Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Ministry of Development Planning held a one day policy validation workshop with the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to seek input of different stakeholders that will be included in the draft policy
on Thursday. CSOs have operated in Lesotho for many decades in different sectors found in the management of health care, provision of education and delivery of social services.
Others work in the areas of gender equality, human rights, environment, advocacy and participatory issues. Ministry of Development Planning Department
of Aid Coordination Director Ntšiuoa Jase said the purpose of the validation workshop is to provide CSOs with the opportunity to examine the draft policy
developed with their participation during earlier consultation meetings. She said this is a continuation of the work that the ministry started towards the
end of last year that was aimed to develop a cooperative strategy with CSOs. “We collected the opinions of the society throughout all the 10 districts of the
country to develop the policy, so the representatives of the society have gathered here today to approve that we have done the expected work,” Jase stated.
She further informed that CSOs are the right hand of the government that helps it to formulate plans and put them into practice, therefore the government of Lesotho is not willing to work alone but to
go with international goals more especially with the implementation of the National Strategic Development Plan II (NSDP). She noted that the policy is going to
reinforce that the government and the CSOs have the same vision to fulfill development of the country because all of their plans work under guidance of
NSDP II. CSOs Rural Self-help Association Representative ‘Makarabelo Makhoele in an interview stated that they encourage public participation in order for the government to share ideas with the community
before implementing them. She said the effort taken by the government to meet people throughout the country sharing information with the society is important
because it shows that the government recognizes them. Ministry of Development Planning Principal Secretary (PS) Sello Tšukulu in his statement declared that the country is
facing huge challenges which need strong support together with civil society representatives. He said most of the challenges are worsened by the current
situation brought by the advent of Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in the decline of economy, high unemployment rate, low standard of education and closure of
industrial areas. “The strong cooperation between the government and the CSOs will assist in the implementation of everlasting policies that will help with the
challenges faced by the country. The country through the ministry is in the process of shaping NSDP 3 policy that will be different from the previous one
when it comes to resilience against new emerging pandemics in the world,”Tšukulu explained. He added that the policy is also going to strengthen the issues of implementation and both parties will always work
together for the benefit of the countries development. On the other side, the Local Consultant Lerotholi Peete in his presentation on the other finalization and development
of the policy focused points said this policy aimed to formalize the partnership relationship between government of Lesotho and CSOs to achieve common goals and outcomes for the benefit of the Basotho nation, its
communities and people. “The goal will be realized through the achievement of among others clarification of roles and responsibilities as well as the rights and obligations of the parties to the partnership, promotion of
transparency and accountability, information sharing and implementation of government commitments in the NSDP II and other international frameworks,” he
highlighted. On the point of vision statement and guiding principles Peete said by 2020 the government and the CSOs will have reached the targets of SDG 16 and 17 partnership
for goals and have shown that the policy proposes principles encompasses of the shared vision, enabling environment, recognition, respect and autonomy and freedom to associate.
For More News And Analysis About Lesotho Follow Africa-Press
