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Activities The Lesotho Democracy Programme held a number of public hearings at Seroeng in Makhaleng Constituency on 16/02/2009 and Ha-Tlali on 26/02/09 There are eleven villages that fall under the Seroeng ward Chief which were present at the public hearing while on the other hand Ha-Tlali cluster had been represented by ten villages: Seroeng Cluster Ha-Tlali Cluster 1. Ha Rantasana 1. Moqoaqokong 2. Ha Lenaka 2. Ha-Mafisa 3. Ha Lilabo 3. Ha-Mojakopo 4. Ha Setoki 4. Khololikane 5. Ha Mokheseng 5. Ha-Nako 6. Ha Kobeli 6. Ha-Tlali 7. Ha Motjotji 7. Ha-Mokhou 8. Seroeng 8. Ha-Saba 9. Ha Ramafikeng 9. Ha-Mohaleapula 10. Ha Lepolesa 10. Ha-Mojakane 11. Ha-Raboletse The kernel of the public hearings was on the concept of democratization of parliament and the dynamics of this process, enhancement of public participation on parliamentary affairs, roles and responsibilities of an MP and how the constituents should interrelate with their MP for the advancement of the principles of good governance. This particular public hearing has built up on the initial one which was held in 2008 where the LDP was introduced to the constituents and the local Council. The LDP has been instigated by the fact that members of public were passive and apathetic about parliamentary matters and as a result LDP through its outreach program is mandated to robustly educate the public about the functions of the parliament, roles and responsibilities of the MPs and those of voters and further how public participation should be enhanced for effective parliamentary engagement. Good Governance Officer had invited the Member of Parliament (MP), Hon. ‘Mankati M. Masobeng, for Makhaleng Constituency No.45 and she honored the invitation. In her speech, the MP acknowledged the LDP contribution in advancing democratic principles within the communities. According to the MP, LDP has awakened and reminded the MPs in general to be sensitive of the needs of their constituencies. Furthermore, LDP has robustly educated the communities about local government and how local government relates to the central government especially its organs of governance . In relation to the democratization of parliament, the MP stated that in the past public participation was not regarded as one of the paramount principle of good governance. However, with the current parliamentary reforms, public participation is entrenched within the National Assembly Standing Orders. Therefore, what the LDP was doing was in line with the general understanding that communities should participate on matters that have effects on their lives and as a result LDP interventions complement that of the MPs in educating the constituents about the functions, roles and responsibilities of the parliament. Public hearing at Ha-Tlali was conducted after the Budget Speech was made in parliament by the Hon. Minister of Finance on 18/02/09. Therefore, the Budget Speech was critically discussed with the community and I have made them aware of why Budget Speech was important in general and for Lesotho in particular. Manifestly, the people were not aware of the political and socio-economic trends/factors that informed the Ministers Budget Speech as their Constituency lacked infrastructure developments such as road networks and bridges and yet their area was not covered by the Budget Speech. For both public hearings held, LDP booklets were distributed. The bookletS briefly explain the State Organs and how they function and further it describes the parliamentary law-making processes and procedures. And finally the lobby groups were elected and each village was represented by one community member. Mekaling Constituency No 59:
Nthekeleng The Mekaling MP, Hon. Mahlomola Makhube initially had agreed to be part of the public hearings but finally he did not show up. However, public hearings continued as planned. The main issues discussed in both public hearings at the constituencies were the same crossed the board. What differed were the attitudes and enthusiasm of the constituents about the issues and their level of engagement to the issues. The GGO having explained the roles and responsibilities of the MP together with that of parliament, the people pointed out that:
At Morifi, the people from this area were vehement that their MP was not doing enough in terms of influencing development initiatives. The people pointed out that Mr. James Motlatsi the former NUM Secretary General, donated Community Secondary School and electricity supply to the area. They have however asked the government to further assist them with the electricity supply to their household but this had not materialized as yet. Rothe Constituency
MP for Rothe Constituency is relatively new in parliament as a result of the By-election which was held in June last year. Many people seriously argued that they don’t know their MP as he rarely holds constituency clinics. The communities admitted that normally when they elect their MP they elect them according to political party inclinations rather than on quality grounds and as a result accountability and responsiveness of MPs are compromised in most instances. However, this particular public hearing was of importance to the community as they have been enlightened about their roles and responsibilities (as the voters) over their MP. Lobby groups were elected and they have been mandated to play a role of lobbying and advocacy. The communities indicated that they did not have much knowledge about Budget Speech recently delivered by the Minister and they were not aware of the factors/trends that informed the Minister’s budget priorities. The communities pointed out that:
In concluding the public hearings, the communities were urged to follow the debates in parliament when the budget speech is interrogated during the month of March. LDP booklets were provided to the communities for them to read more about governance issues.
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(c) 2008 Lesotho Democracy Programme |