On May 28th and 29th, 2013, at the Convention Centre in Díli, the Government of Timor-Leste, through the Secretariat of State for Administrative Decentralization, from the Ministry of State Administration, and the Commission A from the National Parliament, held an international conference to debate Administrative Decentralization and Local Government.
The Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, in his speech said, “The Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 has a clear vision for Timor-Leste. It sets a path that will transform us into a medium-high income country within 20 years, with a society that is more prosperous, socially and politically stable, educated and healthy. We want poverty reduction, through the diversification of the economy and the capacity building of our professionals, to transform the profile of Timor-Leste. We want this transformation to reach every Suco, every Village, every family.”
The Prime Minister also added, “If decentralization will enable the State to be closer to the Timorese, then reflecting on aspects of how and when will be essential. We know that if we want to have an efficient governance apparatus the model that we choose must be functional and not too costly or bureaucratic. It should prevent overlapping between local government and national government, setting clear boundaries between the responsible and competences of each type of government.”
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão also emphasized, “We must find an adequate model of local government that is compatible with our community traditions, since these are the cornerstone of our living as a Nation.”
The Minister of State Administration, Jorge da Conceição Teme, said “decentralization represents the fundamental goal of bringing Government close to the People, in every district and every village, by delegating to local leaders the ability to make decisions on behalf of their communities and citizens”.
According to Minister Jorge Teme, “this approach is particularly necessary in a country like ours where communication and interaction with the Government pose greater difficulties due to our geography, particularly for the communities in rural areas.”
This conference was attended by, the Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão and members of the Government, the President of the National Parliament, Vicente Guterres, Vice-President of the National Parliament, Adriano do Nascimento and members of the National Parliament, the First Lady, Isabel Ferreira, representatives of the Institute for Social and Political Sciences from the Technical University of Lisbon, a delegation from Portugal, a delegation of the Local Government of Victoria, Australia, a delegation from the Indonesian Government, General and National Directors, public officials, students and civil society.