Chapter four: Economic governance and management financial and technical assistance to build international competitiveness within private firms and by enhancing the capacity of private businesses, professional associations and chambers to serve their members better. LEAP will also support the secretariat of the Lesotho Business Council, a newly established institution for regular public-private sector dialogue. 360. In addition to the LNDC, another parastatal, the Basotho Enterprises Development Corporation (BEDCO) endeavours to develop Basotho-owned and managed small businesses. BEDCO’s Business Advisory and Promotion Services Department is tasked with providing business extension services for SMMEs, while its Entrepreneurship Training Development Department is responsible for business management training and catering for projects resulting from the privatisation programme. 361. The LNDC also offers preinvestment and after-care services to prospective and existing investors to simplify and shorten processes related to investment issues, thereby facilitating the procurement of all permits and licences and providing assistance with company registration. It undertakes investment project appraisals and promotes equity participation in projects considered to be strategically important to the national economy and which demonstrate long-term viability. It gives subsidies to investors wishing to construct their own industrial buildings at LNDC-serviced sites. It carries out factory inspections to assess the labour situation in order to ensure harmonious relations between employers and their employees as well as compliance with the country’s labour laws by investors. 362. Given the importance of financial support for SMMEs, the government is looking at ways to improve the access to, and the affordability of, finance for small-scale entrepreneurs and youth in the informal and rural sectors. The MCA has also made funds available to support small female entrepreneurs, including women working in markets. To provide financial services in the rural and mountain areas, the government has partnered with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to strengthen the management of the Lesotho Post Bank and expand its branch network to these remote areas. 363. It is recognised that collaboration between public and private sectors is essential to promote the private sector in Lesotho successfully. Accordingly, the two sectors held a private sector development forum in 2005. The objective was to commence and cement a public-private partnership (PPP). Its aim was to create a conducive climate for private sector development. The forum’s collaborative effort created the basis for Lesotho’s proposal to secure the funds, referred to above, from the MCA. The government’s response to the global economic crisis 364. As a small, landlocked country with a very open economy, Lesotho has been vulnerable to the effects of the global financial crisis. However, the government has responded in a positive way to the crisis. It appreciates that the country’s vulnerability derives from its size, its reliance on SACU receipts, its dependence on the US market for textile exports and on grants from donors. 365. With regard to the first source of vulnerability (its dependence on SACU receipts), the government is taking measures to reduce that dependence by exploring other sources of domestic revenue. Such measures include policies which promote more efficient tax collection and reduce tax evasion. 103