Need for national debate to strengthen poverty reduction strategies

Lesotho needs to have a national debate about the government's broad policy to strengthen the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper(PRSP) process, says a new study. The research, commissioned by the British Department for International Development (DFID) provides a detailed overview of the PRSP process in Lesotho, which began in 1999. It noted that the Lesotho government's commitment to the PRSP process demonstrated the "shift of the development approach paradigm to the setting of long-term national development objectives and strategies." Lesotho is classified by the United Nations as a "least developed" country. While the government estimates that half the country's two million population live in poverty, independent studies say more than 70 percent of Basothos are unemployed. According to the Khalapa Development Agency, the authors of the study, "Lesotho has been over-researched and the public is getting weary of not participating in the implementation of their reported concerns." The agency suggested that communities and the central government should be reconnected through the PRSP secretariat and district offices. "Regular dialogue/discussions and feedback on ongoing activities relating to poverty reduction for communities will ensure less skepticism when officials visit communities for future national exercises such as the PRSP." They also recommended that "Chiefs and parliamentarians should work together and collaborate on mobilising their constituencies to debate national issues, especially during the PRS implementation period." A national think-tank that included all stakeholders should be established to discuss issues relating to the PRSP before and after implementation. PRSPs are prepared by governments through a participatory process involving civil society and development partners, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The PRSP describes a country's macroeconomic, structural and social policies and programmes to promote growth and reduce poverty, as well as the associated external financing needs. The PRSP process in Lesotho has revealed the private sector's inability to unite and engage with the government effectively on national issues. "Since they must, of necessity, stay on the bandwagon, the private sector must be encouraged and supported to organise themselves ... without them playing an active role, the economy may not grow fast enough to reduce poverty in Lesotho," said the study. The report can be accessed at: www.sarpn.org.za