Ezekuta no Aloka Orsamentu Estado TL nian

Versaun naruk liu artigu ida ne'e iha website La'o Hamutuk nian (also English) no mos iha Tempo Semanal.

Orsamentu Estadu 2011 nian, fo autorization ba Governu atu gasta osan ho total biliaun $1.3 iha tinan ida ne'e. Ne'ebe boot liu dala rua kompara ho orsamentu original iha 2010. Fasil atu hamosu konfuzu ho numeru boot no politika partidaria, nune'e duni grafiku rua atu ajuda le'e nain sira hodi komprende saida mak orsamentu ne'e rasik hateten.

Grafiku sira ne'e, inklui informasaun kona-ba ezekusaun orsamental husi kada Ministeriu, durante 2010, maske ami hanoin katak funsaun prinsipal Governu nian laos atu gasta osan deit. Ministru ida bele atinzi ezekusaun 100% se nia nauk ka fakar hotu nia dotasaun. Maibe povo ne'ebe ne'e presiza rezultadu husi Ministeriu sira nia servisu sei nafatin labele hetan sira nia benefisiu. Maibe, numeru sira iha orsamentu la fo informasaun klaru kona-ba servisu lolos ne'ebe halo tiha ona husi orgaun estadu nian no oinsa orgaun nia servisu ne'e bele hataan ba povo nia nesesidade no nia hakarak. Povo bele hare ida ne'e ho sira nia matan rasik.

Notas (Hili grafiku atu hare'e boot liu)
1. "Governu tomak" inklui kombustivel ba EDTL no "fundu kontijensi" iha Primeiru Ministru.
2. "Seluk" inklui orgaun tomak no Ministeriu sira ne'ebe aloka osan menus tokon $5 iha 2010.

Grafika hatudu sai, montante osan ne'ebe aloka ba funsionamentu iha kada Ministeriu iha orsamentu rektifikativu 2010. Kategoria iha parte liman karuk ne'e mak refere kada orgaun. Iha parte liman los hatudu lala'ok atividade ne'ebe boot, inklui transferensia publiku husi Ministeriu Solidaridade Sosial (MSS), komponente boot husi orsamentu Defeza no Seguransa no orsamentu Infraestrutura, seguransa aihan (importasaun fos), PDD, no projeitu eletrisidade oleo pezadu. Barra husi projeitu oleo pezadu no Infraestrutura nian boot teb-tebes kompara ho kategoria sira seluk ne'ebe hare ba kiik, maibe kada kategoria ne'e gasta liu tokon $5.

Kada kategoria, iha barra rua: barra iha liman karuk mak 2010 no barra iha liman los mak 2011. Kor sira iha barra liman karuk nian hatudu ezekusaun orsamentu 2010. Parte ida ho kor mean ne'e hatudu osan hira mak lolos gasta ona, kor matak ne'e indika obrigasaun (servisu ne'ebe seidauk halao ka seidauk halo pagamentu), no kor mutin ne'e indika osan sira ne'ebe iha ona dotasaun maibe la uza.

Barra iha liman los hatudu orsamentu 2011, no kor sira hatudu osan sira ne'e mai husi parte orsamentu ida ne'e. Parte ho kor azul ho linha vertikal ne'e mak Fundu Konsolidadu ho montante tokon $682, . No parte rua seluk mak Fundu Espesial foun. Kor coklat ho linha diagonal reprezenta Fundu Infraestrutura ho montante tokon $599 no kor kinur indika Fundu Dezenvolvimentu Kapital Humanu. Maske Ministeriu sira la kontrola Fundu Espesial (maibe Ministru/a Finansa bele muda alokasaun sira ne'e husi tinan ida ba tinan seluk ka husi projeitu ida ba projeitu seluk), dadauk ne'e sira aloka osan ba seitor balun ministeriu ruma nian. Ami tau gastu husi Fundu Espesial hamutuk ho ministeriu relevante, atu hatudu alokasaun ba funsaun. Alokasaun boot husi Fundu Infraestrutura nian maka tokon $477 ba projeitu eletrifikasaun nasional (hatudu ho Ministeriu Infraestrutura), tokon $45 ba programa "MDG-Suco" (Objetivu Dezenvolvimentu Milenium nian ba Suco) atu harii uma ba komunidade lokal (hatudu ho MSS), tokon $19 ba halo estudu kona-ba projeitu Tasi-Mane (hatudu ho SERN), no tokon $8 ba programa komputador FreeBalance (hatudu ho Ministeriu Finansa).

