The Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, accompanied by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication, submitted, on October 3rd, 2022, the draft 2023 General State Budget Bill, worth US$ 3.16 billion, to the President of the National Parliament, Aniceto Longuinhos Guterres Lopes.
“This is the first GSB proposal prepared by the 8th Constitutional Government following the new budgetary rules approved by the Budgetary Framework Law. This proposal includes Programme based Budgeting and the budget allocations for the national priorities defined in the Law on Major Planning Options for 2023”, stated the Minister of Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes.
“The draft 2023 State Budget Bill, with the motto “Productive investment and inclusive Growth for Future Generations” presents a fair and equitable distribution of national resources to improve service delivery, assist economic recovery and resilience, and promote inclusive and sustainable medium-term economic growth”, the Minister added.
In the 2023 GSB Bill, the Government will allocate US$ 17 million for the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of roads and bridges in rural areas. In addition, the Government will also allocate US$15 million for the construction of the Pante Macassar national road and US$ 7.8 million for the rehabilitation of the municipal road between Laga and Baguia, with a length of 30 km, as well as other initiatives aiming to continue the implementation of the programme to build roads, bridges and national grid connections throughout the territory.
To ensure that by 2030 the entire population of Timor-Leste has access to low-cost electricity and small-scale renewable energy through the EDTL, the Government has allocated US$ 118 million in next year’s proposal.
For next year, the Government has also allocated US$ 25 million to accelerate economic diversification, US$ 14.4 million to invest in the telecommunications sector, US$ 6.4 million to promote national production, US$ 2 million to create the one-stop shop for company registration and US$ 1.3 million to build an industrial park.
The Government will also invest US$ 21 million in the agriculture sector to support sustainable production and productivity aimed at reducing poverty, strengthening food security and promoting economic growth in rural areas. A further US$ 3.6 million is allocated to the Laivai irrigation system and US$ 2.6 million to the Galata system. Support for agricultural extension activities has a budget allocation of US$ 2.6 million and the development of agricultural areas integrated into the irrigation areas has an allocation of US$ 2.1 million.
In the distribution of the Aggregate Ceiling of the Central Government Budget in the 2023 GSB, the Social Capital Sector, including Health, Education and Social Protection, has an allocation of US$ 772 million, or 36%.
This sector is the largest beneficiary of funding in the 2023 GSB proposal. This is consistent with the importance the Government places on universal access to quality education (US$ 137 million), health (US$ 92 million), and social protection, especially for vulnerable groups (US$ 301 million).
The Government proposes to the National Parliament a budget of US$ 19.2 million for the implementation of the Bolsa da Mãe (Mother’s Grant) programme. With this amount, US$ 5.3 are allocated for the continuation of the initial programme and US$ 13.7 are allocated for the extension of the Programme (Bolsa da Mãe – Nova Geração – Mother’s Grant – New Generation), whose goal is to support pregnant mothers and improve health and nutrition in the first 1000 days of a child’s life, as well as to support children with chronic diseases and disabilities.
The 2023 GSB proposal includes a budget allocation of US$ 22.4 million to expand the School Meals programme, improve food quality, and achieve better quality levels of child nutrition, with spending per child, per meal, increasing from US$ 0.25 to US$ 0.42.
This 2023 GSB proposal was designed following the Strategic Objectives of the 8th Constitutional Government, which aim to provide citizens with 1) The opportunity to lead a healthy, safe, and long life; 2) Access to knowledge, technology, and innovation; and 3) Access to sufficient resources to ensure a dignified life.
The overall total expenditure of US $3.16 billion comprises the Central Administration Budget, with a value of US$ 2.8 billion (this figure includes US$ 1 billion for the National Liberation Fighters Fund), the Social Security Budget, with a value of US$ 235.7 million, and the RAEOA Budget, with a value of US$ 120 million.
With this submission, the National Parliament will begin the Overall Discussion on November 7th, with the Final Global Vote scheduled for November 17th, after which the proposal will be submitted to the President of the Republic.
This schedule draws on the spirit of the New Budgetary Framework Law, promulgated by the President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú-Olo, last February. This structuring Law is one of the foundations of the Public Finance Management Reform in Timor-Leste – an important achievement of the mandate of the 8th Constitutional Government, led by the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak.