DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

2011 REPORT TO CONGRESS

Section 129 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, authorizes the 

establishment of a Department of the Treasury program to provide technical assistance to 

governments and central banks of developing or transitional countries. This legislation 

also requires Treasury to prepare and submit this report on the conduct of the Treasury 

International Affairs Technical Assistance (TIATA) program by Treasury’s Office of 

Technical Assistance (OTA).
TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction 1

II. Mission and Background 3

III. Program Management and Funding 4

IV. Project Identification and Selection 5

V. Project Structure 6

VI. Country Achievements 7

VII. Key Foreign Policy Priorities 9

A. Afghanistan 9

B. Haiti 11

C. East African Community Financial Integration 13

VIII. Global Initiatives: Spotlight on Cash Management 14

IX. 2011 Program Evaluation 15

Annex 1: Strategic Plan 2011-2015 16

Table A - 2011 Budget Execution Plan 18

Table B - 2011 Non-TIATA Sources of Funding 23
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I. Introduction

Supporting Sound Public Financial Management in Developing Countries 

OTA assists developing countries in the pursuit of efficient revenue collection, wellplanned and executed budgets, judicious debt management, sound banking systems, and 

strong controls to combat corruption and other economic crimes. Its advisors work sideby-side with colleagues in central banks and finance ministries to train staff, implement 

sound and efficient standard procedures, and collect and analyze management 

information to improve public financial management.

Among assistance providers, OTA is frequently praised for its expertise and for providing 

assistance in a spirit of partnership and long-term effectiveness. The recent report by 

Oxfam (excerpted above) cited OTA as particularly effective in fostering institutional 

development in its partner countries. This recognition by Oxfam builds on similar 

findings in a 2011 report commissioned by the Department of State and USAID, which 

identified OTA as one of two U.S. Government agencies whose policies are specifically 

aligned with the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness—managing for 

results, mutual accountability, and country ownership. 

To maintain the program’s focus on results and accountability, every year OTA utilizes a 

pair of data gathering instruments to help us assess the effectiveness of OTA 

engagements: a “customer” survey of institutions receiving Treasury technical assistance, 

and a formal self-assessment of each project’s progress by OTA advisors and 

management. Taken together, these instruments confirmed that program progress was on 

track and that performance goals were met or exceeded in 2011. Furthermore, OTA 

continues to be an active participant in U.S. and international efforts to improve the 

effectiveness and transparency of foreign assistance. For example, OTA is working with 

the Department of State and USAID to contribute budget and program data to the newly-

“Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) prides itself on demand-driven 

assistance that’s based on partnership. In Chad, OTA ... worked with civil society 

and other members of the Petroleum Revenue Oversight and Control Committee. 

The work of the advisor included developing a manual on reviewing public 

expenditures to be funded by oil revenues. No other donor provided this targeted, 

timely, and technical support. In Liberia, OTA helped the Ministry of Finance and 

Central Bank establish an electronic link that eliminated reliance on easily forged 

paper receipts and provided for electronic cross-checks between accounts. This 

reduced the potential for fraud and offered taxpayers a one-stop tax preparation and 

payment option.”

- The politics of partnership: How donors manage risk while 

letting recipients lead their own development, Oxfam America 

(December 2011) 
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created Foreign Assistance Dashboard, which was established in response to the Paris 

Declaration and the President’s Open Government Initiative.

In 2011, a number of OTA’s partner governments achieved significant accomplishments. 

For example, Bosnia and Kosovo issued government securities through a competitive, 

market-based format for the first time, the culmination of several years of OTA 

engagement. In Bosnia, the funds raised by the securities issuance will be used to pay off 

obligations to citizens relating to frozen currency accounts from the Yugoslav era, 

resulting in no net increase in the debt burden of the country. OTA had worked closely 

with both of these countries to craft laws and regulations, to develop the skills of 

personnel to analyze governmental cash needs, and to create a predictable and orderly 

issuance calendar. 

In Liberia, OTA provided expertise to the Department of Revenue, which is engaging in a 

major effort to crack down on corruption and improve its public image. The Department 

developed a code of conduct and provided training on anti-corruption issues for all 

employees. On the enforcement side, the Department established an internal 

investigation unit that, in a little more than a year, developed procedures, closed 32 cases,

and recovered $76,000 in revenue.

Another significant area of operation for OTA is the creation and strengthening of 

financial intelligence and investigation units aimed at preventing and prosecuting money 

laundering and terrorist financing. Action by these OTA-trained units in Guatemala 

resulted in $6 million in criminally acquired assets being seized by the government. In 

Haiti, forfeitures of criminally-acquired assets reached $38 million over the past four 

years of operation. Many such cases require international cooperation and information 

exchange, a necessity given the transnational nature of these types of financial crime. 

International cooperation from the Haitian financial intelligence and financial crimes 

investigation units resulted in a Florida federal court handing down a 15-year sentence 

for bribery against a corporate president, the longest sentence ever imposed in a case 

involving the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A discussion of these and other 

achievements is included in sections VI and VII of this report.

OTA continued to support U.S. Government priorities in creating stable and transparent 

public financial management in Afghanistan. As described in section VII, security 

conditions at times limited OTA’s ability to deliver technical assistance, which requires 

advisors to operate in close contact with host government officials. Despite this 

challenge, progress was made. For example, the Afghan Government was able to make 

significant strides in its ability to conduct ministry-level audits of revenue processes and 

in creating the framework for central-provincial cooperation in the development of a 

national budget. In East Africa, OTA supports the U.S. foreign policy goal of fostering 

regional financial integration by providing high-level policy advice on three main issues: 

developing a cross-border, low cost payment system that complies with both best 

practices and regulatory requirements; harmonizing deposit insurance schemes; and 

bringing banking services to a wider audience through mobile payments technology.
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Finally, one of OTA’s global initiatives—cash management—is highlighted in section 

VIII of this report. The cash management project enables governments to harness 

modern banking technology to monitor their financial needs, and swiftly and efficiently 

concentrate and allocate funds to meet their financial and budgetary obligations.

II. Mission and Background

Effective financial management is a core element of a functioning state. It fosters 

economic growth and enables a government to provide better services for its citizens. 

For 20 years, OTA has helped finance ministries and central banks of developing 

countries to strengthen their capacity to manage public finances.

OTA operates through five major disciplines:

 Revenue Administration and Policy: Creates more effective tax administrations 

that simplify procedures to encourage voluntary compliance on the part of taxpayers, 

effectively uncover tax evasion, and maintain high standards of fairness and 

transparency.

 Budget and Financial Accountability: Strengthens the effectiveness of ministries 

of finance, the readability and transparency of budget documents, and the 

management and expenditure of government resources.

 Government Debt Issuance and Management: Provides strategic and technical 

assistance to develop market-based means of public finance through the issuance of 

domestic government securities; increases the efficiency of government debt 

management; and implements comprehensive debt strategies that diversify sources of 

finance, reduce liability risk and lower debt service burdens.

 Banking and Financial Services: Supports the development of strong financial 

sectors in which institutions are well-regulated, stable and accessible, serve as 

efficient intermediaries between savers and investors, and are resistant to criminal 

activity.

 Economic Crimes: Assists the development and implementation of anti-money 

laundering and counter terrorist financing regimes that are compliant with 

international standards.

In providing technical assistance, OTA follows a number of guiding principles:

 OTA supports self-reliance. OTA provides countries with the knowledge and skills 

required to move towards financial self-sufficiency—including the capability to 

generate and better manage their own government finances—and reduce dependence 

on international aid. OTA generally follows a three- to five-year project cycle that is 

aimed at creating maximum impact and exiting when local capacity has been created. 

 OTA is selective. OTA works with governments that are committed to reform—

reform that they design and own—and to using U.S. assistance effectively. Among 

U.S. agencies involved in foreign aid, OTA was singled out for praise in a report 

commissioned by the Department of State and USAID for supporting country 

ownership; achieving alignment with host country priorities; managing for 

development results; and fostering mutual accountability with host country officials. 

OTA does not engage with a country without a signed bilateral Terms of Reference 
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on the high-level terms and aims of the engagement, followed by a tactical-level work

plan specifying activities in support of those aims.

 OTA works side-by-side with counterparts. OTA engagements are based on close 

interaction between advisors and working-level partners, whether in a finance 

ministry, central bank, financial intelligence unit, tax administration, or other relevant 

government agency. Building capacity is not a matter of presenting theory and ideas, 

but introducing sound practices in daily work routines through ongoing mentoring 

and on-the-job training.

III. Program Management and Funding

As of the end of 2011, OTA had 103 projects in 49 countries. Twenty-eight percent of 

OTA’s total projects in 2011 were in Asia, 26 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa, 22 percent

in the Americas, 12 percent in the Middle East and North Africa, and 12 percent in 

Europe and Eurasia. While the specific number of projects and countries fluctuates from 

year to year, OTA has focused on providing more robust assistance to a fewer number of 

countries. This approach recognizes the systemic nature of public financial management 

and the importance of engaging with a counterpart government in various disciplines—

tax administration, budget execution, debt management, financial sector supervision, and 

anti-corruption—simultaneously and in a coordinated way to achieve a stronger overall 

system.

Funding for OTA projects in 2011 totaled $44.6 million. Seventy-seven of these projects, 

with a combined budget of $31.013 million, were financed either wholly or partly by 

OTA’s direct annual appropriation, formally known as “Treasury International Affairs

Technical Assistance” or TIATA. 

As the chart below indicates, TIATA is the single largest resource available to OTA for 

pursuing its mission. In addition to TIATA funding, OTA receives resources from the 

Department of State via Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia (AEECA). 

AEECA resources, however, have declined significantly over the last decade and have 

remained at a relatively low level in recent years as the countries in these regions have 

become more self-sufficient and U.S. Government technical assistance less needed. 
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Notes

1. FY08 funds for AEECA engagements not received by OTA from State until FY09.

2. FY10 TIATA figures include a $7.1 million supplemental appropriation for assistance to Haiti.

3. FY10 figures include $9.5 million in one-time supplemental Financial Crisis Rapid Response funding received by 

 OTA from USAID to assist countries impacted by the global financial crisis.

4. Component amounts may not add up to or exceed total amounts due to rounding.

OTA also receives funding through occasional supplemental appropriations. In some 

cases, such as OTA’s work in Iraq and Afghanistan, supplemental funds are transferred to 

OTA from USAID and Department of State. In other cases, supplemental funds may be 

appropriated directly to OTA, such as the 2010 supplemental TIATA appropriation ($7.1 

million), which was part of the U.S. Government’s post-earthquake assistance package 

for the Government of Haiti. Tables A and B at the end of this report provide additional 

data on OTA funding sources in 2011.

TIATA funding can sometimes be used to co-fund projects with USAID, the Department 

of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), and other 

entities, though as Table A shows, this is relatively infrequent.

IV. Project Identification and Selection

Requests for technical assistance and information regarding potential projects come from 

many sources, including U.S. embassies, USAID missions, other Department of the 

Treasury offices, foreign governments, international organizations such as the 

International Monetary Fund (IMF), and from OTA advisors already on the ground 

implementing other projects. 
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For promising requests that are determined to be within the OTA mandate, an on-theground assessment is carried out by subject matter experts. Assessment results are shared 

with the partner government and the embassy. Indeed, OTA looks to its host-country 

counterparts to define project goals in the first instance. In our experience, goals and 

objectives that are not “owned” by the counterpart are seldom achieved. 

