Timor-Leste’s 9th Government, led by Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, took office on July 1st, 2023, to return to the path of social and economic development over the next five years.
Since taking office, in less than three months, 54 pieces of legislation have been approved, including two Law Proposals, 35 Decree Laws, one Government Decree and 11 Government Resolutions.
After completing the drafting of the Government Programme, which was subsequently unanimously approved by the National Parliament, the Government focused on preparing the Organic Law of the 9th Constitutional Government and the 2023 Amending General State Budget, which defines a total consolidated expenditure forecast of US$ 1.77 billion, reducing the amount of the authorised transfer from the Petroleum Fund from US$ 1.35 billion to US$ 1.21 billion. 
In Health, Decree-Laws on the National Institute of Pharmacy and Medical Products and the Medical Assistance Abroad Scheme were approved.
In Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the 9th Government led a restructuring of the sector to ensure greater efficiency, which is crucial for the country’s development, with the approval of five Decree Laws and five Government Resolutions on the statutes and respective leadership of Timor Gap, the National Petroleum Authority, the National Minerals Authority, the public company Murak Rai and the Institute of Petroleum and Geology.
Another important initiative was the approval of the fourth amendment to Law no. 11/2009, of October 7th, on the Administrative Division of the Territory, with the aim, as set out in the 9th Constitutional Government’s programme, of extinguishing the municipality of Ataúro and creating a new first-level administrative division, called “Ataúro”, following the definition in Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic, which states that Ataúro enjoys special administrative and economic treatment.
In State Administration, a draft Decree-Law was approved, establishing the Village (Suco) Administration Service as a support body for the Village Chief and reinforcing the public grant to the Village to finance the human resources of this service. This amendment also allows for the payment of subsistence allowances to community leaders when they are mobilised for central administration activities.
Also approved was the Government Decree setting the dates for the Hamlet (Aldeia) Assemblies and Village (Suco) Councils as part of the procedures for electing community leaders, to be held in October and November 2023.
The Government has reiterated its commitment to the implementation of the Investment Strategy for the Management of Solid Urban Waste in Dili, with the approval of the Decree Law on the maintenance of the State’s public contractual interest in the execution of the public contract for the supply of equipment within the scope of the project for the management of solid urban waste in Dili.
Also approved was the second amendment to the amount of the subsidy granted by the State to candidates for the Presidency of the Republic for electoral campaigns to make it possible to fully compensate candidates for the Presidency of the Republic in situations where it is necessary to hold a second ballot.
A supplementary payment was approved for the employees, agents and fixed-term contractors of the National Press of Timor-Leste, I.P. assigned to the printing of ballot papers for the 2023 elections of members of the National Parliament, compensating them for the special conditions of restriction of personal freedom and extreme labour hardship to which they were subjected.
The Council of Ministers also renewed the mandate of the members of the Steering Committee and appointed new members to the Board of Directors of the Timor-Leste Tourism Authority.
Lastly, a financial contribution was made to the ASEAN Technical Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, and donations were approved to the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe to support the organisation of the 14th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the CPLP and to the Kingdom of Morocco to support the response to the destruction caused by the earthquake.