DILI, 03 May 2026 (TATOLI) — The Council of Ministers has endorsed a new methodology for preparing the General State Budget (GSB), marking a significant reform of Timor-Leste’s budgetary process aimed at strengthening budgetary discipline, improving alignment between the Government’s policy priorities and the allocation of public resources, and promoting more rigorous multi-year financial planning.
The new budget preparation methodology, presented by Finance Minister Santina José Rodrigues F. Viegas Cardoso, will be applied for the first time in the preparation of the 2027 General State Budget and will serve as the framework for subsequent budgetary processes.
“The reform, set out in Decree-Law No. 42/2025 of July 30th, aims to strengthen budgetary discipline, improve alignment between the Government’s policy priorities and the allocation of public resources, and promote more rigorous multi-year financial planning,” said in a statement.
Under the new model, ministries are required to prepare their budget proposals based on previously defined policy priorities, established budgetary limits, and financial estimates for the coming years, to enhance the predictability of public spending and the assessment of the costs of government policies.
During the presentation, the main changes to the budgetary process were also discussed, including the creation of the Policy Review Committee, which replaces the former Budget Review Committee and will now be responsible for assessing and verifying the priorities of ministerial proposals; the adoption of standardised templates for preparing proposals; and the strengthening of monitoring of the implementation and performance of public programmes.
The plan for preparing the 2027 GSB was also presented. It sets out the following steps to be taken between June and September: defining policy priorities; submitting and evaluating proposals from the ministries; holding Budgetary Days; and having the budget proposal approved by the Council of Ministers before it is submitted to the National Parliament by October 1st, 2026.
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