DILI, 21 february 2022 (TATOLI) – The PFMO Osan Povu Nian, Jere ho Di’ak project today released four Public Finance Supervision and Social Audit manuals.
The manuals are instruments intended to provide basic knowledge and practical guides for civil society agents and organizations to carry out their mission of supervising public finances and social auditing.
They were prepared in three languages to facilitate the participation of civil society organizations in social audit activities, with the National Parliament, the Government and other State institutions.
The elaboration of the manuals is the result of work with about a dozen organizations with the collaboration of specialists from higher control bodies and institutions, such as the National Parliament, the Chamber of Auditors and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The General Coordinator of the program, Rui Dinis, in his speech, said that, after a year of training, with the last cycle to be completed in December 2021, the PFMO now presents the manuals written in Tetum, Portuguese and English.
“I thank the organizations that collaborate with the PFMO, especially the Timorese National Parliament, the World Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), UNICEF and UNDP. They actively collaborated during this training and development process in political and social dialogues with civil society organizations and journalists”, said Rui Dinis, on the sidelines of the ceremony that took place at the Hotel Timor, in Dili.
According to the official, the project took place in two phases – between september and december 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, and between June and December 2021.
The Portuguese Ambassador to Timor-Leste, José Pedro Machado Vieira, in his speech, praised the contribution of the PFMO in promoting the dynamization of the role related to the monitoring and supervision of public finances to strengthen citizens’ control over the effectiveness of the use of public funds.
The Ambassador of the European Union in Timor-Leste, Andrew Jacobs, also highlighted the importance of laws and public policies reflecting the needs and constitutionally enshrined rights of citizens in guaranteeing a democratic, free and equitable society.
“We believe that, with the publication of these manuals and the various instruments that accompany them, the European Union can contribute to strengthening the links between civil society, the National Parliament and the public institutions responsible for managing and supervising public money and resources for Timor-Leste”, he said.
The ceremony ended with the official delivery of a copy of the Manual for Supervision of Public Finances and Social Auditing to the ambassadors of Portugal and the European Union and to the Interim Executive Director of FONGTIL, Lourenço Tito.
30 Portuguese language manuals on Social Auditing with proficiency levels A2, B1 and B2 were also delivered to FONGTIL.
The event culminated with the official delivery of certificates to trainees assigned to civil society regarding the 2021/2022 social audit.
The OSAN POVO NIAN, JERE HO DI’AK project, “Partnership for the Improvement of Service Delivery Through Strengthening Public Finance Management and Supervision in Timor-Leste” (PFMO-Component 2) is co-financed by the European Union in the amount of 12 million euros and co-financed and managed by Instituto Camões in the amount of 600 thousand euros
Journalists: Afonso do Rosário
Editor: Maria Auxiliadora/Rafy Belo
Translator: José Belarmino de Sá