Grafika ida ne'e hatudu oinsa povu nia osan ne'e gasta iha tinan kotuk no oinsa atu gasta iha tinan ida ne'e. Ida ne'e klaru katak investimentu iha kapital humanu no kapital produtivu lokal nian, hanesan edukasaun, saude no agrikultura, hetan osan menus duke infraestrutura fiziku no subsidiu sira.

Notas
1. Ami laiha dadus ba ezekusaun orsamental ba funsaun sira too 12 Novembru ne'ebe hatudu iha liman los, tamba ne'e ami estimatiza katak rasio entre parte primeiru no segundu husi trimetre ikus nian hanesan iha ministeriu ne'ebe relevante.
2. Barra hirak ne’ebe besik liu ba sorin karuk ne’e hatudu valor konstanta husi gastu ninian. Sa ida maka sei mosu wainhira orgaun do Estadu ida ezekuta tomak ninia orsamentu, no gasta nominal osan hanesan iha kada semana, durante tinan ida nia laran.

Grafika hatudu wainhira kada orgaun gasta nia osan durante 2010, nudar persentajen ida husi sira nia total dotasaun orsamental. Kada barra reprezenta total montante ne'ebe gasta durante tinan ida; karik sira gasta ona alokasaun tomak, hatudu iha grafiku ne'e bele to 100%. Barra mutin iha okos liu hatudu gastus durante trimestre primeiru (Janeiru too Marsu), barra ho kor kinur ne'e indika gastus durante fulan tolu oin mai, no kor laranja salpikadu (titik-titik) indika gastus durante trimestre terseiru. Tamba osan barak mak gasta iha fin do ano, ami fahe trimestre ikus nian ba metade: parte ho linhas diagonal ne'e indika gastus ne'ebe hahu husi 1 Outubru to 12 Novembru, no ho kor mean los ne'e indika gastus hahu 13 Novembru to fin do ano 2010. Linha matak iha barra liman los hatudu (skala liman los nian husi 1-12 hatudu gasta lalais husi orgaun depois 12 Novembru to fin do ano kompara ho gastus iha ne'ebe sira halo iha 2010 molok 12 Novembru.

Grafika ida ne'e bazeia ba dadus husi Ministeriu Finansa. Ami iha duvida katak ministeriu balun bele gasta osan povo nian dala lima lalais liu durante loron Independensia no loron Natal kompara ho gastus ne'ebe sira halo entre Janeiru no Novembru, maibe ami husik ida ne'e ba sira seluk atu deside karik nia rezultadu bele diak, ka numeru sira ne'e mak sala, ka osan ne'e ita fakar deit, ka iha indikasaun korrupsaun.

Executing and allocating Timor-Leste's Budget

A longer version of this article is on La'o Hamutuk's website (also Tetum). It is also in Tempo Semanal this week.

The 2011 State Budget authorizes the Government to spend $1.3 billion dollars this year, twice as much as the original 2010 budget. Since the big numbers and politics, can be confusing, we have prepared two graphs to help explain what the budget contains.

These graphs include information about budget execution of each Ministry during 2010, although we believe that spending money is not the purpose of government. A Minister could steal or waste his or her entire appropriation and achieve 100% execution – but the people who require the services the Ministry is intended to provide would be in trouble. However, budget numbers don’t show the work done (or not done) by state agencies and whether that work satisfied people’s needs – people can see that with their own eyes.

Notes for this graph, which you can click on to see larger:
1. “Whole of Govt” includes fuel for EDTL and the Prime Minister’s “contingency fund.
2. “Other” includes all organs and ministries which were allocated less than $5 million in 2010.

