Activities
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Public hearings were again held in the following areas: Liqalaneng, Ha- Majara, Marallaneng

These were with the following objective:

• To improve a record of parliamentary engagement with Basotho including constituency feedback on parliament.
• To increase public participation in parliamentary and governance activities and to increase linkages between constituents and the MP.
• To increase public participation in parliamentary and governance activities.

The Liqalaneng public hearing concentrated on parliament and its role, Parliamentarians and their roles in parliament and constituencies; and their relationship with local government and general concerns of the public. Public participation in parliament and governance were also major issues tackled by the public.

The importance of MPs good rapport with his constituents cannot be overemphasised for better relations and good service delivery in constituencies. LDP has found that most concerns are the same in respective constituencies, regarding developmental needs, parliamentary and law making issues, provisions of The Constitution of Lesotho and proper mechanisms in place to strengthen relations in constituencies between MP, constituents and councils.

LDP constitutes a forum for gathering, exchange and dissemination of information relevant to strengthening of civil society/parliament relations in Lesotho. Thus it was found that it has become a norm for MPs to give constituency feedback and attend constituency clinics and how such legislation would affect constituents themselves in the process. Though the progress is very slow, most MPs are warming up to public policy and law engagement in parliamentary and governance issues. It was found that MP for Butha-Buthe does make consultative meetings and assist constituents whenever such need arises; however, there seem to be a dire need of developments and execution in the constituency which make it difficult for constituents to consider him liable to represent them in parliament. The scenario in Lesotho is such that even when Parliamentarians effectively carry out their mandated duties in Parliament but fail to provide or lobby for developmental projects such as schools, hospitals/clinics, roads/bridge and recreational facilities among others that they promised, they are seen as inefficient and ineffective. The reason being such projects are the tangible materials that convince the ordinary voter that a Parliamentarian is doing his/her job.

The issue of parliamentarians’ behaviour between elections where a huge gap develops between parliament and the people is an area of concern, most constituents make mistake of equating democracy only when holding regular elections. While free and fair elections are certain conditions for existence of democracy, only they will not guarantee that institutions function properly. Democracy also requires a parliament that represents the people and all parts of society. It must be endowed with institutional powers and practical means to express the will of the people. LDP hence advocates for constituents to be briefed frequently on parliamentary and governance matters for update and be informed. It is democratic that constituents demand for accountability from Parliamentarians, which is often unfortunately measured by developmental needs of the public rather than their parliamentary mandate. MPs should feel obliged to account for their work to constituents since accountability is a major component of parliamentary democracy or wait till elections to again try to seek re-election from electorates. Public participation is gradually been understood by electorates and demand that they be included in not only political but also in parliamentary activities especially law making process. This is still a major challenge as constituents still get passed laws without their consultation-imposition of laws to Basotho is overwhelmingly opposed. It is time that Parliament speedily capacitate committees to operate as mandated an include Basotho in law making procedure.

Further, constituents found that budget lacks public participation in all aspects. Access to budget is not easy though not prohibited by law. Very little information is made available during the budget drafting phase. No pre- budget statement is released to the legislature or to the public for scrutiny, debate and contributions. Then public participation in budgetary processes is suppressed to the core. Even budget feedback from the MPs and ministries is minimal hence the public is left in the dark on how their developmental needs requested in the past fiscal year are considered in the current national budget. How the councils get sufficient fund from the national budget is another priority as much is needed in communities. One cannot ignore the fact that both MPs and council lack technical know how of scrutinising budgetary issues hence their concerns and contributions are not considered or are of little importance. Councils too, are not sufficiently funded thus a huge gap of service delivery and developmental needs. There is a need to strengthen and capacitate both levels of government for efficient, effective scrutiny of National Budgets. Need for more frequent and timely reports on in-year spending should be made available to legislature and the public. However, parliament leadership is reluctant to embrace donor funding from different NGOs for MPs capacitating. As LDP objective stipulates, there is a need to foster broader public participation not only in national budgets but in governance issues generally as a way of promoting integration of both majorities and minorities in government issues so as to further have tactful public sector service delivery. Community lobby group was established for further follow-up and linkages between MP, councils and constituents

