Audiensia ba Proposta Orsamentu 2014 hahú ona

Link to this blog in English

Maski governu tarde loron sanulu atu aprezenta nia Proposta Orsamentu Jeral Estadu 2014 ba Parlamentu Nasionál, sira hakarak Parlamentu sei aprova orsamentu ne’e molok loron Natal no Deputada/u sira hahú ona audiensia “públiku.” Bele asesu oráriu ba audiensia públiku iha ne’e.

Iha mudansa pozitivu katak Ministériu Finansas publika versaun eletróniku ba livru OJE neen iha sira nia pájina web iha loron 25 Outubru, loron hanesan sira mós haruka orsamentu ne’e ba Parlamentu Nasionál. Loron ida antes Ministériu ne’e mós publika sira nia aprezentasaun no matéria seluk iha semináriu Parlamentár. Dokumentu sira ne’e, ho análize kle’an iha Ingles no Tetum, iha La’o Hamutuk nia pájina web kona ba OJE 2014 ne’ebé sempre atualiza.

Ami apresia ho envelope fiskál tomak ne’ebé hatún hosi billaun $1.65 iha OJE 2013 ba billaun $1.5 iha proposta orsamentu agora. Boot liu hamenus hosi alokasaun orsamentu ba projetu infrastrutura boot ne’ebé dala ruma labele implementa tuir tempu. Maibé alokasaun rekurente kontinua sa’e, no ezekusaun gastu durante tinan 2013 sei atinje dala ruma menus hosi billaun $1.2, nune’e proposta OJE 2014 sei aumenta despeza 25%. La hanesan ho tinan 2013, iha OJE 2014 nafatin foti liu Rendimentu Sustentavel Estimativa (RSE/ESI) hosi Fundu Petrólifeiru, tokon $903 (tokon $632 iha RSE). Espetasaun ba reseita petrólifeiru iha futuru sei tun liu tanba produsaun no mós presu estimadu sei menus, kampu Bayu-Undan no Kitan sei maran molok tinan 2020.

La’o Hamutuk kontente atu haree kreximentu alokasaun ba saúde no edukasaun, maibé setór hirak ne’e nafatin ki’ik liu tuir padraun internasionál. No mós setór agrikultura nudár vida moris maioria povu Timor-Leste ladún hetan atensaun maka’as iha Timor-Leste. Maski auto estrada iha Kosta súl hasai ona, maibé parte balu hosi Projetu Tasi Mane ne’ebé sei nafatin hela iha orsamentu.

Infelizmente, Parlamentu sei rona testemuña hosi Organizasaun Naun-Governmentál uitoan liu duke iha tinan pasadu. Maski La’o Hamutuk hetan konvite hosi Parlamentu Nasionál halo aprezentasaun no observa iha audiensia no seminar iha prosesu orsamentál hitu ne’ebé hala’o dezde tinan 2009, tinan ida ne’e sira la konvida ami, maibé ami sei kontinua análiza ba impaktu proposta orsamentu ba Timor-Leste nia futuru. La'o Hamutuk haruka ona karta ba Deputada/u sira. Ami esplika asuntu balun, hanesan karik PN konvida ona ami atu fo submisaun.

Ami espera katak sidadaun no organizasaun sira seluk mós komunika ho Parlamentu Nasionál, no katak debate tuir mai sei bazeia ba faktu, ativu, transparente no hetan rezultadu di’ak.

Hearings begin on 2014 budget proposal

Liga ba blog ida ne'e iha lingua Tetun.

Although the Government was ten days late in submitting its proposed 2014 State Budget to Parliament, Parliament still hopes to approve it before Christmas and has begun "public" hearings. Download the hearing schedule here.

In a positive development, the Ministry of Finance posted electronic versions of the six budget books to their website on 25 October, the same day they sent the budget to Parliament. The Ministry also released their presentation (Tetum) to a Parliamentary seminar the previous day. These and other materials, with deeper analyses in English and Tetum, are on La'o Hamutuk's frequently updated web page on the 2014 budget.

We appreciate that the overall fiscal envelope has been reduced from $1.65 billion in the 2013 budget to $1.5b in the proposed one, largely by cutting funding for infrastructure mega-projects which were unlikely to be implemented on schedule. However, recurrent appropriations continue to go up, and executed spending during 2013 will probably be less than $1.2b, so the 2014 proposal still represents a 25% increase. Unlike in 2013, the 2014 budget again spends more than the Estimated Sustainable Income from the Petroleum Fund, $903 million (ESI is $632 million). Expected future oil revenues have dropped markedly due to lower production and price forecasts; the Bayu-Undan and Kitan fields will by exhausted by 2020.

La'o Hamutuk is glad to see increased appropriations for health and education, although they remain below international norms.  However, agriculture, the livelihood of most Timorese people, is still under-served. Although the South Coast Highway has been cut, other parts of the questionable Tasi Mane project remain in the budget.

Unfortunately, Parliament will hear from many fewer non-state witnesses than in past years. Although Parliament has invited La'o Hamutuk to present or observe at hearings and seminars for all seven budget processes conducted since 2009, they did not do so this time. Nevertheless, we will continue to analyze the impact of this budget on Timor-Leste's future, and have written to Members of Parliament (Tetum original) explaining some issues we would have discussed if they had invited us to testify.

We encourage others to study the budget proposal and to share their thoughts with Parliament. We hope that the upcoming debate will be fact-based, lively, transparent and productive.

[This post was updated on 11 November 2013.]