FOREWORDSUMMARY
EXECUTIVE
It gives me great pleasure to present the Country Review Report and the National Programme of
Action
of the Kingdom of Lesotho. This is the twelfth report in the series and the ninth one to have
1. Origin and purpose of the African Peer Review Mechanism
been completed under my stewardship as Chairperson of the APR Forum.
1.1
In recognition of the imperatives of good governance for development, the Sixth Summit of the
Heads
of State aand
Government
Implementation
Committee
(HSGIC) ofofthe
New Partnership
for
The Report
highlights
number
of commendable
practices
for the Kingdom
Lesotho.
These include
Africa’scoexistence
Development
held in March
2003 in
Abuja,
Nigeria, adopted
the Memorandum
of
the peaceful
of(NEPAD),
a constitutional
monarchy
with
a parliamentary
system
of government,
Understanding
(MoU) on the of
African
Peerparty
Review
Mechanismrepresentation
(APRM). The APRM,
which
is turning
the adoption
and implementation
a mixed
proportional
system
for enhanced
to be the mostand
innovative
aspect
of NEPAD,
is an
instrument
voluntarily
to by
member
politicalout
inclusiveness,
the security
sector
reforms
that
have contributed
toacceded
peace and
stability
in
statesFurthermore,
of the AfricanLesotho
Union (AU)
as aofself-monitoring
initiative
for rates
good in
governance.
the country.
has one
the highest adult
literacy
Africa. The African
Peer Review (APR) process entails periodic reviews of the policies and practices of participating
states
to ascertain
being made
towards achieving
mutually agreedIngoals
and compliance
The APRM
offers
Lesothoprogress
the opportunity
to consolidate
these achievements.
this context,
I invite
withstakeholders
agreed political,
economic
corporate
governancePartners
values, codes
andtogether
standards
as outlined
all the key
in the
countryand
and
the Development
to work
with
Lesotho
the Declaration
on Democracy,
Political,
Economic
and Corporate
Governance.
for the insuccessful
implementation
of the
Programme
of Action
emanating
from the exercise. In this
regard,Inthe
APRto Forum
annual progress
reports
and
assist
with the
implementation
1.2
order
ensurewill
the receive
professionalism
and integrity
of the
whole
process,
a Panel
of Eminent
process,Persons
as mandated
in
the
APRM
Base
Documents.
(or the APR Panel) has been set up. Deliberately drawn from all the five subregions of
Africa, the APR Panel currently comprises the following persons: Professor Adebayo Adedeji
I wouldfrom
like Nigeria;
to thankAmbassador
the Government
andKiplagat
People of
theKenya;
Kingdom
Lesotho
for reaching
this stage
Bethuel
from
MrsofGraça
Machel
from Mozambique;
of the process.
extend my Seghir
appreciation
to theAlgeria;
other Mrs
member
countries
of the APR
Forum
for their
ProfessorIMohammed
Babès from
Domitila
Mukantagazwa
from
Rwanda;
and
commitment
and
support
to
the
Mechanism
as
a
whole.
I
am
also
grateful
to
the
APR
Panel
of
Eminent
Professor Dorothy Njeuma from Cameroon.
Persons and the APR Secretariat for preparing this Country Review Report.
1.3
Twenty-nine out of 53 AU member states had signed up for the APRM by April 2009. Participating
countries include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo,
Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania3, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa,
Sudan,
Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia. The APR Panel has launched reviews in 16 countries.
Meles
Zenawi
Eleven
of
countries
have received review missions. The next countries in line for peer review
Chairpersonthese
of the
APR Forum
are Mali, Mozambique and Lesotho.
2. Implementation of the APRM in Lesotho
2.1
3
Lesotho acceded to the APRM in July 2004 at the AU Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The
national process started with a national consultative workshop at the Manthabiseng National
Convention Centre in Maseru in October 2005. A ministerial subcommittee was set up and a
Country APR Focal Point was established within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Relations. A broad-based and all-inclusive APRM National Governing Council (NGC) was set up
and mandated to manage the APRM process in the country.
Participation suspended after a military coup.
i1