TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acronyms…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….iii

Preface : A call from the Throne……………………..………………………….…..……..iv

Executive Summary………………………………………………….……………………………….…...v-xxv

PART ONE: MAIN REPORT

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….……………….1

1.1 Outline of the Report……………………………………………………………….………………….1

1.2 Background Information………………………………………………………………………………1-3

1.3 Building the framework for the development of the National

Vision……………………………………………………………………………………………………-5

1.4 Overall objectives of the National Dialogue for the formulation

of a National Vision…………………………………………………………………..….……………6

1.5 Methodology………………………………………………………………………………..…………6-7

1.6 Facilitation of the National Dialogue………………………………………………….……….……7

2. Synthesis of key issues ………………………………………………………………..….…….………..7

2.1 Outline…………………………………………………………………………………………….….…..7

2.2 Review of past and present development strategies………………………………..8-18

2.3 Vision and Strategy…………………………………………………………………………….……18-23

2.4 Strategies/national priorities ………………………………………………………………....23-32

3. Recommendations ……………………………………………………………………………………....32-35

4. The Way Forward…………………………………………………………………………………..……..35-36

5. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………..……….37-38

6. Closing Remarks……………………………..………………………………………………….………………38

PART TWO: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE

Day One: Situational Analysis………………………………………………………………………………..39

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………….….….39

1.1 Opening Prayer ……………………………………………………………………..…………….……..….39

1.2 Introductory remarks …………………………………………………………………………….….39-40

2. Official Opening Statement by The Right Honourable

The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho…………………..…………….40-42

3. Economic Review of Lesotho’s development performance since

Independence ……………………………………………………………………………………………….42-47

4. Developing a Vision for Lesotho …………………………..……….. ………..…………..47-50

5. Raising our national sights to embrace our shared future –

its challenges and opportunitiies…………………………………...………51-54

6. Plenary Session One ………………………………………………………………………………………….54

6.1 General Discussion …….…………………………………………………………………………...54-56

6.2 Response of Keynote Speakers…………………………………………………………………56-57

7. Group work…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..57

7.1 Issues Identification and Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) ………………………………………………………..57-60

Day Two: Vision Formulation ……………………………………………………………………………….60

1. Introduction…………………………………..………………………………………………………………..….60

2. Concept and Process of Formulating a National Vision…..…….…..……....60-61

3. The Importance of National Vision for Small Developing

Countries in the twenty-first Century…………………………………………..………….61-62

4. Vision Components and issues to be included in the National

Vision………………………………………………………………………………. …… ……………………….….63

5. Plenary Session Two ………………………………………………………………………………….……..63

5.1 General Discussion …………………………………………………………………………………..63-64

5.2 Responses by the Resource Persons…………………………………………………………64-65

6. Group Work:

6.1 Defining Issues………………………………………………………………..……………………...65-68

Day Three :