A project proposal based on the assessment is submitted by the manager of one of OTA’s 

five core disciplines as part of an annual policy-level review. Decisions to begin new 

projects, or continue or terminate existing projects, are based on a number of criteria and 

considerations. They include the need for technical assistance; evidence of counterpart 

commitment to reform and good use of assistance; whether the project would 

complement other projects in a particular country or region; the relation of the project to 

Treasury policy priorities and broader U.S. Government goals; and the availability of 

funding. In the course of assessing the prospects for a given project, OTA consults with 

other Treasury offices, and other partners and stakeholders such as the Department of 

State and USAID (both in the field, at the embassy level and at the headquarters level in 

Washington), the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.

The final results of the project selection process are displayed at the end of this report in 

Table A, 2011 Budget Execution Plan.

V. Project Structure

OTA carries out technical assistance through two basic delivery models: resident advisorbased and intermittent advisor-based. A resident project is anchored by an expert advisor 

living in the counterpart country, typically for a period of several years, and working 

side-by-side with officials in the ministry of finance, central bank, tax administration 

authority or other government institution. Our experience has been that working directly 

with the counterpart over a sustained period of time is critical for transferring knowledge 

and strengthening systems, especially in countries where government capacity is very 

limited. A resident project frequently includes, in addition to a resident advisor, the 

participation of experts in specialized areas who make short-term visits. 

For an intermittent project, a group of advisors typically spends a total of 30 to 45 weeks 

per year over several years, in periods of two to three weeks at a time, working with hostcountry counterparts. Between these multi-week direct engagements, the counterparts are 

expected to carry out planned activities that are directed toward the objectives stated in a 

mutually-agreed-upon work plan. Between trips, advisors and counterparts are in 

frequent contact by email and phone. OTA often hires a permanent, full-time program 

assistant in-country to support the intermittent project.

Whether a resident or intermittent project model is selected depends on the extent and 

nature of the problems to be solved, and the best and most practical solutions to those 

problems. Typically a resident advisor will be utilized to cover a single, large subject

area such as program budgeting or debt management, which will require several years to 
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complete. An intermittent advisor-based project will use several advisors to cover a 

multitude of specialized assistance topics such as audits, arrears collection and strategic 

planning in tax administration, or financial crime investigation techniques and antimoney laundering regulations. 

Once a resident or intermittent project is selected for funding, Terms of Reference (TOR) 

are worked out with the counterpart agency and signed. The TOR describe the broad 

goals of the project and represent a bilateral understanding at the policy level between the 

U.S. Treasury and the host institution. Within a short period (normally six to eight 

weeks) after signing the TOR, a detailed work plan is agreed upon between the advisor 

assigned to the project and the working-level counterpart. This plan specifies objectives 

and planned completion dates, and is the primary basis for regular monthly progress 

reports to Treasury headquarters. 

The monthly reports are shared with counterpart institutions, U.S. Embassy staff, other 

bureaus and offices in Treasury, and other interested partners such as USAID, the 

Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the relevant International Financial 

Institutions (IFIs). The reports are used as a management tool to oversee the progress of 

the project and to make any necessary changes. The reports also form the information 

base for responses to project queries from U.S. Government officials. In addition,

supervising officials conduct field visits to meet counterparts and advisors, and review 

the project’s progress, generally on an annual basis. 

OTA covers the cost of advisor salary, travel and personal support, and pays for office 

equipment and a local program assistant. The host institution must provide office space 

for the advisor in its own headquarters building and adequate phone and internet 

communications. 

OTA’s small administrative staff in Washington, D.C. is focused on supporting projects 

in the field—arranging travel, contracting, pay and personnel administration, and 

providing project oversight and program management. 

VI. Country Achievements

In 2011, OTA partner countries made significant achievements across all five areas of 

public financial management and financial sector strengthening in which OTA is 

involved. Notable accomplishments include the following:

Revenue Administration and Policy

Liberia Cracks Down on Corruption. In Liberia, OTA supported the Department of 

Revenue’s effort to crack down on corruption and repair its public image. With OTA’s 

help, the tax administration developed a code of conduct and provided ethics training for 

all employees. Tax enforcement officials founded an internal investigation unit that, in a 

little over a year, developed operating procedures, expanded staff, closed 32 cases, and 
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recovered $76,000 in revenue—a small amount by some standards, but consequential as 

part of the broader reform.

Budget and Financial Accountability

Burkina Faso Creates Revenue Forecasting Model. Forecasting revenue accurately is 

the essential foundation upon which to build a credible resource allocation and budgeting 

process. To improve revenue forecasting in Burkina Faso, OTA assisted the Directorate 

of Research and Planning in developing new revenue estimating software programs 

(models); training staff on use and maintenance of the model; and producing an accurate 

and credible revenue estimate for the Government of Burkina Faso’s 2012 budget. The 

Ministry of Finance is now using the estimates from this model in its budget formulation 

process, and it is fully maintained and operated by Directorate staff. 

Government Debt Issuance and Management

Bosnia and Kosovo Issue Government Securities. Bosnia and Kosovo issued 

government securities on a competitive basis for the first time, the culmination of several 

years of technical assistance. OTA worked with these countries to craft laws and 

regulations, develop the skills of personnel to analyze governmental cash needs, and 

create a predictable and orderly issuance calendar. In Bosnia, the funds will be used to 

pay off obligations to citizens relating to frozen currency accounts from the Yugoslav era, 

resulting in no net increase in the debt burden of the country. Approximately 90% of the 

issuance was purchased by the banking sector, insurance companies and investment 

funds, and it provided a much needed boost to the Sarajevo Stock Exchange, where the 

bills are traded. In Kosovo, the government’s fiscal needs center on the fact that it has 

limited access to international capital markets. The country is seeking funding to support 

its infrastructure program, and other domestic spending.

