GFFTL and partners conducted a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene National Dialogue in the Municipal Level

This municipal-level WASH workshop was organized by GFFTL, HAK Association, and PN-BESI-TL with the support from WaterAid Timor-Leste titled “Efforts for Integrated Investment Plan and Advocacy for improved municipal inclusive and resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems” to the WASH Stakeholders in Baucau municipality.

Chief of Cabinet, Ms. Cesaltina M. J. do Rego as the representative of the President of Municipal Authority officially opened the WASH municipal-level workshop. Mana Esmenia Laura Ximenes as the Executive Director of GFFTL in her opening intervention stated that the objective of this dialogue was to share the information with the local authorities as water, sanitation, and hygiene is the basic human rights and therefore strengthening policies and strategies highly needed to improve and develop WASH sector in municipal level.

At this occasion, the Executive Director of GFFTL added that everyone’s access to clean, safe, adequate, and inclusive water, sanitation, and hygiene is an element of the development of Timor-Leste. “Our Government has approved the National Development Strategic Plan 2011-2030 aiming to achieve the sustainable development objective that all the population within the territory have access to adequate and inclusive clean water, sanitation, and hygiene sector”. She added that “Our role is important in controlling and promoting all citizens’ participation on alerting that clean water, sanitation, and hygiene is important and inevitable to every citizen’s life to ensure Government’s efficient works on ensuring the sustainable implementation”.

At the same place, Chief of Cabinet, Ms. Cesaltina M. J. do Rego, representing the President of Baucau Authority said on her intervention “This workshop is highly interesting as it covers the discussion around water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) that is crucial to everyone’s life and also Liquiçá and Manufahi municipalities’ presence here to share their good lessons learned to Baucau”. Lessons taken from Manufahi and Liquiçá municipalities are the good results achieved to be implemented in Baucau even though there are some challenges as these three municipalities have different contexts. Additionally, best practices that participants could take were through the standing banners, pamphlets, and presentations particularly the Chiefs of Villages, Director of SMASA Baucau, and PNTL could take as reference to their roles and services to be implemented in Baucau municipality specifically in utilizing tools and/or indicators to facilitates discussion process and evaluation to Community Score Card (CSC) that will helps implement CSC process following each system established in Baucau. It aims to rehabilitate and improve adequate and inclusive water supply and distribution to the community using the shared CSC tools and indicators. At the closing session, the representative of the President of the Authority of Baucau conveyed that this type of workshop needs to the held again in the future as a refresher to participants and a group of service delivery in implementing adequate WASH program responding to the community’s needs.  

This activity was participated by the President of the Authority of Liquiçá Municipality, the Directors of municipal works of Baucau, Liquiçá, and Manufahi, the territorial delegation, PNTL, representative of Baucau veterans, development partners, WaterAid Timor-Leste, HAK Association, PN-BESI-TL, NGOs in Baucau municipality, Administrator of Post Administrative, staffs, chiefs of villages, Water User Group, and community.    

This activity is supported by the Australian Government through Water for Women and implemented by WaterAid Timor-Leste and its implementing partners PNBESITL, GFFTL and HAK Association.