IV CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
SECRETARIAT OF STATE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
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PRESS RELEASE
Council of Ministers Meeting from January 11, 2012
The Council of Ministers met this Wednesday, January 11, 2012, in the Council of Ministers Meeting Room, at the Government Palace, in Díli and approved:
1. Decree-Law that approves the creation of the Agency Contract
The Agency Contract is a contract that allows parties to establish and settle the legal relations to their own requirements, creating for this purpose, the relevant legal instruments.
Contractual freedom is an indispensable mean of self-discipline in light of the rapid economic and social development that exists in the country.
2. Decree-Law that approves the Districts’ Integrated Development Planning
This Decree-Law defines and governs the rules on jurisdiction, planning, implementation and funding for the execution of State projects at the district and sub-district level.
The IV Constitutional Government has been promoting measures that contribute to the decentralization of public administration, as provided in n.o 1 of Article 5.o of the Constitution of the Republic.
The Local Development Program was created and established the institutional arrangements for local government, local planning and implementation, budget management and local procurement and created the link between government and community leadership.
At the same time, government programs have been implemented in the districts, sub-districts and sucos through decentralized services. For this purpose, in 2010 the Government initiated the study of the practical lessons learned through the Decentralized Development Program (DDP).
The Ministry of State Administration and Territorial Planning has also played the role of facilitator for the sucos on the identification of community priorities, through the Sucos Development Plan (SDP), in order to coordinate these priorities with the Local Development Plan and also contribute to the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) of the Government.
Based on these experiences – and to prepare the districts for its transformation into municipalities, in addition to strengthening the Government’s policy defined in the SDT – the Government must establish a planning and implementation system to ensure that the State budget is invested in areas that the districts and sub districts defined as priorities.
3. Government Decree establishing a National Designated Authority for the implementation of clean development mechanism projects
This diploma creates the National Designated Authority for the implementation of clean development mechanism projects referred to in the Kyoto Protocol and Marrakech Accords, allowing their participation in the global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol imposes high targets for reducing greenhouse gases emissions and also has flexibility mechanisms based on the global carbon market through the operation of three market-based mechanisms: emissions trading, joint implementation and the clean mechanism development – the latter applying only to developing countries.
The global carbon market has grown exponentially in recent years, and since its inception has been a financially effective vehicle for promoting environmentally sustainable projects.
As a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, Timor-Leste will have the opportunity to participate in the global carbon market, provided it meets a set of requirements, including the creation of the National Designated Authority.
4. Government Resolution adopting the National Policy on Sanitation
The National Sanitation Policy clarifies the responsibilities for public and private sanitation.
The main objectives set are: a clean environment, universal use of sanitary facilities, improved hygiene behavior practices, management and safe disposal of solid and liquid waste, improved sanitation in public places and safe disposal of private toxic waste.
5. Government Resolution approving the implementation of the International Health Regulations
The International Health Regulation, to which Timor-Leste is a signatory, provides for the adoption of a series of measures to maintain global health security, particularly in alert and response in case of an epidemic, natural occurrence, accidental release or deliberate use of chemical and biological agents or nuclear material harmful to health and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), in order to respond to the need to ensure global public health.
The Council of Ministers also analyzed:
1. Government Resolution that approves the Environmental Policy
The main objective of the Environmental Policy is to establish guidelines for the protection and conservation of the environment and natural resources in the short, medium and long term, as sources of wealth for the country and communities, under the principle of sustainability, participation and intergenerational solidarity.