Banking and Financial Services

Vietnam Modernizes Banking Legislation. OTA supported the Ministry of Finance, 

the State Bank, and the National Assembly in the preparation of modernized legislation 

covering deposit insurance, credit institutions, and the State Bank itself. OTA provided 

the drafters of the law with a better understanding of the various types of deposit 

insurance schemes, and accompanied members of the parliamentary Economic 

Committee when these laws were discussed with members of the assembly in Hanoi, Da 

Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as with foreign bankers. In the end, the Economic 

Committee adopted several of OTA’s recommendations into the final laws, such as 

creating provisions for information sharing with foreign bank regulatory agencies to 

facilitate the licensing and supervision of foreign banks in Vietnam, and establishing 

procedures for the resolution of problem banks. 
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Economic Crimes

Guatemala Seizes Criminal Assets. Following the entry into force in June 2011 of a 

landmark law allowing the seizure of criminally-acquired assets, OTA has been 

mentoring Guatemala’s developing asset forfeiture unit and training judges to oversee 

such proceedings. Twelve asset forfeiture matters arising from cases of extortion, 

corruption of city, state and federal officials, drug trafficking, wire transfers, and tax 

evasion have been adjudicated with more than $6 million forfeited to the government. 

OTA has also been instrumental in brokering cooperation between the asset forfeiture 

unit and U.S. law enforcement agencies such as the DEA, Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Office of Foreign Asset Control. 

Lesotho Convicts Tax Evader. In August 2011, a wealthy furniture magnate and his 

son pled guilty to dozens of counts of tax evasion, facing fines and back taxes amounting 

to $872,000. This successful prosecution was the capstone to an OTA effort to upgrade 

the investigative capability of the local revenue administration. OTA worked in 2008 and 

2009 to create an organizational structure, position descriptions, and standard operating 

procedures for the investigative unit. While the origins of the long-running case predated 

the arrival of OTA, the advisor provided considerable guidance on the pursuit of the 

investigation as it unfolded, as well as on prioritizing other cases for criminal 

prosecution.

VII. Key Foreign Policy Priorities

OTA is an integral part of U.S. Government efforts to assist countries or regions in 

transition or recovering from war and natural disasters. This section covers projects in 

Afghanistan, Haiti, and East Africa aimed at assisting these countries to establish and 

strengthen their capacity to manage public finances and build secure financial sectors.

A. Afghanistan

OTA’s work is a small but important part of the broader effort to strengthen the 

effectiveness of Afghan government institutions in support of transition to Afghan selfreliance. Treasury technical assistance aims to help Afghan authorities increase 

collection of non-tax revenues, conduct internal audits of key government ministries, 

strengthen budget connections between the center and provinces, and build capacity to 

investigate economic crimes. Despite a difficult security environment, our collaboration 

with Afghan counterparts has shown results in some areas, notably internal audit, non-tax 

revenue, budget, and debt management. 

Internal Audit

OTA began this project in late 2010 by helping the internal audit unit at Afghanistan’s 

Ministry of Finance (MoF) design an organizational structure and strategy, and then 

providing training on conducting audits and writing effective reports. Since then, steady 

progress has been made in the development at the ministry level of the internal audit 
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function, which reviews revenue collection processes, and makes suggestions for 

improving controls and streamlining processes. The audits have served as the basis for 

recommendations to Afghan ministries. For example, one audit recommended that the 

Ministry of Agriculture should eliminate the requirement that minister approval be 

obtained before monthly revenues are deposited in the central bank. Another audit 

recommended that the Ministry of Mines needs to review payment schedules of 

contractors and seek penalties for late payments. 

In 2011, audits were completed in four ministries and an additional five audits were 

started, following four completed audits in 2010. A total of 16 initial audits are 

scheduled to be completed in 2012, which means that all ministries will have undergone 

the process. More importantly, the first four ministries audited in 2010 had follow-ups in 

early 2012 to review the progress of implementation of the recommendations. Two of 

these ministries were found to have made significant progress in improving revenue 

processes. To maintain progress, the Ministry of Finance needs to continue to follow up 

with ministries on implementing the recommendations. 

Non-Tax Revenue

OTA is also partnering with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to streamline

revenue collection at Afghanistan’s four major airports. A new fee structure for airport 

usage was approved by the Ministry of Transportation and published on its website, along 

with a notice announcing the end of cash payments for airport services effective January 

15, 2012. With the posting of these fees, there is now uniformity and transparency, with

a noticeable increase in revenue expected in the coming year. In addition, the notice 

included a statement to clarify that there are no other fees that apply for civil aviation. 

Many airports were charging local and provincial “taxes,” which were thinly disguised 

bribe payments for the airport managers. Afghanistan’s airports desperately need to 

prevent revenue leakage in order to maintain their infrastructure and eventually to 

provide for security, which so far has been funded by the United Arab Emirates.

Budget 

OTA’s resident advisors are working with their Afghan counterparts in two main areas: 

treasury operations, and strengthening the links between provinces and the central 

government in the formulation of the national budget. 

In the treasury operations area, OTA’s efforts are focused on providing strategic-level 

advice to the Director General of the Treasury on strengthening public financial 

management, developing a banking services request for proposals, improving financial 

reporting, developing procedures for budget execution monitoring, and reviewing actual 

expenditures against budget allocations.

In the budget area, OTA, the Ministry of Finance, and the Independent Directorate of 

Local Governance are partnering to develop an effective and transparent system that 

allows provinces to participate in the creation of a national budget. Traditionally, budget 

formulation in Afghanistan has been a “top-down” process in which provinces have little 

capacity or opportunity to provide input. In this pilot project, OTA is working with five 
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central ministries and their provincial directorates to foster more “bottom-up” 

participation in the budget formulation process. As of the end of 2011, out of the 170 

provincial entities (five ministry branches in each of 34 provinces), 168 had submitted 

budget requests and justifications. This outcome far surpassed the Ministry of Finance’s 

expectations. 