The graph shows the amount of money allocated to the functions of each Ministry in the final 2010 and 2011 budgets. The categories on the left portion are state organs, while the right part shows large sub-categories. The heavy oil and infrastructure bars are so large that the other categories look small, but each one spent more than $5 million.

The colors in the left bar for each organ show the execution of the 2010 budget. The red part is how much money was actually spent, green is obligations, and white was appropriated but not used.

The right bar shows the 2011 budget, and the colors show which part of the budget the money comes from. The vertically striped blue part is the $682 million Consolidated Fund. The other two colors are the new Special Funds: brown diagonal stripes represent the $599 million Infrastructure Fund, and yellow is the $25 million Human Capital Development Fund. These Special Funds are not managed by individual ministries, and the Minister of Finance can shift their allocations from one year or project to another. They are initially allocated to projects within the competence of particular ministries, and we show them that way. The largest allocations from the Infrastructure Fund are $447m for the national electricity project (shown with the Ministry of Infrastructure), $45m for the “MDG-suco” program to build local community housing (shown with MSS), $19m for studies related to the Tasi Mane project (shown with SERN), and $8m for the FreeBalance software program (shown with the Ministry of Finance).

This shows how public money was spent in 2010 and how it will be spent this year, and illustrates where public resources will go. It is clear that investment in human and local productive capital – education, health and agriculture, gets much less money than physical infrastructure and subsidies.

Notes for this graph
1. We do not have budget execution data as of 12 November for the functions on the right, so we have assumed the ratio between the first and second parts of the last trimester is the same as for the relevant ministry.
2. The left-most bar shows a constant rate of spending – if a state organ executed its entire budget, spending the same amount every week of the year.

The second graph shows when each ministry or function spent its money during 2010, as a percentage of their total appropriation. Each bar represents the total amount spent during the year; if they had spent the entire allocation , it would be 100%. The white lowest part of the bar bar shows spending during the first trimester (January to March), the yellow bar during the next three, and the speckled orange bar during the third trimester. Since a lot of money is spent at the end of the year, we have divided the last trimester in half: The diagonally striped part is from 1 October to 12 November, and the solid dark red is from 15 November through the end of 2010.

The green line to the right of each bar shows (on the right-hand scale) how many times faster each agency spent money during the last six weeks of 2010 than they did during the rest of the year.

This graph is based on data from the Ministry of Finance. We find it hard to believe that some ministries could spend the people’s money during Independence Day and Christmas more than five times faster than they did between January and mid-November, but we leave it to you to decide if the outcomes are good, the numbers are wrong, or the money was wasted.

Help La'o Hamutuk analyze draft Environmental Law

In late January, Timor-Leste's Secretary of State for Environment circulated a Portuguese-language draft of a basic Environmental Law (also PDF) for limited public consultation, with the letter at right. The Secretary accepted La'o Hamutuk's request to extend the comment period until the end of February.

La'o Hamutuk did a preliminary computer-assisted translation of the draft law into English (also PDF), and we are asking people and organizations to make your own submissions or to email us with ideas, suggested changes or other analysis which will help us write ours.

Update, 2 March 2011:

On 28 February, La'o Hamutuk submitted 50 pages of analysis and recommendations on this law to the State Secretariat for Environment, in three parts:

• Narrative portion, discussing overall concepts and general ideas
• Article-by-article commentary, with revised English translation of the draft law
• Annex from Chris Serjak, with 44 detailed suggestions 

Click for a summary of the submission or a longer (but still abridged) version.

President sends 2011 budget to court, as LH suggested

Last Friday, La'o Hamutuk wrote a letter to President Jose Ramos-Horta (Tetum original) urging him not to promulgate the $1.3 billion 2011 State Budget that Parliament passed at the end of January.

On 7 February, the President asked the Court of Appeals to review the legality and constitutionality of this law, which is a 98% increase over the original 2010 State Budget. We have translated and posted the President's request and the Court's letter to Parliament on our website, which also links to Portuguese originals and other relevant documents. The Court must decide by 17 February; we hope it will wisely advise the President to return the Budget Law to Government and Parliament for redrafting.