At Ha-Majara LDP enlightened the people to demand accountability from their parliamentarians and councils and making informed decisions in choosing their representatives though the process is gradual. In this village, constituents are satisfied with MPs roles execution but developments need to be prioritised. Behaviour of MPs after being elected to parliament resurfaced, constituents were dissatisfied with MPs negligence of electorates and concern about party line and aligning to party caucuses. Because of the situation confidence and trust in Basotho in their respective MPs and elections is deteriorating fast because MPs do not deliver as mandated, which calls for time to demand that their MPs be seen to be advocating and practicing the notion of being MP for all constituents and unity in constituencies. LDP is massively advocating for the MPs who is responsive to the needs of all constituents regardless of their political affiliations. Further, importance of voting cannot be over emphasised, it is considered anarchist reasoning for not participating in elections in many countries. However, many constituents are still clueless of why they vote and the importance of their individual votes. For constituents to be enlightened and have broader perspective on such issues, voter education and communication which LDP has covered hugely thus far need to be intensified for better informed society. Because Lesotho is worse hit by poverty, unemployment and illiteracy especially in the rural areas, MPs have a responsibility towards constituents for information provision, sharing and dissemination about parliament, government and law making processes in collaboration with civil society organisations such TRC through LDP in their respective objectives and missions.

LDP brings to light the demand side of good governance based on active involvement of citizens in parliamentary activities and as well enable MPs to sensitize their constituents on proceedings in parliament in form of constituency clinics/surgeries and constituency. Because constituents have now moved from being dormant to demanding and active, they want some provisions or sections of The Constitution of Lesotho to be amended so that they can have a bigger say in recalling their respective MPs, whenever and wherever s/he does not deliver as mandated. MP should be held to account or be removed from office so that a new candidate could be voted in. Constituents also wanted a broader picture of Mixed Member electoral system (First Past the Post and Proportional Representation) being used currently in Lesotho so that they can make informed decisions during election time. First past the post and proportional representation should be extensively dealt with, so that constituents could have a sense of representivity and inclusion when they are casting votes; unlike proportional representative MPs who owe allegiance to their respective parties.

Counter to other villages where there are no good relations between the MP and the council, this community is fortunate to have MP and councillor who work together for the good of the society. However, funds allocated to the council are insufficient resulting in incapacity to execute and implement community’s developmental needs. There is a need to do proper accountability and transparency on public funds for constituents to be satisfied of their utilisation; which needs involvement of three parties namely; the MP, Council and public. Because citizens want to be part of governance process, they want to be enlightened on how public funds are spent and what society is getting in return. Though the relations are harmonised, the MP is still not mandated to be actively involved in council operations. Generally, LDP has held many public hearings in different constituencies and almost all concerns are the same which means that concentration should be mostly on approaching and collaborating with MPs, local councils for further implementation and execution. The MP is involved in execution of developments, some are donor funded but there are not enough for communities which are worst hid by poverty and starvation. One could observe poor attendance in almost all hearings, the reason being, there are many promises made by many organisations on community’s need but thus far there has not been any follow up nor implementation; which calls for more depth and robust intervention of LDP to truly do follow-ups and give feedback to communities; further introspection of LDP objectives and mission should also be reconsidered. Lobby group was established for further follow up and consultations. Ha Sechele’s public hearing was postponed because the Chief suddenly passed away and the hearing had to be postponed.

At Marallaneng LDP advocatedfor public interest and participation, it should be seen more being contributors and supporters of parliamentary and participatory democracy and being a major link between Legislature and Execuitve; with public interest at a centre stage. LDP has achieved networking, exchanging and disseminating information for public benefit. Subsequently, legislators would be able to scrutinise and amend laws or policy objectively for the advantage and interest of the public thus public participation would be taken seriously with a sense of involvement and ownership in political process and democracy. Because LDP enhances public policy engagement it cannot be overemphasised the importance of MPs/constituents relations in parliamentary affairs, as in democratic governments/legislatures routinely consult, interact and exchange views and information access with the public; so that citizens can express their preferences and provide their support for decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. However, this community’s concern was not on the MP who consult and frequently give constituency feedback, their concern was on council; this is one aspect which LDP cannot ignore as it touches the daily lives of constituents hence need robust working on. There is a need for local government reform to collaborate with government officials to improve local governance; that is to improve management skills and capacity building to engage citizens in local decisions making which is not the case in many communities where local government do not hold any public hearings to inform the public on governance and budget issues. There is a need to maximise communities’ limited resources while improving local services. Citizens and local councils should participate in seminars to better understand financial issues and lobby elected officials on citizens’ main concerns.

