H.E. Mr. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão
The development of our human resources is an important basis for the development of our beloved country. Timor-Leste does need to improve the quality of his human capital as well as consolidate their capacity, so that it can respond to all sectors still lacking qualified people, while providing employment in competitive sectors or creating opportunities for self-employment, which, in turn, will open job places for more people.
Having this in mind and as soon as the IV Constitutional Government commenced, I presented the National Parliament a proposal for the creation of a special fund aimed at the development of human resources, so that financial efforts for training and scholarships could be congregated in a single fund, easing financial management. This Fund would then be led by a Board of Directors, the current Conselho de Administração do FDCH, which would be responsible for the training funding programmes implemented by FDCH.
Timor-Leste Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 (SDP) establishes that human resources and basic infrastructures are priority investment areas for phase one, i.e., 2011-2015.
Timor-Leste has been working hard, having already created the Human Capital Development Fund (FDCH) as a response to the requirements and priorities of different market sectors in the country, especially regarding the areas of activity lacking qualified human resources, which will aid the economic development of our country.
Firstly, it is important to recognise that, as I frequently say, Timor-Leste is still a fragile state, not because we are a poor country but because our government institutions still lack adequate human resources.
Thus, from the 5th Institutional Government on, we have focused on a National Needs Assessment regarding ministries’ institutional capacity in order to analyse their strengths and weaknesses, aiming at moving forward all together, especially at improving the government machine. Nowadays, within the 6th Institutional Government currently in force, this work is led by H.E the Prime-Minister, Dr. Rui de Araújo.
Secondly, and as the Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment (MPIE), we have prioritised and initiated the decentralization process of public administration to the Municipalities. In order for this to happen, we need capable human resources who can aid the implementation of the nation policy plan, thus helping providing quality public service and contributing to the wellbeing of our beloved people, in line with SPD, which works as a guide for us all, moving forward our people’s living conditions.
Finally, with this new website of FDCH Technical Secretariat, we intend to publish and share with the general public all information related to the work developed by FDCH and add to the transparency of funds managing, pursuant to Decree-Law No. 12/2011 from March 23, which determines that the general management of training funds is one of the aims for the establishment of FDCH.
We hope that all readers can follow our work, namely our beneficiaries and the accredited institutions themselves, so that they can advise each other and, thus, work together towards human resources development and integration, pursuant to SPD objectives. Thank you very much.
Mr. Isménio Martins da Silva
The Human Capital Development Fund [Fundo de Desenvolvimento do Capital Humano (FDCH)] is a public institution with Indirect Administration status, being subject to the authority and supervision of an Administration Board [Conselho de Administração (CA) do FDCH] which is headed by H.E. Mr. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, pursuant to Decree-Law No. 12/2011 from March 23, article 3 and 6, which refer to the structure of the CA-FDCH, and based at the Ministry of Planning and Strategic Investment (MPIE).
FDCH’s projects and programmes include professional training, technical training, scholarships and other types of training. The implementation of these human resources development programmes is dependent on FDCH’s own budget, which is first and foremost subject to the initial approval by CA-FDCH and then by the Government’s Budget Revision Committee, headed by H.E. the Prime-Minister of RDTL and counting with H.E. the Minister of Finance as a member, where the whole state budget is discussed jointly. The General State Budget, which includes the special funds, is then discussed in the National Parliament, the House of the Timorese People, for approval and, finally, enacted by the President of the Republic.
In this new webpage, the Technical Secretariat to FDCH wishes to gather, share and promote all the activities carried out by FDCH, so that all of us can keep up with both the progresses and the challenges faced throughout the implementation of our programmes.
FDCH has four main objectives, pursuant to Decree-Law No. 12/2011 from March 23, Article 2:
1) Ensure the financing of public investment in training and development of national human resources;
2) Ensure security in the negotiation and signing of agreements, programs and multiannual projects;
3) Allow the retention of funds at the end of the Fund’s financial year, with the objective of ensuring the continuity of programs and projects; and
4) Promote transparency and accountability through an improved reporting system and accountability for program implementation and training projects for human capital development.
Following objective number 4 above, which focuses on the transparency issue, FDCH’s Secretariat has been working on sharing all the information on its activities with the general public through different electronic means and also through FDCH’s own newsletter.
With this webpage, we hope that the public gets to know the Technical Secretariat and its structure. We will continue making efforts in that same direction, under the guidance of H.E. Mr. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão – as the Head of the Board of Directors and Minister for MPIE – and following the 6th Constitutional Government policies on the national human resources development. Thank you all.