Timorese President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate José Ramos-Horta has called for a significant overhaul of the nation’s public sector payroll, urging the Civil Service Commission (CFP) to ensure no civil servant earns more than the country’s top sovereign leaders.
During a visit to the CFP to discuss ongoing administrative reforms, the President expressed sharp criticism after learning that some officials had previously earned monthly salaries as high as $8,000, which were only recently reduced to $5,000.
Ramos-Horta questioned the justification for such high compensation, asking if these individuals carried more responsibility than the President, the Prime Minister, or the President of the National Parliament. He further slammed the existing pay structure as “totally politicized” and “a corrupt system,” specifically targeting reports of certain advisors drawing monthly salaries between $13,000 and $15,000.
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Beyond individual wages, Ramos-Horta advocated for a broader streamlining of the state apparatus. He pointed to the existence of over 40 public enterprises and institutes that receive substantial government funding despite low productivity.
For a nation the size of Timor-Leste, the President argued that many of these entities should be closed, suggesting the state should focus only on essential institutions related to food and medicine. According to data from late 2023, Timor-Leste’s public administration comprises nearly 40,000 employees and contractors.