The main points in La'o Hamutuk's letter are:

• Unsustainable spending threatens the goals of the Petroleum Fund Law.

Timor-Leste will spend $1,306 million dollars under this budget, including $1,055 million transferred from the Petroleum Fund during 2011 and $141 million carried over from unspent appropriations in the 2010 Budget, which also comes from the Petroleum Fund. This increase is not justifiable, especially since recent exploratory oil wells were dry. 

• The Infrastructure Fund is a bad precedent.

Nearly half of this year’s budget is for the Infrastructure Fund and the Human
Capital Development Fund. The Government says it is establishing these Special Funds
according to the 2009 Budget and Financial Management Law, but this interpretation of that law undercuts the Constitutional powers of Parliament "To deliberate on the State Plan and Budget and the execution report thereof" and "To monitor the execution of the State budget.” We also believe it is too soon to allocate funding to execute the National Strategic Development Plan (PEDN), which Parliament  has never seen. 

• The Heavy Oil Electricity Project could be a black hole.

This Budget allocates $448 million for heavy oil power plants and transmission lines, but the Government has not provided enough information. For years, the project has been plagued by misguided concepts, lack of planning, irregular procurement, unreliable contractors, unmet promises, environmental negligence and pervasive secrecy. Timor-Leste has already spent more than $100 million on this project, and before spending a half-billion dollars more, we encourage the President to examine it carefully.

• The oil price predictions are not prudent.

In the 2011 State Budget, the Government assumed future oil prices 50% higher than they assumed last year. This  violates the  Petroleum Fund Law that “All assumptions made shall be prudent, reflect international best practice and be based upon internationally recognized standards.” Policies based on wishes rather than prudence could squander the nonrenewable resource birthright of our children.

• Please exorcise the “Resource Curse.”

The level of spending in the 2011 budget brings Timor-Leste into the “resource curse” and threatens our future financial stability. The State institutions funded by this budget should ensure that the people’s resources are used for the people’s benefit – not for narrow election objectives.
     Therefore, we believe that you, as “the Head of State and the symbol and guarantor of national independence and unity of the State and of the smooth functioning of democratic institutions,” as described in our Constitution, should use your powers to rescue our State from economic instability and future poverty, as financial insecurity also threatens our national independence and unity.

The President asked the Court for advice on three questions:

• Is creating the Special Funds via the Budget Law, rather than with a separate specific law, permissible under Constitution Article 145.2?
• Does creating the Special Funds without specifying detailed expenditures to be paid from these funds violate the transparency requirement specified in Constitution Article 145.2?
• Does transferring $321 million more than the Estimated Sustainable Income without a detailed explanation of why this is in the long-term interests of Timor-Leste violate Article 9 of the Petroleum Fund Law, which has superior force?

The Court ruled five days later.

On the evening of 11 February, the Court of Appeals issued a 55-page opinion (also Portuguese). After soliciting and summarizing the views of President Jose Ramos-Horta, National Parliament President Fernando LaSama Araujo and Prosecutor-General Ana Pessoa Pinto, the three judges Claudio de Jesus Ximenes, José Luís da Goia and José Manuel Barata Penha cited extensive scholarly research and previous cases, concluding

"For these reasons, the judges of the Court of Appeal have deliberated that the Decree of the National Parliament No 45/II approving the 2011 State budget submitted to the President of the Republic does not violate Articles 145.2 and 115 of the Constitution, nor Article 9 of Law 9/2005 of 3 August (on the Petroleum Fund)."

The President promulgated the budget the following day, before leaving for a week in Israel and Palestine.  La'o Hamutuk believes that even if the budget is legal and constitutional, that doesn't make it good policy.

Presiza atu Respeita Prinsipiu Konstitusional ba Knar Prezidente Republika

Husi: Juvinal Dias, Staf NGO La’o Hamutuk. Publika ona iha Timor Post no Diario Nasional, 11 Fevereiru 2011

Iha 15 Novembru 2010, Governu aprezenta proposta Orsamentu Jeral Estadu 2011 nian ba Parlamentu Nasional, hafoin Governu adia kalendariu nian ba fulan ida. Proposta ne’e hakarak atu gasta tokon $985, ho tokon $734 husi Fundu Petroleu.