Strategy Development and the Way Forward…………………………………………………...68

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………...68

2. Group Work ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..….69

2.1 Short, medium and long-term strategies to achieve national priorities……...........69

2.2 Defining National Priorities………………………………………………………………69-77

3. Group Work…………………………………………………………………………………..78

3.1 Recommendations on the Way Forward………………………………………………78-79

4. Commitment to the Way Forward………………………………………………………..79-80

5. Closing Ceremony……………………………………….………………………………….81

5.1 Closing Statement by The Honourable Deputy Prime Minister……….........……….81-82

PART THREE : ANNEXES

ACRONYMS

1. AGOA - African Growth and Opportunity Act

2. AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrone

3. CBOs - Community Based Organisations

4. CSIS - Centre for Strategic and International Studies

5. ECOWAS - Economic Commission of West African States

6. ESAF - Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility

7. GATT - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

8. GDP - Gross Domestic Product

9. GNP - Gross National Product

10. GOL - Government of Lesotho

11. HIV/AIDS – Human Immuno Deficiency Virus

12. IDG - International Development Goals

13. IDM - Institute of Development Management

14. IMF - International Monetory Fund

15. LDC - Least Developed Countries

16. LHWP - Lesotho Highlands Water Project

17. LIPAM - Lesotho Institute of Public Administration and

Management

18. NAFTA - North American Free Trade Area

19. NCC - National Convention Centre

20. NGOs - Non-Governmental Organisations

21. NIL - National University, IDM and LIPAM

Consortium

22. NPB - National Planning Board

23. NUL - National University of Lesotho

24. NVSC - National Vision Steering Committee

25. RSA - Republic of South Africa

26. SACU - Southern African Customs Union

27. SADC - Southern African Development Community

28. SAP - Structural Adjustment Programme

29. SHD - Sustainable Human Development

30. SMEs - Small and Medium Enterprises

31. SWOT - Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and

Threats

32. TB - Tubercle Bacillus (Tuberculosis)

33. UN - United Nations

34. UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

35. US$ - United States Dollar

36. Vision 2020 - A National Vision For Lesotho

37. WTO - World Trade Organisation

PREFACE

NATIONAL DIALOGUE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LONG TERM VISION FOR LESOTHO

A CALL FROM THE THRONE

“Development in all aspects of our life has stalled. It is for this reason that we need to come together and chart the way forward for our country for the next ten or twenty years. All sectors of our nation need to agree on plans and strategies to employ in order to achieve our long-term national development at the stated time. My request is that we should work together towards developing a National Vision which will guide our economic development in years to come. With the purpose of performing this mammoth task, I take this opportunity to invite all sectors of the nation including farmers, chiefs, parliamentarians, churches, NGOs, and political parties to take part in the big national forum which will be held at the National Convention Center on 17 –19 January, 2001.”

His Majesty King Letsie III

Extract from a Broadcast

to the Nation, December 31, 2000

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

At the turn of the Millennium in the year 2000, the Government of Lesotho recognized the need for the development of a long-term Vision for Lesotho that would guide the national policies of the country for development. This was triggered by the observation that since independence, development planning in Lesotho had been based on short to medium term strategies, and that hitherto, no effort had been made to develop a shared long-term National Vision that could guide the activities of all sectors of society in a common direction towards achieving a preferred development scenario.

Towards this end, the Government directed Senior Government Officials to draw up a framework within which such a National Vision could be developed. Consequently, at their workshop held from 8 to 10 March 2000 at Oxbow Lodge, Senior Government Officials developed a framework that would initiate the process and lay the foundation for the formulation of a clear vision for Lesotho into the year 2020 (Lesotho Vision 2020). According to that framework, which was approved by the Cabinet, the holding of a National Dialogue was to be the first stage in developing the Vision and in building a national consensus on the requisite processes for its realization.

The National Dialogue on the Development of a National Vision for Lesotho was held at the National Convention Centre in Maseru from 17 to 19 January 2001. It was attended by more than 500 participants who had responded to the Government of Lesotho’s invitation to various Organisations throughout Lesotho to send representatives. The Dialogue was organized by the Facilitation Partnership Committee of the Government Task Force and the NIL Consortium comprising the National University of Lesotho (NUL), Institute of Development Management (IDM) and the Lesotho Institute of Public Administration and Management (LIPAM).

Prior to this event, there was a call from the Throne when, in the new year broadcast, His Majesty King Letsie III called on all Basotho to work together towards developing a National Vision which will guide the country’s economic development in the years to come.

The overall objectives of the Dialogue were the following:

· To identify successes and failures of the development strategies so far employed by the nation;

· To find common ground on the rationale for the development of a long-term vision for Lesotho;

· To initiate a process through which all Basotho could discuss their long-term goals and aspirations which would form a National Vision;

· To sensitise delegates to a clear understanding of what the concept of a National Vision entails;

· To determine steps towards defining and developing a long-term visionary plan for Lesotho;

· To determine the way forward by identifying methods and modalities to be employed in developing a truly National Vision.

The National Dialogue was officially opened by the Right Honourable the Prime Minister Mr. Pakalitha Mosisili who outlined the rationale for the National Dialogue and set the pace for the deliberations. The proceedings were guided by the Government Secretary Mr. M. Tsekoa. The following resource persons made presentations at the Dialogue:

· Mrs. M.E. Rapolaki (Principal Secretary for Development Planning) - On the Review of Lesotho’s Development Performance since Independence (Keynote address).