Financial Crimes Investigation

In the financial crimes investigation area, OTA’s efforts have been part of the 

multinational Major Crimes Task Force (MCTF). MCTF advisors, including those from 

the FBI, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, and other international partners, 

mentor and train Afghan law enforcement on high-level investigations of kidnapping, 

corruption, and organized crime. OTA’s resident economic crimes advisor has worked 

with Afghan counterparts through the MCTF to build the capacity of local investigators 

to conduct investigations of economic crime and corruption. With OTA assistance, 

MCTF authorities have developed processes for identifying, investigating, and applying 

financial investigative techniques against narcotics trafficking, organized crime, public 

corruption, and smuggling. Despite a very difficult environment for prosecuting major 

crimes, OTA assistance has contributed to some progress. For example, MCTF 

authorities successfully conducted an investigation into counterfeiting U.S. currency that 

resulted in recovery of counterfeit bills and led to a number of arrests. MCTF also 

initiated several corruption/financial crimes investigations of high-level targets. 

Debt Management

OTA’s intermittent-based government debt project provides support on debt matters, 

focusing on debt forgiveness, debt management process issues, strategy, and 

organization. Currently the advisor is working closely with authorities in obtaining 

additional debt relief from various “old” creditors, the largest of which holds $950 

million in Afghan government debt. 

B. Haiti

As part of the broader U.S. Government and international response to Haiti’s earthquake, 

OTA focused in 2011 on broadening and strengthening its existing support in the areas of 

economic crimes and tax administration, offering additional assistance in insurance. 

Progress has been slowed by delays in forming Haiti’s first government under President 

Martelly, and again in early 2012 by the formation of a new government. 

Economic Crimes 

Cooperation from the Haitian financial intelligence and financial crimes investigation 

units trained by OTA resulted in a Florida federal court handing down to a businessman 

a 15-year sentence for bribery. This is the longest sentence ever imposed in a case 

involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As a result of this cooperation, the former 

president of Terra Telecommunications Corp. was sentenced in August for his role in a 

scheme to pay bribes to officials at Haiti Teleco, a state-owned telecommunications 

company. According to evidence presented at trial, the bribes were intended to obtain 

preferred telecommunications rates, reductions in the number of minutes for which 
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payment was owed, and the continuance of Terra’s telecommunications connection with 

Haiti. OTA has been developing the ability of the financial intelligence and financial 

crimes investigation units to collect and analyze suspicious transaction reports from 

banks and other entities, and in turn to send and receive data and analysis from authorities 

in other countries, a necessity given the transnational nature of this type of financial 

crime. 

In another ongoing example of international cooperation, Haiti has now seized $38 

million in criminally-acquired assets stemming from both overseas and domestic court 

cases over the past four years. Under Haitian law, assets belonging to convicted drug 

traffickers are subject to confiscation. OTA has trained the economic crimes unit of the 

Haitian National Police in conducting financial investigations and tracing assets. OTA 

has also provided assistance to another Haitian government unit that is responsible for the 

management of the seized assets. Once a confiscation order is entered, the assets are 

either sold or turned over to the government of Haiti for public use. Proceeds from the 

sale of seized assets are used to fund law enforcement activities, while several 

confiscated properties are being used by Haitian government agencies because of damage 

sustained to their own buildings during the earthquake. 

Tax Administration

In Haiti’s tax administration, the internal control department has existed for some time 

but has been moribund, focusing on mundane issues such as monitoring whether 

employees show up on time. The Director General has asked for OTA assistance in 

making the unit live up to its promise by focusing on more important performance 

standards and improving procedures to minimize opportunities for corruption. 

In the last quarter of 2011, the unit completed the first audit of the department, which is 

responsible for direct contact with taxpayers, accepting payments and processing 

declarations. The audit obtained baseline data on the time it takes taxpayers to complete 

certain transactions and gave the auditors experience that will make future classroom 

training more relevant. OTA will work on improving the unit’s report writing abilities, 

creating specific benchmarks for tax administration performance, and creating procedures 

for follow-ups on the recommendations. The unit also began planning the next audit of 

the unit responsible for procurement. 

Insurance

In the financial sector, OTA consulted with the Haitian Government on options for 

helping the insurance industry recover and fulfill its role as a cornerstone of financial and 

economic development. Haiti’s insurance industry today comprises only a handful of 

small companies operating with local capital and local know-how. It is largely 

undeveloped by international standards, and is essentially unregulated and unsupervised. 

Even basic insurance company financial statements are unavailable to the Ministry of 

Finance. 

Insurance companies estimated their earthquake losses at $40–60 million. Three 

companies maintained that they were unable to fully cover these losses with their own 
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reserves, leaving policyholders in the lurch. As a critical first step, in March 2011, OTA 

experts examined the balance sheets of these firms, and quantified the extent of unpaid 

losses at $28 million. Following this baseline estimate, OTA provided a matrix of policy 

options for the Government of Haiti to consider in placing the insurance industry on 

sounder footing. 

C. East African Community (EAC) Financial Integration

OTA is at the forefront of U.S. Government efforts to support members of the East 

African Community in their desire to move towards financial integration. Now 

comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, the EAC was founded 12

years ago and has created for itself an ambitious agenda to achieve customs, monetary 

and, eventually, political union. 

OTA has projects in all member countries in a range of activities including revenue 

mobilization, banking supervision, infrastructure finance, and development of 

government securities markets. The shared focus and common technical assistance 

objective is on supporting the EAC Regional Financial Markets Development Plan and 

assisting each country’s efforts to attain standards related to monetary and economic 

reform, which have been earmarked as the EAC’s priority convergence criteria. The 

Plan’s central focus is the harmonization of policy structures and upgrading fiscal, 

monetary and debt management frameworks, infrastructure, institutions, and practices.