Ba orsamentu ida ne’e, Governu halo kalkulasaun Rendimentu Sustentavel Estimadu RSE/ESI 3% husi rekursu naturais inklui Fundu Petroleu iha tokon $734, ne’ebe signifika katak, tuir proposta OJE 2011, Governu iha intensaun atu tuir nivel Rendimentu Sustentavel Estimadu.

Maibe, iha loron 28 Janeiru 2011, Parlamentu Nasional aprova tiha ona orsamentu Jeral Estadu 2011 ho montante biliaun $1,306. Husi montante ne’e, Governu sei foti osan biliaun $1,055 husi Fundu Petroleu, no tokon $141 husi osan restu ne’ebe la konsege gasta iha tinan orsamental 2010, no tokon $110 husi Reseitas Domestiku.

Alterasaun orsamentu ne’e akontese bainhira Parlamentu Nasional hakarak atu aumenta tan osan tokon $321 husi Fundo Petroleu. Husi montante ne’e, tokon $282 ba sentral eletrika oleu pezadu. Dadaun ne’e, OJE 2011 ne’e hein hela Prezidente Republika nia promulgasaun.

Tamba sa Prezidente Republika husu Tribunal Rekursu nia hanoin?

Respect the Constitutional Principles of the President’s Duties

During this past week, Timorese journalists and politicians have issued many uninformed pronouncements on President Jose Ramos-Horta asking the Court of Appeals for advice before he promulgates the 2011 State Budget. Dili is rife with allegations that this is a political action or personal challenge, will create a crisis, and/or blocks the Government from functioning.

We believe that it is essential for the rule of law to apply in Timor-Leste, so Juvinal Dias of La'o Hamutuk wrote an article (Tetum original, English translation) which was published today in Timor Post and Diario Nacional. The following is a shortened version of the translation:

Prezidente haruka Orsamentu 2011 ba Tribunal, hanesan LH suzere

Iha loron 4 Fevereiru, La’o  Hamutuk hakerek karta ida ba Prezidente Jose Ramos-Horta  (mos tradusaun ba Ingles) husu nia atu la bele promulga Orsamentu Estadu biliaun $1.3  ne’ebe pasa ona iha Parlamentu iha fulan Janeiru nia rohan.

Loron tolu tuir mai, Prezidente husu ba Tribunal Rekursu atu hare lei orsamentu ida ne’e nia legalidade no konstitusionalidade, ne’ebe nia kresimentu sae 98% liu  Orsamentu Jeral Estadu original 2010 nian. Ami publika ona Prezidente nian karta no karta husi Tribunal Rekursu ba Parlamentu iha ami nia website, ne’ebe mos traduz dokumentus ba lingua Ingles no inklui dokumentus relevante sira seluk. Tribunal Rekursu tenke deside molok loron 17 Fevereiru; ami espera katak sei iha konsellu ida ne’ebe matenek ba Prezidente atu fo fila Lei Orsamentu ne’e ba Governu no Parlamentu atu halo revisaun. 

Pontus importante iha karta La’o Hamutuk nian maka:

• Gastus la sustentavel no ameasa objektivu Lei Fundu Petroleu.

Tuir Orsamentu 2011 ne’e, Timor-Leste sei gasta tokon $1,306 inklui tokon $1,055 ne’ebe transfere husi Fundu Petroleu durante tinan 2011 no tokon $141 mai husi osan restu ne’ebe la konsege gasta iha Orsamentu 2010, ne’ebe mai mos husi Fundu Petroleu. Kresimentu ida ne’e la justifikadu, espesialmente desde posu rua esplorasaun mina-rai nian  foin dadauk ne’e maran.

• Fundu Infraestrutura nudar presedente at.

