Fiscal Policy for Improved Service Delivery (ADB-49176-001)

Countries
  • Timor-Leste
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Nation wide
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Active
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jun 17, 2016
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Timor-Leste
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Law and Government
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 0.75 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 0.75 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Jun 26, 2020

Disclosed by Bank Sep 28, 2016

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

Timor-Leste is one of the most petroleum-dependent economies in the world. With petroleum revenues declining rapidly, fiscal reforms are needed to improve service delivery and prevent the rapid depletion of the country’s sovereign wealth fund. Public expenditure can be rationalized and domestic revenue collection improved, but the government’s capacity to design and implement complex reforms is limited. Technical assistance (TA) is needed to support successful reforms and mitigate the risk of negative impacts on poor and vulnerable groups.

Since 2015 when the Government of Timor-Leste’s Fiscal Reform Commission (FRC) was established, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been providing it with TA support. During 2015–2016 ADB used regional TA programs to (i) support the design of a new valueadded tax (VAT), (ii) provide specialist inputs to support the drafting of VAT legislation and designing of a new tax administration, and (iii) share regional experiences on the role that stateowned enterprises (SOEs) and autonomous public agencies (APAs) play in public service delivery.

The government has asked ADB to continue supporting the fiscal reform program. Initial consultations identified the strengthening of policy and legal frameworks for SOEs and APAs and the building of government capacity for evidence-based fiscal policy as priorities for ADB assistance. ADB fielded a fact-finding mission from 19 February to 4 March to consult formally with the government and other stakeholders. During this mission, ADB and the government reached an agreement on the impact, outcome, outputs, implementation arrangements, cost, financing arrangements, and terms of reference for the TA, which is closely aligned with the expected strategic directions of a new ADB country partnership strategy for Timor-Leste. The TA is included in ADB’s country operations and business plan, 2016–2018 for Timor-Leste and is closely aligned with ADB’s upcoming country knowledge plan for Timor-Leste.

Output 1: The team leader for this output has been recruited and a baseline assessment, scoping mission, and work plan for the non-tax revenue reforms has been completed. Other activities under output 1 are yet to commence.

Output 2: The economics training specialist has been mobilized and staff from MOF and other ministries have been receiving regular training and capacity building support. Other activities under output 2 are yet to commence.

 

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Ministry of Finance
Government Building 5, Palacio do Governo, Avenida Presidente, Nicolau Lobato, Dili

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB
The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main

How it works

How it works