· Dr. Stan Buckens (Expert in Strategic Planning) – On the Concept and Process of Formulating a National Vision.

· Dr. Stephen Swaray (Governor, Central Bank of Lesotho) – On Developing a Vision for Lesotho (A Discussant on Economic Review of Lesotho’s Development Performance).

· Dr. Timothy T. Thahane (Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank) – On the Development of a National Vision for Lesotho (SWOT Analysis).

· Mr. Manou Bheenick (Economist from Mauritius) – On the Experience of Mauritius in the Formulation of National Vision.

The underlying message of the Right Honourable the Prime Minister at the inception of the dialogue was that participants should use the opportunity of the dialogue to share freely their own visions for Lesotho and to engage in objective discussion, putting the interests of Lesotho ahead of their personal or partisan interests. The importance was emphasized for the National Vision to be inspired by Basotho values which include peace, unity, tolerance, self-respect, order and sharing – and which are summed up by the national motto of Peace, Rain and Prosperity (Khotso Pula Nala).

In their presentations, the resource persons made an overview of Lesotho’s past economic performance, reviewed the new concepts of development and defined the process of formulating a National Vision. The following were the main observations:

a) Lesotho is now faced with deeper developmental problems than was the case at Independence. Development policies pursued in the past decades have not been able to achieve the primary objective of improving the livelihood of the people of Lesotho. Economic growth had been erratic and had slowed down during the last decade.

b) New development concepts today emphasise direct policies to improve social indicators such as better health, nutrition, education, political freedom and cleaner environment. Income is no longer seen as an end in itself but rather as a means to an end. The key feature that distinguishes the new approach from the previous ones is the importance that is accorded to the participation of and consultations with all stakeholders in the development process. The development of a National Vision through a broad participatory and consultative process is in keeping with this approach. The vision formulation stage has to be followed by operational plans to be implemented for the realization of the vision.

c) Lesotho shares with other developing countries a number of weaknesses, risks and threats to its political and socio-economic development. Some of these weaknesses are not unique to small states, but larger states have a higher threshold for managing them or for changing them into comparative advantages. In the preparation of a viable National Vision for Lesotho, these weaknesses, risks and threats must be isolated and an effort must be made to turn them into national capacity to deliver an enhanced quality of life to all Basotho.

d) The National Vision is about raising people’s aspirations. Such vision must be based on the understanding of the current world environment and the preferred route to the future. The best vision will maximize the potential of the country to give its people a better life. The EXPLICIT VISION must be accompanied by a descriptive vision statement which identifies national priorities, establishes the preferred development scenarios and describes how these are to be achieved.

The programme of the three days Dialogue was arranged into three thematic issues, namely, Situation Analysis, Vision Formulation as well as Strategy Development and the Way Forward, with each theme being allocated one day. Participants were divided into twelve working groups that discussed specific issues related to the three themes and then presented the group views to the plenary sessions.

Throughout the dialogue, the promotion of traditional Basotho values was stressed as the foundation for any viable vision. Participants made recommendations on the understanding that the Dialogue was not meant to come up with a National Vision immediately, but that it was only the beginning of a process of developing a national vision. There was a strong feeling among all that the positive momentum generated by the dialogue towards developing a National Vision should not be allowed to dissipate. To this end, the Government of Lesotho was urged to set-up a National Vision Steering Committee that would drive the process forward, so that the Vision Document could be available within two years from the period of the dialogue.

SYNTHESIS OF MAIN ISSUES DISCUSSED

The Dialogue undertook a review of past and present national development plans. It noted that the main development strategy since independence has been that of short-term development plans.

Even though the performance record showed a number of successes, the overall development path had been erratic with unsustainable growth patterns.

The years following upon the first plan (1970/71 – 74/75 registered high economic growth rates averaging 8 percent per annum. However, the growth rate declined significantly to around 4 per cent per annum during the 1980’s and 1990’s.

The Government had also actively undertaken structural adjustment programmes in collaboration with the IMF and the World Bank. These have been counted amongst the success stories.

