Best spent?

Presidency of the Council of Ministers

Extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers on September 14, 2012

The V Constitutional Government met this Friday, September 14, 2012, in the Council of Ministers meeting room at the Government Palace in Dili and approved:
1. First amendment to Law no.° 16/2011 approving the State Budget for 2012

As the V Constitutional Government inherits the same philosophy of the IV Constitutional Government, it is committed to continuing the implementation of the programs that have come to represent the successes of the previous term in office while beginning others.

This continuity reflects the need to give form and content to the pillars established by the Strategic Development Plan: Development of Social Capital, Development of Infrastructure and the Economic Development.

This amendment to the Law no.° 16/2011 of  December 21, 2011 approving the State Budget for 2012 neither increases nor decreases the total state budget already approved by the abovementioned law. This change only makes a reallocation of budgeted funds which relate to Annexes II, III and IV of this law.

Therefore, over $ 55 million dollars was transferred to the Infrastructure Fund for two projects at Tasi-Mane and the expenses not paid into the Consolidated Fund in order to cover the following needs:

Pension for Veterans – $ 26.9 million;
Allowance for Seniors – $ 7.1 million;
Contingency Fund – $ 6.1 million;
Contingency Fund – $ 6.1 million;
Ministry of Education – $ 1.7 million;
Goods and Services – $ 2.4 million;
Transfers to the Church and Civil Society – $ 1.4 million;
Ministry of Health – $ 1.2 million;
Operation of the Berlin-Nakroma – $ 1.2 million;
Water and Sanitation – $ 1.2 million;
Institute of Management Equipment – $ 1.2 million;
External audit – $ 1.1 million;
Last payment to LIFESE by the Secretariat of State for Defence – $ 1.1 million.

     Is this the best way to spend the current public money? Im not saying that veterans do not deserve, but it is going to be invested more than 8 times over the Ministry of Education and Health together. It is just an observation that could be a misinterpretation of these numbers above shown. Actually, hope it is a misiterpretation...