Bissau, 15 November  2021

The city of Bissau hosts between 17 and 26 November 2021, the Program for Training, Empowerment and National Appropriation of the online Platform for Simplification and Budget Analysis (PALOP-TL e-Budget), which will allow for the transfer of knowledge and technology to civil society organizations (CSOs) and partners of Pro PALOP-TL. The main objective of the training is to ensure, in a sustainable way, the use, maintenance and updating of data of this Platform.

The presentation session of the e-Budget platform began at 9:00 a.m. on November 17 at the Hotel  Azalai  Bissau, with speeches from the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Guinea-Bissau, Jose Levy,  and Simona SCHLEDE, Head of Cooperation Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Guinea-Bissau,  in the presence of representatives of the Project Partners OSC, i.e. the  Observatory of Democracy and Governance, ODG, and the Guinea-Bissau NGOs Movement. Distinguished guests and important actors in this process, such as the National People's Assembly, the Court of Auditors and the Ministry of Finance of Guinea-Bissau, as well as important development partners in the country, will also take part in this ceremony,  including bilateral partners, the United Nations, the European Union, and other Guinean civil society figures.

This new phase of knowledge and technology transfer follows the launch of the first PALOP-TL OSC Online Platform for Budget Simplification and Analysis and the PALOP-TL Budget Transparency Index and has as its main objective to ensure the sustainability of the management and maintenance of this important instrument of budgetary transparency and the opening of data on Public Finances in PALOP-TL at the end of the implementation of phase II of the  project.

The 10 days of training will thus ensure that the responsible OSC team involved in this process is able to maintain and update the platform data after the delivery of the technology by the PALOP-TL ISC Pro. After São Tomé and Príncipe, the same formations will follow in each of the remaining PALOP countries and East Timor, until February 2022.

The prototype of the PALOP-TL e-budget platform is already available and operational through the website https://www.paloptl-ebudgets.org where one can find information on the following budget documents of the PALOP and Timor-Leste: the Proposal of the General Budget of the State (OGE), Budget Execution Reports (Quarterly Accounts) and General State Account. This program, which has already passed through Cabo Verde, will then continue on in the remaining PALOP-TLs until February 2022, with the aim of tuning this prototype with important contributions from the above-mentioned actors.

With funding from the European Union, pro PALOP-TL ISC has been developing the platform based on a design thinking process, taking the opportunity to introduce innovative product development processes. Through this innovative mechanism it is intended to promote public transparency and social monitoring of the budget, which can be done by academics, researchers, public managers, politicians, citizens, journalists, supreme audit institutions and other relevant institutions of external control of public finances (Inspectorate General of Finance, Omdeers of Justice, etc.) and even by public officials dealing with finance.

This model is based on a methodology of data transparency with pictographic representation of budgetary data that facilitates quick and easy understanding and access to information that is not necessarily accessible to the public. The members of the CSOs receiving the PALOP-TL SAI Pro (Phase II) will be trained to be able to use it efficiently so that they can represent budgetary and public expenditure data in a creative and accessible way, thus empowering citizens in these countries in the use of this type of information for the demand of better provision of public services.

To achieve this important milestone, the PRO PALOP-TL ISC has formed a Task Force consisting of a team of experienced consultants and project experts who will guide the training programme of the Civil Society Organizations of PALOP and Timor-Leste to manage, in a sustainable and appropriate manner, a wide range of ICT instruments for the simplification of budgetary documents and public expenditure with the consequent improvement of the standard of  transparency and accountability in these countries.

Pro PALOP-TL ISC (PHASE II) - Program for the Consolidation of Economic Governance and Public Finance Management Systems in PALOP and East Timor aims to improve economic governance in PALOP-TL. The Programme is the result of the STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP between the EU and UNDP, and has the funding of the European Union in the tune of 8. 05 million EURO, administered directly by UNDP.

For more information, contact:

Ricardo Godinho Gomes, Manager of Pro PALOP-TL ISC  ricardo.g.gomes@cv.jo.un.org  | Ana Cristina Vaz, Communication and Visibility Officer of Pro PALOP-TL ISC: +238 260 9653 / 9162749,  ana.vaz@cv.jo.un.org  | Jose Malam Jassi, Programme Analyst, jose.m.jassi@undp.org