These limited successes notwithstanding, the development strategies adopted to-date have not been able to provide a sustainable basis for securing a better quality of life for the people of Lesotho. In fact, Lesotho is, today, facing a much more profound development problem than was the case at independence.

The Dialogue had occasion to examine an array of challenges facing Lesotho at the birth of the new millennium. These include, increasing levels of poverty, escalating unemployment, environmental degradation, economic and political instability and HIV/AIDS pandemic. There is also need to promote social cohesion, democratisation of society and human capacity development.

Against the background of these challenges the Dialogue then discussed the windows of opportunity open to Lesotho, for turning the challenges into opportunities.

The Dialogue further proceeded to formulate a vision scenario for Lesotho as follows:

VISION STATEMENT

By 2020, Lesotho shall be a stable democracy, united, prosperous nation at peace with itself and its neighbours. It shall have a healthy and well developed human resource base. Its economy will be strong, its environment well managed and its technology well established.

In conceptualizing the vision scenario, the dialogue dedicated some time to reflect on the core cherished Basotho values. These served as a vital point of reference in the vision formulation process.

The values singled out during the Dialogue included the following:

Peace
Unity
Tolerance
Sharing
Self respect and respect of others
Hospitality
Humility
Generosity
Patience
Sense of responsibility and obedience
Family bonds
Basotho cultural values and norms
Belief in the Christian faith
Resilience

The participants went on to isolate each of the national objectives or priorities that had been implied in the Vision Statement. They then identified the basic requirements or necessary conditions for the attainment of each objective.

Finally participants identified critical success strategies which in the short, medium and long-term should be adopted in order to achieve each of the national priority objectives mentioned in the Vision Statement. These are synthesized as follows:

(a) A Stable and United Democracy

Critical success strategies

· Develop Visionary Leadership with strategic planning, negotiation skills and management training for astute decision making;

· Review all existing national laws and regulations so as to modernize them and make them relevant in a manner that is conducive to development and progress. This should include periodic review of the Constitution;

· Government should be transparent and accountable to the public through such measures as full accountability for use of public funds and declaration of wealth by people in public leadership;

· Decentralise power, authority and decision making to the people through local Government elections, allocation of resources and distribution of services;

· Ensure public appointments based only on merit and avoid nepotism;

· Foster and develop an open dialogue and public debates on national and local issues through consultative decision making;

· Establish continuing dialogue to promote reconciliation among political parties, churches, NGOs, chieftainship institutions, CBOs and other public organizations;

· Establish an autonomous Anti-Corruption Unit;

· Establish a constitutional court to deal with major constitutional disputes;

· Undertake civic education programmes on the respect of the rule of law, democracy, human rights, development and politics;

· Ensure inclusiveness of the electoral system to accommodate differing shades of opinion. This should include creation of windows of opportunity for disadvantaged social groups like women, youth and people with disabilities.

(b) A Prosperous Nation

Critical success strategies

· Undertake needs assessment analysis to determine the country’s requirements for successful creation of wealth for equitable sharing among all Basotho;

· Develop a deliberate policy of social welfare safety nets;

· Develop a social security institution to cater for old age pension disability, maternity and unemployment benefits for the national workforce;

· Promote a policy of corporate social responsibility to cater for support to community projects, sport promotion as well as for funding assistance programmes for aids sufferers, orphans, carers of aids patients and disaster victims;

· Establish effective local government structures for equitable allocation, distribution of resources and delivery of services;

· Develop and adopt a productivity culture in Lesotho to match world standards in agriculture, manufacturing, industry and services;

· Strengthen and formalize partnerships amongst government, the private sector, organized labour and NGOs to facilitate effective investment promotion, good labour relations and competitiveness of the country;

· Create conducive environment for the development of industries and local entrepreneurship through effective promotional and support agencies for the industrialization programme;

· Put the nation above sectarian interests on issues relating to identification and development of strategic forward looking national programmes.

