Dili, June 26, 2025 (Média Democracia) – The Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion (MSSI), in collaboration with the National Commercial Bank of Timor-Leste (BNCTL), held a press conference regarding the first phase of payment for the 2025 Conditional Bolsa da Mãe Program. The conference took place at the MSSI Central Office in Caicoli, Dili, this Tuesday.
Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Veronica das Dores, stated that the Conditional Bolsa da Mãe Program is a government initiative that has been implemented since 2008, based on Decree-Law No. 18/2012 of April 4.
“This Decree-Law was amended in January 2024 through Decree-Law No. 1/2024 of January 3, which made changes to the budget amounts allocated to student beneficiaries, particularly in Articles 10 and 11 of the previous law.” said Minister Veronica das Dores.
The Minister explained that monthly subsidies for student beneficiaries are distributed as follows, for students in Basic Education, Cycle I and II is $8.00 per month, for students in Basic Education, Cycle III is $9.00 per month, for students in General Secondary and Technical-Vocational Education is $10.00 per month, and for students with disabilities will receive an additional $5.00 per month.
On June 24, 2025, MSSI approved the list of eligible beneficiaries for the first phase payment, which will be carried out during July 2025. Based on the 2025 budget, MSSI has allocated a total of $7,000,080.00 USD for the Conditional Bolsa da Mãe Program.
“From this amount, MSSI will disburse $4,199,708.00 USD in the first phase of payments, targeting 40,279 beneficiaries,” said Minister Veronica.
She detailed the classification of beneficiaries for this first phase by education level such as in Basic Education Cycle I and II with 20,178 beneficiaries, total budget $1,952,866.00, in Basic Education Cycle III with 14,994 beneficiaries, total budget $1,629,864.00, in General Secondary and Technical-Vocational Education with 5,107 beneficiaries, total budget $616,978.00
Families who do not receive payment in July, either due to missing names or other issues, are encouraged to submit a complaint to MSSI. This will allow adjustments to be made for the second phase of payments, which will take place in the final trimester of 2025.
Additionally, the Minister announced that beginning July 1, 2025, MSSI will begin new registrations for tutors and student beneficiaries throughout Timor-Leste. The second phase payments for these new registrants will be included in the final trimester of 2025.
Reported by: Nelfiano
Photo by: Nelfiano