Transparency (Open Budget Index) 41/100
The Government of Timor-Leste provides the public with limited budget information.
Public Participation 10/100
The Government of Timor-Leste is weak in providing the public with opportunities to engage in the budget process.
Budget Oversight
By legislature 45/100
Budget oversight by the legislature in Timor-Leste is limited.
By auditor 83/100
Budget oversight by the supreme audit institution in Timor-Leste is adequate.
Recommendations
Improving Transparency
Timor-Leste should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Publish a Year-End Report.
- Produce and publish a Pre-Budget Statement and Mid-Year Review.
- Increase the comprehensiveness of the Executive’s Budget Proposal by presenting more information on the functional classification of expenditures for the budget year and the classification of expenditures for future years.
Improving Participation
Timor-Leste should prioritize the following actions to improve budget participation:
- Establish credible and effective mechanisms (i.e., public hearings, surveys, focus groups) for capturing a range of public perspectives on budget matters.
- Hold legislative hearings on the budgets of specific ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as on audit reports, at which testimony from the public is heard.
- Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist the supreme audit institution to formulate its audit program and participate in audit investigations.
Improving Oversight
Timor-Leste should prioritize the following actions to strengthen budget oversight:
- Ensure the Executive’s Budget Proposal is approved by legislators at least one month before the start of the budget year.
- In both law and practice, ensure the legislature is consulted prior to the virement of funds in the Enacted Budget and the spending of contingency funds that were not identified in the Enacted Budget.