 2022

The Council of Ministers met, at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved with amendments the draft Government Resolution, presented by the Vice-Minister of Finance, Sara Lobo Brites, establishing the administrative structure responsible for the 2022 General Census of Population and Housing (2022 Census).

This Government Resolution defines who integrates each one of the three committees that constitute the administrative structure responsible for conducting the 2022 Census. The three committees are:

• the national committee of the 2022 Census, whose mission is the political and administrative guidance of the census activity, as well as the mobilization of the necessary human and material resources;
• the technical committee of the 2022 Census, that will make the technical evaluation of the census activity, the revision of the census instruments and the recommendation of the best practices for data collection and processing; and
• the 2022 Census Publicity Committee, which will be responsible for informing and preparing the general public for the census activity.

The main objectives of the General Census of Population and Housing are to count and characterize the resident population in Timor-Leste, as well as to survey the existing dwellings and their habitability conditions, through the exhaustive collection of elements and data, carried out through survey operations and statistical treatment.

 

The Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Resolution, presented by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Julião da Silva, approving the accession to the Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Paperless Cross-border Trade in Asia and the Pacific.

This Framework Agreement is expected to provide Asian and Pacific countries with a new tool and digital complement for better implementation of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement and the development of cross-border e-commerce, through a common set of general principles and a dedicated intergovernmental platform.

The draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho, for the third amendment to Decree-Law 8/2013, of June 26^th, on the General Regime of the Villages Development Program (PNDS – Portuguese acronym), was also approved.

 

The Council of Ministers decided to authorize the negotiation of the “Millennium Challenge Compact” and “Program Implementation Agreement” between the United States of America, through the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The Council of Ministers also decided to grant the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, full powers to negotiate and sign the aforementioned agreements.

 

The draft Law Proposal, presented by the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, for the first amendment to Law 24/2021, of November 19^th, which made the first amendment to Law 10/2004, November 24^th, Health System Law, and which approved exceptional and temporary health surveillance measures, in response to the Covid-19 disease pandemic, was also approved. The draft Law Proposal aims to extend the period of validity of the measures provided for in Article 3 of Law No. 24/2021, November 19^th.

 

Lastly, the Minister of State Administration presented to the Council of Ministers the political-legislative options underlying the initiative to amend Decree-Law 12/2018, April 25^th, on the extraordinary allowance to members of the Electoral Administration Bodies. END