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Is
another Lesotho possible? The Poverty Reduction Strategy in
Perspective |
Under this topic the first
Policy Dialogue took place on Monday, 3rd April in Maseru with more
than 100 participants from Civil Society Organisations from all over
Lesotho and Government Representatives. The event was organized by
Development for Peace Education (DPE) and the Lesotho Council of
NGOs (LCN) under the Civil Society Support Programme, which is meant
to monitor the implementation of the PRS in Lesotho.
At the beginning of the event DPE paid tribute to its founder Sr.
Veronica who was inspired by Paolo Freire to introduce his Action
Reflection Cycle (also known as Training for Transformation) in
Lesotho in the eighties. This method should help people to reflect
on their situation and to find own solutions.
A highlight was the attendance of community groups from Kanana
(Berea District), Seforong (Quiting), Koebunyane and Hloahloeng (Mohales
Hoek). The situation in these communities became visible through
their presentation: lack of roads, soil erosion, far distances to
clinics, lack of market of local production, no preschools and no
efficient agricultural extension service.
They underlined the statement, which was made by the principal
secretary in his speech earlier on: Poverty is very expensive.
The representative of Koebunyane explains it takes not less than
three days to seek for medical care, because one has to walk for a
full day to reach the nearest clinic. While away to seek for medical
care the daily work in the field and in the garden will be abundant.
There is also a high risk that stock thefts occur during the
absence.
The LCN budget analyst presented the findings of a study to assess
how the National Budget (2004/2005) was spent and how it related to
three PRS priorities, namely Employment Creation & Income
Generation, Agriculture & Food Security, Democracy, Governance,
Safety & Security. There was relevant under expenditure in a few
cases as well as gaps in reporting. As a conclusion she urged the
Government to come up with institutional structures for monitoring
the PRS implementation.
The event will be followed by other meetings in Semonkong, Phamong
and Mohales Hoek in the coming months.
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