Dili, 07 May 2026 (Media Democracia) – The President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, carried out an official visit to the Central Office of the Civil Service Commission (KFP) to review the institution’s functioning and Reinforce the importance of a public service that is professional, impartial, and oriented toward all citizens in Timor-Leste.
President of the Republic (PR) José Ramos-Horta said that work in the Public Service must have qualification and productivity and undergo reform, taking care with heart for employees who work at KFP not because of politicization of people, but because the work is truly needed at many levels.
“Some young people with families have their own needs, cannot impede decisions, dropping an order to remove 2 thousand or 3 thousand from the numbers that Timor-Leste has. We truly need the population, what is the functioning state of our economy, but 6 thousand is impossible 50% will still be high. Especially with modern systems there is a lot of work, but we must look for alternatives.” President Ramos-Horta told journalists at the CFP office in Matadouro this Tuesday (05/05/2026)
The Head of State said that many Timorese going to work in Australia and Korea is an alternative, not just to go to other countries to send money back to family and slowly develop the country. Timor-Leste has the wisdom to resolve it civil servants can have better quality through study. An evaluation shows our public service is still very weak in terms of qualification and productivity.
In addition, he said, civil servants who have a salary of 5 thousand must have their salary reduced. It cannot be higher than the President, Prime Minister, and President of Parliament.
“Civil servants who have salaries over 5 thousand must be reduced. Even in the Presidency there are many people with study and experience some with master’s, doctorates, each speaking different languages but they earn 5 thousand, three thousand, four thousand maximum, that’s because they are political appointments, not career civil servants. Next year if a new president comes, they must look for work elsewhere. So this is a special situation for political appointments, but even political appointments’ salaries cannot be higher than the President, Prime Minister, President of Parliament, President of the Court of Appeal. That cannot be I don’t agree with this.” the Head of State affirmed.
During this visit, the Head of State met with the President and Commissioners of KFP to hear about the Commission’s progress, challenges, and priority programs. PR Horta underlined KFP’s importance in guaranteeing a public service that is professional, impartial, merit-based, and free from nepotism.
He also encouraged all public servants to serve the people with integrity and dedication, because a good public administration is the foundation for good governance and national development.
Report By: Trainees Novita Soares and Baquita Marcal
Photo: Trainee Baquita Marcal