Thursday September 3rd marked the final day for a training program on data collection through the Municipal Portal facilitated by the Ministry of State Administration (MSA), the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The training is part of the Project “Strengthening Integral Local Development by Building the Capacities of the Municipal Authorities in Timor-Leste.”

The closing ceremony marked the end of a series of sessions held during July and August in Timor-Leste’s 12 municipalities to educate municipal staff about the Portal and to better coordinate efforts with municipal services for effective data collection.

Over 300 municipal civil servants successfully completed the 8-hour training on data indicators and data collection. The number of participants tripled expected enrolment numbers, showing the strong commitment of Municipal Authorities to monitoring the performance of their municipalities and to improving transparency.

The training provided municipal civil servants with tools and technical skills to collect and update data on all kinds of indicators, with the aim of ensuring the future sustainability of the Portal.

Feedback and participation of Municipal Service Directors was key to adjusting data templates to the context of each sector.

“This training helps deepen our knowledge about data collection in the field of water and sanitation in Ainaro. Hopefully, the data we collect in the future will bring in investments in water and sanitation infrastructures to our municipality and improve people’s lives,” stated Mrs. Albina Ramos, Finance Officer at Serviço Agua e Saneamento SAS in Ainaro.

“The Municipal Portal enables us to plan projects and manage the resources effectively based on the data that we have at municipal level,” Mr. Salvador Serrão dos Santos, representative from Municipal Services for Tourism, Trade and Industry in Liquiça.

The trainings were also attended by Municipal Secretaries, Territorial Delegation Services, Administrative Post Administrators, and IT officers from TIC (Technology, Information and Communication Agency), DNIC (Ministry of Transportation and Communication) and MSA.

The closing ceremony took place at El Legendario, Lecidere, Dili and was attended by H.E. Mr. Lino de Jesus Torrezao, Vice-Minister of State Administration; Mr. Andrew Jacobs, Ambassador of the European Union; Ms. Munkhtuya Altangerel, UNDP Resident Representative and Presidents of Municipal Authorities from the 12 municipalities.

Certificates of completion and user guide manuals for the Municipal Portal were distributed among Presidents of Municipal Authorities, Municipal Administrators and trainees during the ceremony.

 “I’m proud that more than three hundred municipal directors and civil servants have been trained successfully to help monitor the performance of their municipalities and to improve transparency. The Municipal Data Portal is a key component of the European Union’s support for the implementation of the Government’s Decentralisation Plan being implemented by the UNDP. The Portal will help local institutions to collect and use data effectively, so that they can better serve the people in their communities”, said Mr. Andrew Jacobs, European Union Ambassador to Timor-Leste.

“UNDP is very proud of the results of this training. The active involvement and participation of municipal civil servants has been exemplary and demonstrates the strong commitment of Municipal Authorities to lead development at local level. This programme has strengthened coordination between central government and municipalities, enabling the access to quality municipal data to ensure effective policies”, said Ms. Munkthtuya Altangerel, UNDP Resident Representative.