OTA is providing high-level policy advice on three main financial sector issues: 

developing a cross-border, scalable, and low cost payment system that complies with 

both best practices and regulatory requirements; harmonizing deposit insurance schemes 

that otherwise offer different amounts of consumer protection, costs of doing business, 

and competitive distortions; and bringing banking services to a wider audience through 

mobile payments technology.

In 2007, OTA first posted a resident regional advisor in Kenya to help develop an East 

Africa government securities market. The advisor also now assists in Burundi and 

Rwanda, helping the countries on a broad range of improvements to government 

securities markets and related infrastructures, debt sustainability, investor base, and interagency communication. Another advisor is assisting in building the capacity of a new 

secretariat within the Ministry of Finance to assist the national, as well as local 

government, in developing successful Public Private Partnerships to finance muchneeded infrastructure. 

In Uganda and Tanzania, advisors are providing assistance to help these governments 

meet the key goals of creating larger and more liquid bond issues, which are sold on a 

publicly-announced schedule, and expanding the list of potential buyers through 

development of both primary and secondary markets, leading to lower financing costs for 

the government. 
14

VIII. Global Initiatives: Spotlight on Cash Management

While most of its projects operate on a bilateral basis, OTA has several initiatives which 

operate globally. This section focuses on one of those initiatives -- cash management. 

Many developing countries suffer from decentralized control of their cash, with

government agencies operating in separate and distinct financial fiefdoms. The central 

government may not even know how many thousands of bank accounts have been 

opened by its component parts. 

As a result, the central treasury function may be borrowing to meet its disbursement 

needs while other agencies hold stockpiles of cash that are often underinvested. OTA’s 

cash management project enables governments to harness modern banking technology to 

monitor their financial needs, and swiftly and efficiently concentrate and allocate funds to 

meet their financial and budgetary obligations in a timely manner.

With OTA assistance, a government can improve the information flow to create a 

snapshot of its current funding needs, and enhance its cash forecasting skills. If there is a 

surplus, ideally excess funds will be invested in short term instruments. On the flip side, 

debt may be issued if it is found to be needed to compensate for a seasonal shortfall. This 

type of OTA assistance has been provided to a number of countries, including El 

Salvador, Ghana, Lesotho, and Moldova.

As with many other OTA projects, advisors are assisting in the creation and development 

of workgroups that can set overall policy, upgrading the technical skills of administrative 

personnel, and ensuring that policies and procedures are optimized and then documented.

This past year, OTA’s Cash Management team supported an interagency working group 

of members of the Philippines government on the development of purchase cards for 

military procurement. In the recent past, audits of the financial management of the armed 

forces uncovered numerous weaknesses. To address some of the issues, a taskforce of 

the military and the government audit and budget authorities issued a request for 

proposals to find a cashless purchase card provider. Upon implementation of this new 

program in 2012, it is anticipated that the detailed financial transactions can be posted to 

the internet as a way to make government more transparent. 

An important aspect of the cash management initiative is that it brings together a number 

of OTA’s functional teams in both formal and informal ways. Improving cash 

management will lead to efficiencies in the management of public debt. Improving the

capabilities of central banks’ payment systems and banking regulations will create 

environments where counterpart governments will be able to take advantage of new 

products in the financial sector. Likewise, improving tax collection systems will assist 

with the mobilization and concentration of cash that are critical to the execution of a 

government’s budget.
15

IX. 2011 Program Evaluation

In 2011, OTA completed the ninth year of its program evaluation process. As part of this 

process, OTA evaluates the level of “traction” (the degree to which changes in behavior

occur—e.g., officials take an active and participative role in pursuing change, interim 

deliverables are on or ahead of schedule), and “impact” (the extent to which the 

objectives are actually achieved) for each technical assistance project. The level of 

traction and impact is measured by OTA advisors and headquarters staff according to 

specific indicators that are relevant to each of the five OTA financial disciplines (budget, 

banking, debt, economic crimes, and revenue). Revenue team indicators, for example, 

include adoption of modern functional processes and procedures, and adequacy of 

investigation and adjudication of internal/conduct matters by the tax agency. 

OTA’s utilization of this program evaluation model continues to yield sound and 

encouraging results. The 2011 baseline targets for OTA’s traction and impact were set 

on a 5-point scale (with 5 representing the highest possible traction and impact) at 3.6, 

and 3.1 respectively. OTA was pleased that its performance goals were exceeded with 

actual scores of 3.7 for traction, and 3.2 for impact, which are consistent with the 

program’s historical averages. 

In 2009, a customer survey instrument was designed to collect information directly from 

country counterparts who have worked first-hand with OTA advisors. OTA teams use 

the surveys as an additional point of information on both project focus and customer 

perception of success. Results from these surveys continue to help OTA better 

understand challenges that its projects face around the globe. Results from the surveys 

have consistently supported the highly favorable praise that OTA has received 

anecdotally over the years. In 2011, all five OTA teams surveyed project counterparts in 

13 countries. Responses noted that in most cases expectations were exceeded and that 

major contributions had been made to strengthening institutional capacity and 

professional capacity of staff in the foreign counterpart organizations. 

OTA has worked over the past two years with the Department of State and USAID on 

developing the Foreign Assistance Dashboard, created in response to the principles of the 

Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the President’s Open Government Initiative. 

Both OTA and other U.S. Treasury Departmental Offices are providing program data to 

be used in the testing and development of the dashboard. This effort supports 

Congressional interests and initiatives such as the bi-partisan H.R. 3159—The Foreign 

Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2012.
16

Annex 1: OTA Strategic Plan

STRATEGIC PLAN 2011-2015

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

OFFICE OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Mission. The mission of the Treasury Department’s technical assistance program, 

managed by the Office of Technical Assistance (OTA), is to support the development of 

strong financial sectors and sound public financial management in countries where 

assistance is needed and there is a strong commitment to reform. 

