《Lao Hamutuk》.pdfVIP

La’o Hamutuk Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis Rua dos Martires da Patria, Bebora, Dili, Timor-Leste Tel: +670 332 1040 Mobile: +670 7723 4330 Email: info@ Website: To: Committee C and other Members of the National Parliament of RDTL From: La’o Hamutuk Re: Proposed RDTL General State Budget for 2014 Date: 8 November 2013 Dear Distinguished Members of Parliament: As a Timor-Leste Civil Society Organization, La’o Hamutuk believes that the National Parliament has a crucial role in Timor-Leste’s democracy. We want to help you fulfill your responsibilities as a sovereign organ under articles 92, 95 and 145 of the RDTL Constitution to develop objective information and analysis of draft legislation which is independent of the Government’s proposal and motivations. Parliament has conducted seven state budget processes since 2009, and Committee C has asked for La’o Hamutuk’s input every time. We have been honored to provide submissions or presentations to Parliamentary Committees or workshops twelve times, as well to Parliamentary reviews of the audited General State Accounts for 2010 and 2011. We would like to offer some observations and suggestions on the proposed General State Budget for 2014 1 and the reports on the 2012 General State Accounts. We are disappointed that only Committee B invited civil society to a hearing on the 2014 budget (GSB2014). When the 2013 budget proposal was discussed last January, at least three committees held hearings with civil society. We believe that Committee C found La’o Hamutuk’s testimony helpful, as 12 of the 16 recommendations in their report reflected concerns we had raised. We hope that the reduced attention to independent views in Parliament’s considerati