Dealing with elected representatives on an on-going basis, which Basotho needs, strengthens the relationship between legislators and constituents and increases the possibility of legislators acting on their behalf.

MPs participation in Budgetary processes: One effective way of perfecting members’ active engagement in the budgetary process is through presentation to Parliament by the Executive of a medium-term policy statement providing an opportunity for MPs to understand the overall policy framework within which the next budget will be developed. However, predominately there is secrecy at the drafting stage which often hides poor budgeting practices and provides a dangerous breeding ground for corruption and inefficiency. The ensuing weak participation is further a recipe for subsequent supplementary budgets to suit Executive indulgences which mostly prevails in Lesotho. MPs participation is very weak with exception of the few who are former ministers or have higher education level. Generally constituents are very dissatisfied with budget allocations and oversight. Most corrupt personnel are not dealt with accordingly, with evidence missing and continuous corruption which is in high levels in Lesotho.

There is evidently, weak budget execution undermines the principles behind national budgets and further distorts spending priorities to the detriment of the economy and policy. MPs are expected to be involved in stages of Budget but the legal framework does not cater for this, they need to push for the necessary legislation to allow them do so. There is a need for maximum member involvement in the budgetary process which should include: Constitutional mandate that entrench their roles in the process; vigorous involvement of parliamentary committees especially Economic and Development Cluster given birth by parliamentary reforms processes and probably establishment of units which would concentrate on budget research. An active and purposeful engagement of the budgetary process by Members not only ensures equitable allocations and prioritization among competing expenditure areas but also empowers them to make decisions they are required to in the most wise and prudent manner- of course putting the interest of their respective constituencies at heart. It also pre-empts parliamentary tug-of-war between the Executive and the backbenchers over budgetary proposals, and creates opportunities for greater consensus resulting in very modest level of amendments. Notwithstanding the above, several reasons render substance as to why MPs need to actively participate in the budget process. Key among these are: Legislative approval of the budget as a constitutional requirement; as the representatives of the people/electorates/constituents, parliament must ensure that the budget reflects the priorities of the nation; checks and balances tend to support transparency, accountability and good governance; participation can build consensus over difficult choices and trade-offs, and improve policy, if well designed and structured.

Research Support and documentation: Even when parliament has the legal and political space to shape budgets, analytical capacity is necessary to make full use of this opportunity. Lesotho is in dire need of robust Research and analytical capacity: Independent dedicated and specialized research service for Members to access independent information and analysis on the budget is a must. Political goodwill coupled with the establishment of parliamentary budget offices and research departments add impetus to this. Then there has to be an availability of factual, comprehensive, accurate, appropriate and timely information supplied by the Executive, as well as the supporting documentation. Economic and Development Cluster needs researchers who could empower their budget scrutiny and analysis. Parliamentary committees must also be strengthened to allow for in-depth and more technical debate, away from the political grandstanding that characterizes proceedings on the floor of the House. The budget should be brought before Parliament for approval after meaningful analysis and scrutiny. More often, members have limited time periods allocated to review and interrogate the document.

Another important aspect is budget documentation, which makes it possible for Parliament and the public to monitor budget performance through time, and to provide timely feedback to allow for corrective and remedial measures. This is an area which Lesotho parliament should work hard on for information sharing, provision and dissemination. Committee involvement in the budget process appears to be gaining momentum albeit with varying degrees of success thus rendering strength to oversight capacity. Lesotho parliament after Parliament Reforms is starting to perform such tasks and sourcing independent expertise from outside parliament though there are hiccups in the process and might take longer time to stabilise. The information the committees draw from this participation and interactions can be fed back into the budget process and help shape future budgets.

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