Critical success strategies

· Promote national unity through national symbols, values, language, sporting and cultural activities;

· Promote a culture of commitment to tolerance and accommodation of other views;

· Seriously combat crime especially internal and cross-border stock theft, vehicle theft and robbery in general;

· Promote speedy dispensation of justice, critically review the issue of bail, and strengthen the capacity of courts of law to deal with cases;

· Train and utilize the expertise of the armed forces in social support areas like disaster control and management, social support assistance to community development infrastructure projects in inaccessible areas, vaccination and literacy campaigns;

· Develop a customer/client friendly and corruption free police force, civil service, courts of law and other public and private service providers;

· Create conflict resolution mechanisms at all levels of society;

· Promote a responsible civil society especially NGOs, CBOs and the media that is non-inflammatory, non-partisan and professional;

· Undertake high level discussions with neighbouring countries especially the Republic of South Africa to achieve a framework for strategic collaboration and a favourable status for Lesotho.

(d) A Healthy Nation

Critical success strategies

· Undertake campaigns targeted at promoting recognition and awareness of and action against diseases such as HIV/AIDS;

· Formulate and get national consensus on health and social welfare policies taking into account participation of all health care givers such as clinics, hospitals, (both public and private) as well as traditional healers;

· Provide more and better training and equipment for nurses, village health workers and home nursing support groups for aids patients in order to get maximum benefits;

· Ensure countrywide provision of clean drinking water and sanitation;

· Provide high quality health care services to all through effective networking of all health care institutions such as public and private hospitals, private clinics, nurse clinicians and traditional healers countrywide.

· Train male adults and adolescents and promote their involvement in reproductive health to decrease unplanned pregnancies and incidences of sexually transmitted diseases;

(e) A Well Developed Human Resource Base

Critical success strategies

· Upgrade existing educational and training institutions and where necessary establish new ones;

· Create research, science and technology institutions and build capacity for innovation and competitive participation in the globalised world economy;

· Reform educational curriculum and syllabi to provide training in skills and competencies that are employment related. Provide more technical, vocational and entrepreneual training programmes;

· Encourage and promote the concept of mentoring by big enterprises to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for effective skills, technology and management transfer;

· Adopt a three pronged approach to expertise development as follows

(i) Provide reward incentives to retain good staff and thereby reverse the brain drain;

(ii) Undertake a deliberate policy to develop high level expertise for export;

(iii) Explore the possibilities of utilizing the expertise of Lesotho nationals working outside Lesotho or in international organizations.

· Develop career guidance capability to prepare the young generations for the realization of the National Vision;

· Engage in active talent search and development of areas such as:

i) Sports: Dedicated promotion of sports and recreational infrastructure and facilities at all levels;

ii) Arts: Promote and support arts and culture inclusive of traditional dances and games;

iii) Scientific research and innovation: Encourage scientific research and innovation for enhanced product development and diversification.

· Promote social development through progressive implementation of Principles of State Policy set out in the Constitution;

· Develop a national fund for Education and Human Resource Development (Sethaba-Thaba);

· Schools’ curriculum and family education should include training in Basotho culture, customs, norms and values;

· Promote special education for people with disabilities and provide facilities such as Braille and sign language training, in addition promote universal basic literacy.

(f) A Healthy Environment

Critical success strategies

· Create and organize environmentally friendly waste disposal system throughout the country for industrial effluent and other types of waste;

· Ensure implementation of effective land use planning programmes for urban and rural areas;

· Designate residential land, commercial agricultural land, subsistence farming and grazing land in order to manage balanced eco-systems;

· Formulate and implement a countrywide water supply, sanitation and water drainage plan;

· Develop rural electrification programmes as well as encouragement of use of renewable sources of energy such as biomass gas generation, wind and solar energy;

· Encourage and actively promote tree planting especially indigenous species and preserve heritage and historical sites as well as endangered animal and plant species;

· Develop, promote and protect national parks;

· Ensure environment friendly mining practices.