Besik 50% Orsamentu Jeral Estadu 2011 ne’ebe aprova ona husi Parlamentu aloka ba iha Fundu Infraestrutura no Fundu Dezenvolvimentu Kapital Umanu. Governu hateten katak sira estabelese Fundu Espesial hirak ne’e bazeia ba Lei Orsamentu no Jestaun Finanseiru ne’ebe Parlamentu aprova ona iha tinan 2009, maibe interpretasaun ba lei ne’e kua tiha ona poder Konstitusional Parlamentu nian “Delibera kona-ba Planu no Orsamentu Estadu nian no mós relatóriu kona-ba orsamentu ne’e;” no “Fiskaliza oinsá Estadu hala’o orsamentu nasionál.” no mos ami hare katak orsamentu ida ne’e ne’ebe lalais liu aloka hodi finansia atu ezekuta Planu Estratejiku Dezenvolvimentu Nasional (PEDN), ne’ebe Parlamentu seidauk hare.

• Projeitu Eletrisidade Oleu Pezadu bele fakar osan.

Orsamentu ne’e aloka tokon $448 ba projeitu eletrisidade oleu pezadu no linha transmisaun nian, maibe ami hare katak informasaun sira ne’ebe Governu fo ne’e barak mak seidauk kompletu. Tinan barak nia laran, projeitu ne’e hetan problema boot husi konseitu ne’ebe la klaru, laiha planu, iha iregularidade iha aprovisionamentu, kontraktor ne’ebe labele fiar, la hatan promesa, estragus ambiental, iha segredu. Timor-Leste gasta tiha ona osan liu tokon $100 ba projeitu ne’e, no molok gasta liu metade biliaun ida, ami enkoraza Prezidente atu examina alokasaun ida ne’e ho kuidadu.

• Prediksaun presu minarai la prudente.

Iha Orsamentu Jeral Estadu 2011, Governu halo asumsaun ba presu mina-rai nian iha futuru sei sai maizumenus as liu 50% ba presu ne’ebe uluk Governu halo iha tinan 2010. Ida ne’e viola tiha Lei Fundu Petroleu katak “asumsaun hotu ne’ebe halo tenke prudente, refleta pratika diak internasional nian no tenke bazeia ba standar konhesimentu internasional”. Politika bazeia ba hakarak duke ba prudensia bele halakon benefisiu husi rekursu naun renovavel Timor-Leste nian ba ita nia oan sira.

• Favor duni demoniu “Malisan Rekursu”.

Nivel gastus husi Orsamentu ida ne’e lori ona Timor-Leste atu hakbesik an ba malisan rekursu no mos ameasa ba estabilidade finanseiru Timor-Leste nian iha futuru. Instituisaun Estadu hetan apoiu husi Orsamentu ida ne’e tenke garante katak Orsamentu nian tenke ba povo laos deit nudar instrumentu politiku ba objetivu eleitoral.
    Tamba ne’e ami hanoin katak ita boot nudar “Xefe-Estadu, símbulu no garantia independénsia nasionál no unidade Estadu nian, no instituisaun demokrátika sira-nia funsionamentu regular” hanesan hateten iha ita nia Konstituisaun, atu bele uza ita boot nia kompetensia ida ne’e hodi salva estadu ida ne’e husi instabilidade ekonomia no pobreza iha futuru, basa ameasa ekonomia ne’ebe la stabil sei fo ameasa mos ba independensia nasional no unidade estadu nian.

Prezidente Republika husu ba Tribunal Rekursu atu hetan apresiasaun ho pergunta tolu:

• Bainhira atu kria Fundu Espesial tuir Lei Orsamentu ne’e mak diak liu tan ka kria ho lei spesifiku ketak ida, bele hetan permite husi Konstituisaun RDTL Artigu 145.2?
• Bainhira kria Fundu Espesial lahoo spesifikasaun ba gastus ho detailhadu ne’ebe sei selu ba Fundu ne’e, nia viola ezizensia transparansia ne’ebe hateten iha Konstituisaun RDTL Artigu 145.2?
• Bainhira atu transfere tokon $321 liu Rendimentu Sustentavel Estimadu laho esplikasuan ne’ebe deitalhadu  kona-ba oinsa ida ne’e ba Timor-Leste nia interese tempu naruk  ne’e viola Lei Fundu Petroleu Artigu 9 ne’ebe iha forsa superior ne’e ka lae?