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Economic Commission for Africa
Exploring the PRSP Process in Lesotho:
Reflections on Process, Content, Public Finance, Donor Support and Capacity Need
Benjamin Roberts, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
Contact: broberts@hsrc.ac.za
3-4 December 2003
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
SARPN acknowledges the copyright of the UNECA for this report.
It was downloaded from the ECA website: www.uneca.org
This report was presented at the Third Meeting of the African Learning Group on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers,
organised by the ECA.
The full set of reports can be accessed at www.uneca.org/prsp
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Executive Summary
This report forms part of the latest in a series of annual assessments on the
experiences of countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper (PRSP) approach. Commissioned by the Economic Commission
for Africa (ECA) as an input into the annual PRSP Learning Group meeting, the
report essentially seeks to assess developments in relation to five thematic
areas: (i) the PRSP process itself; (ii) content of the PRSP; (iii) public finance
aspects of the PRSP; (iv) the realignment of donor policies and resources
towards the PRSP; and (v) capacity building. The principal findings in relation to
each of these issues are outlined below.
The PRSP Process
In Lesotho, participation in the PRSP process is broadly acknowledged as
having been legitimate, extensive and of high quality. The participatory nature of
the PRSP and National Vision formulation processes represents one of the first
occasions in the history of conceptualizing development policies and strategies
in Lesotho that all stakeholders have come together as a unified team. New and
more open dialogue has been facilitated both within the Government of Lesotho
(GOL), and between government and parts of civil society, donors and the
private sector. This is promoting recognition of the different participating actors
as key stakeholders in Lesotho’s development and an appreciation of the wideranging
skills that each has brought to the process. It has also served to impart
technical skills and increase awareness at both the central and local levels that
policy making does not have to be conducted in a top-down manner. The PRSP
community consultations (April-May 2002) represent the first salient endeavour
by national government in Maseru to consult directly with a geographically
spread sample of communities about critical developmental challenges, the
scope of which makes Lesotho one of the most consultative PRSP processes in
Africa to date.
Despite the impressive nature of the consultation process, the quality and scope
of the material has been negatively affected by rather superficial knowledge of
participatory techniques among some facilitators, insufficient attention to
reporting protocols and analytical strategies, and the under-representation of
urban areas. Participation in the PRSP process in Lesotho has also been
constrained by: (a) the poor representation of the private sector during the early
stages of the process, (b) the slower than anticipated PRSP finalization
process, with almost three years having elapsed since the submission of the IPRSP,
and (c) the increasing signs of ‘participation fatigue’ especially for
representatives of civil society organizations and the private sector. A major
challenge now facing the country as it heads towards implementation is to move
away from ad hoc forms of consultation to more institutionalized forms of
collaboration and dialogue with national stakeholders.
The Content of the PRSP
Despite the existence of representative and reliable quantitative and qualitative
household data, the ability to construct a poverty profile, which analyses the determinants of poverty, as well as its gender, regional and other dimensions,
has been constrained by a number of structural and human factors. Fortunately,
the PRSP process in Lesotho would appear to have provided substantial
impetus to improve the poverty information and knowledge base. It is therefore
anticipated that the country’s information base will improve markedly as future
rounds of currently planned surveys are completed and the use of participatory
tools is scaled up. The poverty diagnostics chapter of the draft PRSP
acknowledges the multidimensional nature of poverty. Apart from a
conventional money-metric and absolute approach to the definition of poverty,
founded on the specification of expenditure-based poverty lines, district level
estimates of the human development index are provided in addition to the
perceptions of poverty as expressed by different social groups,
parliamentarians, CSOs and the private sector. Although the various policy
prescriptions contained in the draft PRSP have yet to be consolidated, those
strategies that correspond to the priority public actions emanating from the
community consultations have been clearly identified and should inform the
prioritization and sequencing of the interventions.
At the time of completion of the I-PRSP in December 2000, discussions were
already underway between Lesotho officials and the IMF on economic
developments and policies, and in March 2001 the Fund approved a three-year
arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) to the
value of SDR 24.5 million (about US$35 million). There appears to be a high
degree of consistency between the broad objectives, macroeconomic
projections and targets, as well as structural measures articulated by Lesotho’s
PRGF economic programme and the I-PRSP. Lesotho’s economy is considered
to be performing well under the PRGF supported programme, in spite of the
stresses imposed by the humanitarian crisis in the region and some fiscal
slippages in late 2002 and early 2003. However, as the country nears the
finalization of its full PRSP, it is important to examine whether the proposed
macroeconomic framework contained in the draft report and PRGF programme
are equally as consistent. Preliminary analysis indicates that while there
remains a relatively high level of consistency between the economic programme
under the PRGF arrangement and the draft PRSP in relation to broad objectives
and structural measures, there is some divergence with regard to
macroeconomic projections and targets.
Lesotho has the fourth highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the world after
Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. Of these countries, Lesotho is the poorest
and it is this pervasive poverty together with social dislocation due to male and
female migratory labour that are regarded as the principal drivers of the
pandemic in the country. It is therefore important to note that HIV/AIDS related
issues have received high coverage in the draft PRSP. In particular, the
strategy successfully elucidates the linkages between HIV/AIDS and poverty in
the country, as well as provides some data on seroprevalence rates. Vulnerable
groups have also been identified and estimates of the number of AIDS orphans
in Lesotho are included. The ambitious target of reducing HIV prevalence to 25
percent by 2007 is also established as a first step in fighting the pandemic. The
effective incorporation of child and youth issues in the draft PRSP is a salient
development. Unlike many other countries in southern Africa, Lesotho has succeeded in prioritizing policies and programmes directed at addressing child
and youth poverty and promoting the rights of these groups. This was achieved
through the establishment of the Child and Youth thematic Group, which
involved the direct representation of children in developing a logical framework
matrix and preparing a position paper that built upon consultations in 2002 to
capture the voices of children and youth.