(g) A Strong Economy

Critical success strategies

· Undertake a needs assessment plan to determine the country’s development requirements and identify areas of Lesotho’s comparative advantage in raw materials and skills base and develop an attractive incentive package for attracting direct foreign and local investment;

· Develop prudent macro-economic policies in order to control inflation, maintain positive balance of payments and minimize public debt;

· Create a conducive environment for industrial development, and local entrepreneurship development;

· Develop tourism potential taking into account available natural resources, scenic beauty of the country, handicrafts development, pony trekking and forge linkages with South Africa;

· Strengthen and support the private sector in its provision of basic infrastructure of telecommunications, electricity and water supply and strengthen the road network infrastructure to penetrate the entire country;

· Develop a national productivity center with linkages to vocational and technical training institutions, management training institutions and standards and quality assurance facilities;

· Provide research and technological institutions with resources to facilitate design and innovation and strengthen competitiveness of the economy for the timely achievement of vision ideals;

· Develop financial services sector through banking, capital markets and insurance and mobilize domestic savings for investment and growth of the economy;

· Provide access to credit for small and medium enterprises, (SMEs) and farmers;

· Pursue the programme of privatization to free government from the responsibilities of running businesses and utilize acquired savings for social programmes. It is expected that the new management will inject advanced technology, capital and enhanced management expertise.

(h) A Technologically Well Equipped Lesotho

Critical success strategies

· Promote effective research for the application of science and modern technology in Lesotho and network with the manufacturing and service sectors;

· Allocate sufficient resources for research and technological development;

· Allocate resources for implementation of a comprehensive Information Technology education programme for schools and health institutions;

· Enhance and promote various information technology applications such as internet and e-commerce;

· Utilise information technology for ensuring information rich society.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Apart from the recommendations that were made as part of the critical success strategies for achieving specific national priority objectives as outlined above, recommendations which would be useful in addressing follow-up mechanisms during the period after the Dialogue were made as follows:

(a) The Dialogue observed that reports normally gather dust on shelves in many offices in Government and therefore the report of the dialogue should not be subjected to similar treatment. The report should be widely disseminated to all Basotho. Transparency should be the order of the day, on the issues that pertain to the National Vision.

(b) It was recommended that all leaders of Basotho society should be committed to the formulation of the National Vision. They should pronounce and spread the message and solicit the same commitment from their various constituencies.

(c) It was agreed that all media institutions should professionally and ethically participate in publicizing the formulation process of the National Vision. The media should be one of the major stakeholders which could make sure that the process becomes successful.

(d) It was recommended that a committee or Task Force be urgently established after the conference. Its role would be to support and coordinate the structures which should also be in place to facilitate the process of developing the National Vision.

(e) The structures should have clear terms of reference, and they should be interlinked with the National Planning Board, a body specifically provided for in the Lesotho Constitution. The structures would possibly include bodies such as the Smart Partnership Hub.

(f) The process of finalizing the development of the vision and the strategies which will be used to implement it, should commence immediately after the end of the dialogue.

(g) Another Dialogue would take place after national consultations have been concluded. This would be important to build a consolidated consensus about the National Vision itself.

(h) It is expected that the consultations would take place over a period of one year whereby Government would still be in the lead. But, the final consensus on the overall National Vision should be reached in less than two years.

(i) The consultation process would be executed through the medium of mini-fora at district and ward levels as well as village level where possible. This will enable as much participation of Basotho as possible.

(j) The Report of the Dialogue should be produced and distributed to all stakeholders in both Sesotho and English languages, in order to widen the understanding for all levels of society.

(k) In the coordination of the consultation process. The structure which will drive the way forward should be an autonomous and neutral body.

(l) During the consultations process, the structures that drive and coordinate the process should work with existing local structures of the society, e.g Chiefs, Village Councils, Churches, NGOs, CBOs, etc.

(m) The Dialogue agreed that it would be important to set-up a task force or specialized studies, for particular areas which will require some detailed investigation at national level, and would last for not more than three months.

(n) Since the formulation of the vision and consultation process fall within the planning function, it would be important to involve the National Planning Board and the Ministry of Development Planning.

(o) It was recommended that the National Vision Development Process should be legalized through a Gazette.

(p) The dialogue also made several calls for concerted action to specific authorities and constituencies as follows:

· The Right Honourable the Prime Minister should take seriously, the suggestion that he should call and solicit commitment of political party leaders to the Vision;

· It was pointed out that many people had said that politicians and their political parties contribute to divisions in the nation. Parties must therefore reconsider their way of doing things;

· The media should be challenged to report positively about the National Vision process;

· All delegates must go back and report to their constituencies about the National Vision.

