DILI, 18 january 2023 (TATOLI) – The Government of Timor-Leste planned to create more administrative posts and villages in the country, said the Minister of State Administration, Miguel Pereira de Carvalho.
“We have so far received more than 40 proposals for the creation of villages from all over the country. The Ministry of State Administration (MoSA) has recently evaluated these proposals to make a decision in the future,” Carvalho said in Dili.
In addition, MoSA also planned to establish more administrative posts in the country: “The Administrative Posts of Quelecai of the Baucau Muncipality would be divided into three new Administrative Posts, Maubisse of Ainaro into two, Maubara of Liquiçá would be divided into two Administrative Posts, and a new one would be created in Fatumaca-Baucau.”
“We are currently preparing for the creation of these administrative posts,” Carvalho added.
The territory of Timor-Leste comprises the eastern half of the Island of Timor; the Atauro Island, north of Dili; the Jaco Island, on the easternmost end of the island; and Oecussi, an enclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesia. The territory has a population of about 1.3 million inhabitants (Census 2022), distributed within an area of approximately 15,000 km². The national capital is Dili.
Timor-Leste is split into 13 districts: Bobonaro, Liquiçá, Díli, Baucau, Manatuto and Lautém on the north coast; Cova-Lima, Ainaro, Manufahi and Viqueque, on the south coast; Ermera and Aileu, the two landlocked districts; Atauro and the Special Regional Administrative Oe-cusse Ambeno Authority.
The 13 municipalities and RAEOA are subdivided into 69 administrative posts, with one designated as the capital, and administrative subdivisions – the so-called sukus (villages) – which vary between 2 and 18 per subdistrict.
The smallest administrative division in Timor-Leste is the suku (village), which can comprise one or many aldeias (hamlets). The territory is divided into 498 villages, an average of seven per subdistrict.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
