The Embassy of the United States of America (USA), through the United States Agency International Development (USAID), has launched a legal assistance program, Ba Distritu, in three districts. 
Embassy of the United States to Timor-Leste Charge d’Affaires Scott Ticknor said the objective of the program was to improve the capacity of the village councils to execute their community programs properly.
He said the role of the village councils was very important to democracy in Timor-Leste as it was the village councils which identified local challenges and passed on information to national bodies.
“They should know on how to control the budget, develop plans, execute, monitor, and evaluate the program and communicate with the citizens in the community effectively,” Mr Ticknor said after launching the program at the US Embassy Conference Hall in Pantai Kelapa.
He said other local institutions gave training and helped village communities to find solutions to their problems through formal processes.
Ba Distritu Project Chief of Party, Carolyn Tanner said first, program workers needed to consult with the village councils to identify the communities’ training priorities.
“This way, the training can address the necessities that exist,” Tanner said.
She said this pilot program would be implemented in districts, Oe-Cusse, Covalima and Baucau, before being expanded to include Ermera and Liquisa districts in the next two years.
USAID partners with local organizations such as Belun, JSMP, Fatuk Sinai Oe-Cusse Foundation as well as the Lawyer Association of Timor-Leste (AATL) with about 100 participants from village councils.
“We work together to disseminate information to the village level to strengthen the village council and help the communities that live in villages to actively participate in the government program,” she said.
Ba Distritu will be implemented for four years funded by the USAID with $6 million.
Meanwhile Deputy Prime Minister, Fernando Lasama de Araujo, who participated in the program launch, said he appreciated the program as it dealt directly with villages to improve the capacity of residents and encouraged village communities to actively participate in the public work.
“Their program is similar to the government program PNDS,” Deputy Prime Minister Lasama said.
“It decentralizes to fortify the municipal structure at the village level, allowing community members to actively participate and be true authors in the development process.”
He called on USAID to coordinate with the government of Timor-Leste through the Ministry of State Administration (MAE) to enable the program to run effectively.
