In the world's youngest country, how-to manuals are few and far between, but Timor-Leste's civil servants just received one of their very own. Senior Minister of State for State Administration Ana Pessoa officially launched a new civil service handbook this week, calling on the nation's 15,000 civil servants to read and learn from it.

The booklet sets out the law passed by Parliament in June 2004 that regulates the civil service. Each is printed in Timor-Leste's two official languages: Tetum and Portuguese. "This booklet will help all civil servants understand their duties and their rights," explained Liborio Pereira, head of the Civil Service Directorate. "And when they have any questions related to public service or there are misunderstandings about any of the regulations, this booklet will act as a reference."

By making the law accessible in booklet form in two languages, the government intends to raise the level of professionalism among its employees and to help the public better understand the role of civil servants. Government workers at all three levels of government--national, district, and subdistrict--will receive a copy. The government is confident that wide availability of information about the role of civil servants will help guard against corruption, collusion, and nepotism. The Office of the Inspector General has already held two workshops for civil servants about the law and regulations.

USAID funded the design, layout, and printing of the 20,000 booklets through a small grant of $34,600. Providing the booklets to all of Timor-Leste's civil servants will help strengthen the government, making it more effective and transparent, and allow the citizens to form realistic expectations of how government employees provide services and support.