Budget made Simple
The Secretary of State for the Council of Ministers and
Official Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste
Díli, November 9, 2011
Budget made Simple
The 2012 Budget debates have now begun in the National Parliament of Timor-Leste and are expected to continue through till the 25th of November.
Timor-Leste now has one of the most transparent budget processes in the world with the budget debates broadcast live on television and radio, the budget documentation available to the public and comprehensive real-time budget expenditure data available online through the Timor-Leste Transparency Portal.
The Xanana Gusmão Government’s ongoing mission to make information accessible to citizens across the Nation, demonstrated most recently in the “Giving Back the Census” project which will see Census information shared with each and every one of the 442 sucos across the country, continues in the 2012 Budget Process as the Government presents the “Budget Made Simple”, an information campaign to present budget information in a clear and practical manner.
Earlier this year the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) was launched outlining policies to transform the nation into an upper middle-income country with a healthy, educated and secure population by the year 2030. Now with this one guiding plan to achieve the national vision the 2012 State Budget is based on the expenditure needed to implement these policies to achieve the SDP goals.
The Combined Sources Budget for Timor-Leste in 2012 is $1.95 billion with Government expenditure of $1.76 billion and commitments from Development Partners of $188.9 million. Of the $1.76 billion planned Government expenditure $954.1 million is to go to the Consolidated Funds, with $30 million to the Human Capital Development Fund and $746.2 million to the Infrastructure Fund. Infrastructure expenditure by loans is calculated to be $33.1 million.
As well as presenting the State Budget for 2012 the Budget Books report on the 2010 and as much as possible the 2011 Budget. The data is showing positive trends in the rate of budget execution, recorded at 91% in 2010 and also an increase in the collection of domestic revenues up 6.2% in 2010 and estimated to be further improved by another 14.8% in 2011.
The “big ticket” expenditure items in the 2012 Budget include the large infrastructure investments required to allow increased quality of life, private sector development, and future economic growth in the country.
Decentralized development, which aims to ensure even and equitable development across the nation is again supported by the PDD1 and PPD2 programs with $52 million marked for these initiatives.
Public Transfers through the Ministry of Social Solidarity continue with $69.9 million allocated for payments to war veterans and $32.1 million for payments to the elderly.
Secretary of State of the Council of Ministers, Ágio Pereira noted “The Government continues in it’s determination to serve the people of Timor-Leste and approaches the 2012 Budget with the conviction that budget funds belong to the citizens of our nation to be prudently and effectively invested for the benefit of all. Therefore we approach the 2012 Budget in a spirit of openness and encourage the active participation of the National Parliament and the citizens of our dynamic democracy bearing in mind what Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão reiterated in the Parliament today, that “making the dreams and aspirations of our People come true is an investment with a return that cannot be expressed in words”.