OTA pursues this mission in support of the Treasury Department’s overall mission “to 

promote the conditions for prosperity and stability in the United States and encourage 

prosperity and stability in the rest of the world” as well as broader U.S. Government 

international objectives, such as increasing transparency and accountability, reducing 

corruption, and strengthening the development of market-based policies and practices.

Vision. OTA aims to build upon its reputation as a high-quality provider of financial 

sector technical assistance and policy advice. It intends to be recognized as the provider 

of choice wherever its multi-disciplinary assistance model best addresses country needs 

and U.S. Government objectives. 

The foundation of OTA’s program will continue to reside in five core disciplines—

Revenue Administration and Policy; Budget and Financial Accountability; Government 

Debt Issuance and Management; Banking and Financial Services; and Economic Crimes, 

complemented by the ability to support other aspects of financial sector strengthening.

Values 

 OTA will continue to place the highest priority on capacity building and 

developing country self-sufficiency.

 OTA exits countries when project objectives are accomplished or if country 

commitment to reform is not sustained.

 OTA program engagements are distinguished by flexibility, selectivity and 

responsiveness.

 OTA recognizes that its core strength lies in the dedication, adaptability and 

expertise of its advisors. 

Programmatic Goals

 Encourage depth of engagement and an integrated, multi-discipline approach. 

Where circumstances warrant, deeper, stronger, more comprehensive 

engagements may improve the prospects for material impact. 

 Encourage an approach that targets geographic regions and common financial or 

economic problems. Look for opportunities to place advisors in countries with 

common needs by virtue of location, financial structure (e.g. significant 

dependence upon donor revenue), or dislocations (e.g. highly affected by 

extractive industry income). 
17

 Provide specialized multi-discipline programs and rapid response teams to 

support key U.S. Government priorities.

 Recruit, retain and support a cadre of advisors that manifests OTA’s tradition of 

excellence. 

 Continue to strengthen OTA coordination within Treasury and with other parts of 

the U.S. Government. 

 Enhance awareness of Treasury’s technical assistance program.

 Ensure that OTA’s management systems fully support the achievement of our 

mission.
18

Table A

2011 Budget Execution Plan

Projects Funded By FY 2011 Treasury International Affairs Technical Assistance (TIATA) Appropriation

Team Advisor Category

CoFinancing TIATA Total 

LATIN AMERICA AND CARRIBBEAN

1 Colombia TAX

Project Coordinator + 

Intermittents $ - $ 439,840 $ 439,840 

2 Costa Rica ENF Resident $ - $ 454,916 $ 454,916 

3 Costa Rica GDIM Resident $ - $ 123,611 $ 123,611 

4 Dominican Republic BUD Resident $ - $ 86,982 $ 86,982 

5 Dominican Republic GDIM Resident $ - $ 550,322 $ 550,322 

6 Ecuador TAX

Project Coordinator + 

Intermittents $ - $ 391,183 $ 391,183 

7 El Salvador FIT Resident $ - $ 104,050 $ 104,050 

8 El Salvador GDIM Resident $ - $ 508,354 $ 508,354 

9 Guatemala BUD Resident $ - $ 609,300 $ 609,300 

10 Guatemala ENF Resident/Intermittent $ - $ 497,999 $ 497,999 

11 Guatemala GDIM Resident $ - $ 561,327 $ 561,327 

12 Guatemala TAX

Project Coordinator + 

Intermittents $ - $ 511,426 $ 511,426 

13 Honduras BUD Resident $ - $ 509,535 $ 509,535 

14 Honduras ENF Resident/Intermittent $ - $ 644,300 $ 644,300 

15 Honduras GDIM Resident $ - $ 527,569 $ 527,569 

16 Honduras TAX

Project Coordinator + 

Intermittents $ - $ 626,139 $ 626,139 

17 Infrastructure Finance Team GDIM Intermittent $ - $ 330,486 $ 330,486 

18 Jamaica BUD Resident $ - $ 628,251 $ 628,251 

19 Regional LACFII FIT Resident/Regional $ - $ 681,117 $ 681,117 

20 Uruguay ENF Intermittent $ - $ 400,969 $ 400,969 

21 Uruguay FIT Intermittent $ - $ 232,377 $ 232,377 

Subtotal Latin America and Caribbean $ - 

$ 

9,420,052 

$ 

9,420,052 
19

Team Advisor Category

CoFinancing TIATA Total 

ASIA

22 Cambodia BUD Resident $ - $ 739,031 $ 739,031 

23 Cambodia FIT Resident/Intermittent $ - $ 652,639 $ 652,639 

24 Cambodia TAX

Project Coordinator + 

Intermittents $ - $ 383,702 $ 383,702 

25 India ENF Intermittent $ - $ 284,126 $ 284,126 

26 India-US Economic and Financial Partnership GDIM Intermittent $ - $ 39,721 $ 39,721 

27 Indonesia FIT Intermittent $ - $ 395,096 $ 395,096 

28 Indonesia GDIM Resident $ - $ 250,677 $ 250,677 

29 Mongolia BUD Intermittent $ - $ 26,217 $ 26,217 

30 Mongolia TAX

Project Coordinator + 

Intermittents $ - $ 469,606 $ 469,606 

31 RegANE (Mekong Regional) ENF Resident $ - $ 840,966 $ 840,966 

32 Thailand FIT Intermittent $ - $ 90,289 $ 90,289 

33 Vietnam FIT Resident + Intermittent $ - $ 656,801 $ 656,801 

34 Vietnam GDIM Intermittent $ - $ 136,229 $ 136,229 

35 Vietnam TAX

Project Coordinator + 

Intermittents $ - $ 286,416 $ 286,416 

Subtotal Asia $ - 

$ 

5,251,516 

$ 

5,251,516 
20

Team Advisor Category

CoFinancing TIATA Total 

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

36 Algeria ENF Intermittent $ - $ 150,000 $ 150,000 

37 Algeria FIT Resident + Intermittent $ - $ 223,529 $ 223,529 

38 Algeria TAX Intermittent $ - $ 406,319 $ 406,319 

39 Jordan ENF Resident $ - $ 275,110 $ 275,110 

40 Libya FIT Intermittent $ - $ 58,824 $ 58,824 

41 Morocco ENF Resident $ - $ 577,992 $ 577,992 

42 Palestinian Monetary Authority ENF Resident $ - $ 583,550 $ 583,550 

43 Regional MENA FIT Intermittent $ - $ 337,058 $ 337,058 

44

Regional Africa Economic Community (AEC) 

