On Wednesday, September 12, the Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, began the presentation of the Program of the Fifth Constitutional Government for the next five years.

For three days, from the 12th to the 14th September, the Prime Minister and other members of the Government will be in Parliament discussing the National Program that, besides covering all areas, presents policies that focus on: development of social capital, development of infrastructure, economic development and job creation and consolidation of the institutional framework.

In his speech, where he strongly committed “to support and promote the development of Timor-Leste and to work hard to improve the living conditions of our people”, Xanana Gusmão emphasizes that “the program of the Fifth Constitutional Government is in line with the Strategic Plan, setting concrete plans for what needs to be done in the short term (within the next five years), while also incorporating medium term strategies (5-10 years) and keeping in mind the long term considerations (10-20 years)”, stating that the Government is open to all contributions so that this “may be the Program of all Timorese citizens”.

Regarding the development of social capital, the V Government vows to “improve the quality of – and access to – health, education, professional training, information, social justice and culture”.

The Prime Minister explains that the health sector covers management, support and resources. Therefore, it is necessary to invest so that the provision of health services is done in a professional and efficient way which “requires large investments in human resources, including doctors, nurses, midwives and laboratory technicians, as well as on health infrastructure, including the rehabilitation and construction of health posts throughout the country, the rehabilitation of community health centres and the expansion of the National Hospital and the five referral hospitals”. All this without forgetting that “maternal and child health, especially the reduction of the child mortality rate, will still be a priority”.

Regarding the education sector “we vow to improve not only school conditions, such as the conditions of classrooms, furniture and education materials, but also the quality of the educators, by investing heavily in training for teachers and other educational technicians”.

In terms of professional training, the Program presented by the Government includes the promotion of recurrent education and lifelong learning so that students who have not followed their studies “have access to accredited and funded training programs.”

In order to maximize social inclusion, the Prime Minister reiterated in his speech that “the Government will continue to support our children, our women at risk of abuse, poor families, the elderly and, of course, our veterans”.

Still on the development of social capital, the promotion, diversity and the independence of the media, to ensure access to information and freedom of expression and freedom of the press, are also part of this Program.

The development of infrastructure, which in turn enables the development of social capital and a dynamic and productive economy, includes the reconstruction of all national, district and rural roads; the reconstruction and maintenance of bridges; the installation of drinking water systems; the development of a District Centre Master Plan for the gradual restoration of water and sanitation infrastructure; the implementation of the Díli Drainage and Sanitation Master Plan; the expansion of the power network; a new multi-purpose national port in Tibar; a logistics base for the petroleum sector in Suai; the expansion of the international airport in Díli, and the connection through underwater and terrestrial fibre optic cable.

Believing that “investing in economic development is a policy and social principle that promotes freedom, safety and national stability”, the Government is committed “to build a modern and diversified economy, based on agriculture, tourism and the petroleum industry, with a growing private sector and the creation of opportunities for all Timorese citizens”.

A few of the priorities are: the replacement of subsistence agriculture with commercial agriculture; ensure the capacity building of the National Petroleum Company – Timor GAP E. P., including the training of Timorese in these areas; develop proper infrastructure, in order to support the expansion of the petroleum industry and focus on professional training for tourism, as well as refurbishing buildings and areas relevant to the promotion of tourist activities.

As Xanana Gusmão said “in order for it to be successful, this strategy must be supported by effective economic policies. This includes the development of credit agencies, business regulations and the capacity building of the private sector” and therefore the focus falls on: the improvement of the business environment; the establishment of an Investment Promotion Agency; the development of Public-Private Partnerships; the establishment of a National Development Bank and consolidation of the National Commercial Bank of Timor-Leste and the land tenure legislation.

Without forgetting the development of rural areas and according to the characteristics of each region, the National Planning Framework intends to decrease the differences between urban and rural areas, while it will continue to support the Millennium Development Goals Program for the Sucos.

Finally, the consolidation of the institutional framework: the promotion of good governance, the development of a professional public sector, the continuation of “reforms to public administration, including the strict control over public expenditure, the improvement of financial management systems, the capacity building of civil servants and the accountability and transparency of the information provided to the public”; the improvement of the justice sector; the continuity of reforms in the defense and security areas and the investment in the development of cooperative relations with CPLP countries, neighbouring countries and ASEAN.

As a way of conclusion, the Prime Minister reiterated that “the Program of the Fifth Government may be considered ambitious, but it is feasible. It is bold, but carefully thought through. It is expensive, but absolutely necessary”, highlighting that “our development has never been constrained by a lack of quality of our people, but simply, by a lack of opportunities!”.

The Deputies started a series of questions that they expect to be answered during the forthcoming days of discussing the V Government Program, which ends Friday, the 14th.

To read the Prime Minister’s speech, please click here.