IV CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
SECRETARIAT OF STATE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
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PRESS RELEASE
Council of Ministers meeting of May 25, 2011
This Wednesday, May 25, 2011, the Council of Ministers met at the Council of Ministers’ meeting room in the Government Palace, Dili, and approved:
1. Decree-Law that creates TIMORGAP – Timor Gas & Petroleum, E.P.
The Council of Ministers approved the creation of TIMORGAP – Timor Gas & Petroleum, E.P. (TIMORGAP, E.P.), with the purpose of keeping and managing, with a framework and principles of a business nature, the assets from the petroleum sector that are Timor-Leste State property, attributed by law. The public company will exercise the commercial activities regarding the petroleum sector.
The responsibilities exercised formerly by the organ of direct administration responsible for the petroleum sector, under the scope of the Secretariat of State for Natural Resources, regarding the activities of a business nature, are transferred to TIMOR-GAP, E.P., which, under the present diploma and as a Public company, will be under the responsibility of the Government organ with powers to control the legality of its conduct. In the exercise of its respective economic activity, the TIMORGAP, E.P. will always observe and compromise itself in protecting the Health, Safety and Environment and promoting Social Responsibility.
2. Decree-Law about Vehicle Imports
The diploma has the objective of regulating the conditions and procedures regarding vehicle import. It is an important regulation since this activity allows for the promotion of economic development.
The characteristics of the vehicles to be imported to Timor-Leste are defined, in order to protect the consumer and the environment. A pre-authorization system is also established regarding the import of vehicles that allows to reach an efficient control over the import operations and establish a system that allows to verify if the vehicles imported to the country respect the technical characteristics defined by law.
3. Law Proposal that approves the Transitory Regime for Social Security
The diploma establishes a transitory regime for social security, initially destined to guarantee the State civil servant’s basic needs of social protection and their dependent family members.
Although transitory, this regime will institute the beginning of a social security regime in Timor-Leste and constitutes a first step for the development of a universal system.
This regime was drafted based on the proposal of the Inter-ministerial Working Group approved by the Council of Ministers in 2010, which determined that the social security transitory regime should follow the unique system and simple distribution model.
This diploma will ensure civil servants the right to an elderly pension, disability pension and living allowance for dependant family members (in case of the civil servant’s death).
The Council of Ministers still analysed:
1. Policy for Rural Energy and Rural Electrification
The Secretariat of State for Energy Policy presented, to the Council of Ministers, the project for the Rural Electrification Policy that has the purpose of making renewable energy a vital source of income for rural communities. It is intended that the consumption of that energy can improve the rural communities’ quality of life at a social, economic and cultural level, an essential factor so the country can continue to develop in a stable, harmonious and democratic way.