and MENA ENF Intermittent $ - $ 188,628 $ 188,628 

Subtotal Middle East and North Africa $ - 

$ 

2,801,010 

$ 

2,801,010 

Team Advisor Category

CoFinancing TIATA Total 

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

45 Angola GDIM Resident $ - $ 598,813 $ 598,813 

46 Botswana ENF Resident $ - $ 577,157 $ 577,157 

47 Burkina Faso BUD Intermittent $ - $ 25,278 $ 25,278 

48 Burkina Faso BUD Resident $ - $ 170,314 $ 170,314 

49 Ghana ENF Resident + Intermittent $ - $ 705,597 $ 705,597 

50 Ghana BUD Resident $ 294,675 $ 476,860 $ 771,535 

51 Ghana GDIM Resident $ - $ 215,765 $ 215,765 

52 Lesotho BUD Resident $ - $ 335,087 $ 335,087 

53 Liberia TAX

Project Coordinator + 

Intermittents $ - $ 512,102 $ 512,102 

54

Regional East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, 

Burundi) FIT Resident $ - $ 466,625 $ 466,625 

55 Regional East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, GDIM Resident $ - $ 578,116 $ 578,116 
21

Burundi)

56 Regional East Africa EAC Initiative (Kenya) GDIM Resident $ - $ 423,529 $ 423,529 

57 Nigeria TAX Resident + Intermittent $ - $ 611,002 $ 611,002 

58 Nigeria FIT Resident $ - $ 609,635 $ 609,635 

59 Rwanda FIT Resident + Intermittent $ - $ 389,505 $ 389,505 

60 Senegal GDIM Resident $ - $ 635,711 $ 635,711 

61 South Africa BUD Intermittent $ - $ 97,253 $ 97,253 

62 Tanzania GDIM Resident $ - $ 612,592 $ 612,592 

63 Uganda GDIM Resident $ - $ 475,315 $ 475,315 

64 Uganda TAX Intermittent $ - $ 250,000 $ 250,000 

65 Zambia BUD Resident $ - $ 589,661 $ 589,661 

Subtotal Sub-Saharan Africa

$ 

294,675 

$ 

9,355,917 

$ 

9,650,592 

Team Advisor Category

CoFinancing TIATA Total 

SENIOR ADVISORS

66 Regional Advisor GDIM $ - $ 307,186 $ 307,186 

67 Senior Advisor FIT $ - $ 298,963 $ 298,963 

68 Senior Advisor TAX $ - $ 478,737 $ 478,737 

69 Senior Advisor: Africa/Middle East ENF $ - $ 389,515 $ 389,515 

70 Senior Advisor: Eurasia ENF $ - $ 374,525 $ 374,525 

71 Senior Advisor: LAC ENF $ - $ 329,814 $ 329,814 

72 Senior Advisor BUD $ - $ 546,381 $ 546,381 

73 Senior Advisor GDIM $ - $ 356,362 $ 356,362 

74 Senior Advisor FIT $ - $ 398,299 $ 398,299 

Subtotal Senior Advisors $ - 

$ 

3,479,781 

$ 

3,479,781 
22

Team Advisor Category

CoFinancing TIATA Total 

OTHER FUNDED ACTIVITIES

75 Cash Management BUD/GDIM Full-time TDY $ - $ 326,447 $ 326,447 

76 Global Petroleum Revenue TAX Full-time TDY $ - $ 152,941 $ 152,941 

77 Global FIU Analytical Training ENF Resident $ - $ 226,010 $ 226,010 

Subtotal Other Funded Activities $ - 

$ 

705,398 

$ 

705,398 

GRAND TOTAL

$ 

294,675 

$ 

31,013,674 

$ 

31,308,349 

Notes

1. TIATA figures include carryover of prior year TIATA funds.

2. OTA Team abbreviations: BUD = Budget and Financial Accountability; ENF = Economic Crimes; FIT = Banking and Financial Services; GDIM = 

Government Debt Issuance and Management; TAX = Revenue Administration and Policy.
23

Table B

2011 Non-TIATA Sources of Funding

Treasury International Affairs Technical Assistance (TIATA)

Purpose Source Transfer Category Amount

Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia (AEECA) State 632(a), 632(b) $6,781,041

Technical Assistance to Government of Afghanistan State 632(a) $5,929,753

Technical Assistance to Government of Iraq State 632(b) $1,972,100

Pathways to Prosperity - El Salvador and Costa Rica State 632(b) $1,320,000

Technical Assistance to Government of Paraguay USAID 632(b) $940,000

Financial Crisis Rapid Response - Mongolia USAID 632(b) $650,000

Caribbean Basin Security Initiative State/INL 632(b) $500,000

Technical Assistance to Government of Ghana USAID 632(b) $294,675

Technical Assistance to Government of Jamaica Govt. of Jamaica n/a $219,367

Technical Assistance to Government of Georgia State/INL 632(b) $150,000

Technical Assistance to Government of Pakistan USAID 632(a) $120,150

Technical Assistance to Government of Honduras Govt. of Honduras n/a $112,723

Energy Governance Capacity Initiative USAID 632(b) $100,000

Technical Assistance to Government of Ghana MCC 632(b) $41,082

TOTAL $19,130,891