THE WAY FORWARD

A consensus was reached that the following actions should be taken to move the process forward immediately after the Dialogue.

a) The Dialogue Report would be compiled and produced in English and Sesotho and would be widely distributed to participants and to as many Basotho as possible, as detailed consultations are carried out.

(b) A detailed consultation work plan and budget would be developed and the input of Lesotho’s cooperating partners would be solicited.

(c) The purpose of the work plan would be mainly to have a structured way forward. It will include detailed activities to be carried out with a clear purpose and objective.

(d) The work plan would have a timeframe within which it would be implemented as recommended by the dialogue, in the period of between one and two years.

(e) The work plan would have an implementation schedule which clearly shows a critical path along which it will be monitored. The indicators will be determined in order to inform Basotho about the status in the process of vision formulation.

(f) The office which will lead and manage the way-forward needs to be set-up and staffed appropriately within a short time in order to avoid delays. It will be important to do appropriate follow-up immediately while the concept is still fresh in the minds of the people of Lesotho. This office should include staff drawn from both the public and private sectors and be housed in the Prime Minister’s office, under the leadership of the Government Secretary.

(g) The National Planning Board should be revived and operationalised as per the Lesotho Constitution. This will necessitate coordination and clarification of various roles in the process of consultation.

(h) It was suggested that some of the activities in the work plan would be the following:

· Commence and undertake national consultation process at all levels of society, including districts, ward, constituency, village, etc. Involve participation of everybody from all walks of life.

· Complete information collection and compile the Report, in both English and Sesotho languages which will be used during the final National Dialogue.

· Organise and hold a follow-up Final National Dialogue at the end of the consultation process to discuss the report. The discussion should formulate the Final National Vision 2020 report.

· Compile the Report in both languages and publicise it through the media. Organise advocacy consultations in the country in order to inform all Basotho about the contents of the National Vision.

(i) It was suggested that implementation mechanism and structures should be developed which will include training in developing sectoral perspective plans, monitoring and evaluation of the vision.

CONCLUSION

This section seeks to make an assessment of the extent to which the Dialogue achieved or did not achieve its objectives.

(a) The National Dialogue was successful in terms of bringing together all parts of the society in the country. The Dialogue was only the first step or the beginning of the development of the Vision and strategy. It became clear that it would take a lot of time for consultations and negotiations with Basotho at all levels before the ultimate stage of the Vision formulation is reached. The success of the mission will be realised by involving Basotho from all levels of society.

(b) The analysis of Development Performance of the country since Independence provided information on achievements and failures. It assisted the dialogue to identify future development priority areas which included; Democracy, Peace and Stability; Healthy and Prosperous Nation; Sustainable Environment and Human Resource Base; Strong Economy; and Technologically well-Equipped Lesotho; etc.

(c) The nation would benefit from the well developed National Vision. This consensus was further strengthened by initially defining an explicit vision as: “By 2020, Lesotho shall be a stable democracy, united, prosperous and at peace with itself and its neighbours. It shall have a healthy and well-developed Human Resource Base. Its economy will be strong, its environment well managed and its technology well established.”

(d) Experiences in defining the framework, approach and structures necessary for the formulation of a national vision, were shared using resource persons from other countries. This information enhanced the understanding during the discussions, that the formulation of the vision will have to embrace all national attributes and values.

(e) The formulation of the vision would clearly define the development potential of the country. The past development experience would provide lessons to pave the way forward taking into consideration Basotho national values.

(e) The Dialogue Report shall serve as a Guiding Document for soliciting contributions and opinions from the nation at large.

(g) In officially closing the Dialogue the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister committed the Government to ensuring that everything possible would be done to carry forward the Dialogue recommendations. Further, the Deputy Prime Minister concluded by emphasizing that the National Vision transcended political divisions in that it was not a manifesto of the ruling party but that the main components were already enshrined in the Constitution.

Source: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER