The Government begins work on the Policy Review Committee to prepare the 2027 General State Budget
On July 4th, at the Ministry of Finance in Dili, the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, began the work of the Policy Review Committee (CRP, acronym in Portuguese) to prepare the 2027 General State Budget (GSB). Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão chaired the meeting. This marked the beginning of a new model for preparing the budget, centred on the prior definition of the Government’s political priorities. 
The Policy Review Committee was established by a Government Resolution approved at an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers on June 25th, 2026. This new mechanism replaces the former Budget Review Committee. It aims to ensure that the annual plans and budget proposals of public agencies and entities align with national priorities, the Government’s Programme, the 2011–2030 Strategic Development Plan, medium-term plans, and established spending limits.
At the start of the session, the Prime Minister explained that the new process aims to reverse the traditional approach to budget preparation. In the first phase, the Government sets the political priorities and then directs the ministries and other public institutions to prepare their budget proposals.
Before this phase began, the Government held the Budgetary Days seminar with ministries and municipalities to identify priorities and funding needs.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Finance presented the new mechanism for preparing the 2027 State Budget, covering an analysis of the Government’s policy priorities, the medium-term budgetary framework, the implementation of ongoing programmes, and the preparation of annual action plans. The presentation was delivered by the Directorate-General for Budget Planning and the Petroleum Fund Policy and Management Unit.
The government intends the 2027 State Budget to mark a transition to a budgeting model based on public policies, in which decisions are made according to strategic priorities, the government’s financial capacity, and the respective medium-term impact.
As part of this process, 28 options for the Government’s policy priorities were presented to the Committee, grouped into three areas: measures to create fiscal space, pressures arising from the central government’s priorities, and investment opportunities and needs in sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and other productive areas. The Committee will review each proposal before preparing the final draft of the 2027 General State Budget.
The Prime Minister also called on all public administration officials to ensure that the management of public resources remains guided by responsibility, transparency, and efficiency, emphasising that state resources must be allocated to programmes that are properly planned and results-oriented.
In addition to the Prime Minister, the meeting was attended by Vice Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, and Minister of Tourism and the Environment, Francisco Kalbuadi Lay; Vice Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs, and Minister of Rural Development and Community Housing, Mariano Assanami Sabino; Minister of Finance, Santina José Rodrigues F. Viegas Cardoso; Minister of Public Works, Samuel Marçal; Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment, Gastão Francisco de Sousa; Vice-Minister of Finance, Regina de Jesus; Secretary of State for Equality, Elvina de Sousa Carvalho; and representatives of the Civil Service Commission and autonomous agencies.
The Political Review Committee will continue its work on July 6th and 7th, further defining the priorities that will serve as the basis for preparing the proposed General State Budget for 2027.
