USAID Supports Government Progress to Self-Sufficiency
To help Timor-Leste's government as it moves toward economic and institutional self-sufficiency, USAID and other donors are partners in the Consolidation Support Program (CSP), managed by the World Bank. CSP helps fund the government budget in the priority activities of good governance, job creation, and service delivery to reduce poverty. The first CSP supervisory mission convened recently to monitor the government's progress on specific performance benchmarks. Results were broadly positive, though a few delays were highlighted, particularly in the education sector. CSP partners noted an increase in government ownership of the program and monitoring of results. The program was praised for allowing frank discussions on sensitive policy issues. USAID provides about 12% of CSP funds. (Dec. 20, 2005)

Second Round of Local Elections Highlights First Round Success
After its first-ever local elections, held in 442 villages and 2,228 subvillages over the past year, Timor-Leste is currently holding re-elections in 18 jurisdictions where the first round resulted in a tie or where the Court of Appeal upheld complaints of irregularities. The elections drew a high percentage of voters and offered the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration and the independent National Elections Commission opportunities to improve registration and voting processes in advance of elections for president, prime minister, and Parliament in 2007. USAID has supported the full local elections process, from voter registration and education to monitoring and verification. (Dec. 20, 2005)

Regional Summit Spurs Financial Education Planning
Three staff members from national NGOs Timor-Aid and Rotaract Club attended a private-sector organized financial education summit in Malaysia recently to learn how other countries tackle major problems of low numeracy rates and poor money-management skills. Timor-Leste's literacy rate is only about 50%, with numeracy levels well below that. The three participants said that they will use the practical ideas they learned--particularly from successes in countries such as Fiji, Guam, and Sri Lanka--to work with communities and the government to advance financial education. USAID supports Timor Aid and Rotaract in their literacy/numeracy and youth programs to build better foundations for Timor-Leste's entrepreneurs. (Dec. 20, 2005)

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