The proposed poverty monitoring system articulated in Lesotho’s PRSP
attempts to build on some of the concerns that arisen from countries that are
already implementing their PRS. The implementation matrix has adopted a
‘monitoring chain’ framework, which will enable policy-makers to track the effect
of public action through the input-output-outcome-impact stages. Due to
extreme time pressure, consultation in the development of indicators has been
more limited than would otherwise be the case, and following submission,
increased dialogue will be needed with sectors and other stakeholders to
ensure that the indicators selected can appropriately track changes during PRS
implementation. The selection of indicators for monitoring the implementation of
the PRSP has been strongly determined by the nine PRSP priority sector areas.
In addition, care has been taken to ensure that the indicators will accommodate
the monitoring and reporting requirements of both the National Vision and the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Public Finance and the PRSP
At this juncture the multiple strategies contained in the draft version of the full
PRSP have not been adequately prioritized and sequenced. While this is largely
attributable to the absence of the comprehensive costing at the time of release,
it is important that, at the very least, a first attempt at producing a more
streamlined and focused set of measures be undertaken prior to submission of
the final draft. Doing so would enhance the value, credibility and realism of the
policy document. The ability of the Government to finance the country’s poverty
reduction strategy is constrained by the difficulty associated with raising
revenues, as well as institutional and capacity limitations. The scaling up of
current public sector reforms may however provide some space for targeted
medium-term investments. Realistically, the resource envelope is still likely to
be insufficient, hence the critical role that the private sector and development
partners will need to play in fulfilling the pro-poor development mandate
enshrined in the National Vision and MDGs. A number of possible risks can be
identified that may frustrate the successful implementation of the PRSP
priorities. These include the failure to re-align existing allocations, an inability to
secure full financial, political and bureaucratic support behind the public sector
reforms, continued vulnerability and low levels of official development
assistance, and the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Donor Harmonization
Prospects are good that the PRSP and the complementary National Vision
process and Public Sector Improvement and Reform Project (PSIRP) will foster
stronger bilateral partnerships and better coordination amongst development
partners, especially those that are resident in the country. Historically, donors in Lesotho have tended to operate in a rather compartmentalized manner,
resulting in unnecessary fragmentation, projectization and duplication.
Nonetheless, there is a shared feeling amongst stakeholders that the donor
community as a whole has strongly embraced the principles of the PRSP
approach. Donors have been active participants in Lesotho’s PRSP preparation
process in terms of both financing and facilitation, and have indicated their
intention to align their assistance programmes to support the PRSP. Apart from
jointly financing PRSP activities through the establishment of a poverty fund
account, they have actively participated in various fora (TWG, SWGs, etc) and
played a salient role in the provision of technical assistance and policy advice.
An initiative is currently underway to establish a Joint Programme of Action
amongst UN agencies in Lesotho to respond to the needs and priorities
contained in the PRSP in a unified and coherent manner, thereby maximizing
the effectiveness of the limited levels of technical resources and official
development assistance that are available at present. However, despite noble
beginnings, there is a need to improve donor coordination and transparency.
This is critical, since the resources required to finance the implementation of
Lesotho’s poverty reduction strategy are unlikely to be achieved without
concessional finance from donors.
Capacity Building
Capacity constraints remain a particular problem in Lesotho and represent a
real challenge to the implementation of the PRSP. Inadequate skills, lack of
suitable institutions and poor incentive structures have weakened development
planning and administration, and is often cited as the rationale for the lack of
effective and efficient implementation of projects in Lesotho. Administrative
capacity is relatively weak and there is a strong expression of need in relation to
technical capacity, particularly analytical, information technology and basic
writing skills. Notwithstanding the long history of research and data gathering in
the country, Lesotho has been characterized by the absence of a culture of
evidence-based policy making. Monitoring and evaluation capacity is
consequently limited in most sectors, especially in areas related to poverty
reduction. Compounding the problem is a high turnover of skilled personnel,
which is related to political instability during the 1990s, poor salary levels,
inadequate opportunities for career progression and job satisfaction, as well as
increasing impacts of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The draft PRSP does not devote
much attention to the capacity of different development actors to effectively
implement the wide-ranging set of measures and policies. Moreover, a
discussion of the potential risks that may influence the operationalization of the
recommendations contained in the Poverty Monitoring Master Plan is notably
absent. Nonetheless, as the PRSP formulation process nears conclusion the
focus is increasingly on capacity building and utilization to ensure that the
PRSP has a sustained impact on poverty in Lesotho.
The strengthening of individual and institutional capacity is going to be crucial to
the successful attainment of poverty reduction in the country. While much is
being done to assist in improving data availability and quality in Lesotho,
especially through the efforts of donors, the institutional and individual capacity
required for monitoring and evaluation of the PRSP remains less well developed. While the government is committed to establishing a Poverty
Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (POMECO), plans for its formation have been
ongoing for over two years. In order to ensure that the PRSP policies and
strategies have the desired poverty reducing impact, the office needs to be
established and capacitated as a matter of urgency. In particular, the office
needs to be staffed by a multidisciplinary team that is adequately qualified in
poverty monitoring, measurement and analysis. Further technical assistance will
be required from development partners to ensure that this is realized and to
avoid a scenario where the PRSP ends up being a well-conceived strategy that
does not get implemented.
Implementing the PRSP must be based on delivery from the multi-sectoral
actors and cannot be done by the MoDP. The different capacities of different
sections of society will need to be mobilized, strengthened or built. Apart from
the public sector, this should equally be seen to include civil society and the
private sector, especially given the participatory development approach adopted
during the PRSP preparation, which recognized the complementary role of
different actors in the development process.
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