Closing speech of His Excellency Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak in the 2021 General State Budget final vote

  National Parliament, December 12^th, 2020  

Thank you, Mr. President, of National Parliament, for the time given

Distinguished Members of National Parliament

Members of the Government

People of Timor-Leste

Audience

In two and a half years, the 8^th Constitutional Government has prepared six budgets, including this one. I am confident that, with the approval, this budget will help us close one cycle and open another one, because, normally, a Government has a five-year term, and in that period it prepares only five budgets. On the contrary, we, in half of the term, have already prepared six, so that I am very happy because, with this approval (General State Budget for 2021), on the one hand, a new cycle begins, a cycle that will normalize our annual budget cycle.

On the other hand, this approval gives us strength so that we can recover our economy, after the influence of COVID-19, which has greatly affected our economy, and also after the consequences of the duodecimal budget regime, in which we have lived in recent years. That is why, on behalf of the 8^th  Constitutional Government, I would like to thank the National Parliament, all the Honourable Members of the Parliament, who, with all patience and dedication, gave us support so that today we could approve the General State Budget for 2021.

The government has taken note of all the concerns raised by the Honourable Members, during the discussion, and we promise that we will improve all aspects that need to be improved. With this, we hope to enrich the General State Budget for the next year of 2022, because, from time to time, we can learn from our experience, from the challenge that is posed to us, to always improve. On the one hand, improving our economy, but on the other hand, guaranteeing the sustainability of the few resources we have, especially financial resources. Finally, the Government has pledged to make every effort to execute this budget in the most appropriate way, in order to achieve the objective that we all want, namely the economic recovery, providing jobs to our citizens, and helping the private sector to be strong enough to help Government supporting the development.

Therefore, Mr. President of the National Parliament, I, on behalf of the Government, would like to thank, in particular the President of the National Parliament, for all the patience with which you have managed our debate, during these days.

I regret the absence of the CNRT party during the 2021 General State Budget debate, because, although there are political differences, these differences cannot lead us to withdraw our support for the development of our country. The decision is theirs, but the Government wants to leave the appeal here so that they continue to support the development of our country. Regardless of the differences that exist, it is important to be united, to join our efforts and capacities for the development of our country. It is especially at times like this, times of crisis, that we need to be more united.

For all this, Mr. President of the National Parliament, thank you very much, and I finish now my speech. Thank you.