MASERU, June 09 — The government will host a National Leadership Retreat and an Accountability Summit aimed at strengthening leadership, improving service delivery and promoting accountability across the public sector.
Addressing a press conference in Maseru on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Justice Nthomeng Majara said the National Leadership Retreat will be held from June 21 to 23, while the Accountability Summit will take place from July 01 to 03.
She said the two events will focus on the theme, “Building Stronger Communities through Leadership, Accountability and Results-Oriented Service Delivery.”
Justice Majara explained that the gatherings are intended to improve leadership, enhance transparency and create a platform for dialogue between government leaders and the public.
She said the National Leadership Retreat will provide an opportunity for government leaders to assess service delivery performance and agree on priority actions aimed at addressing challenges facing the country.
The Deputy Prime Minister further noted that the Accountability Summit will give Basotho an opportunity to engage directly with their leaders, ask questions and receive feedback on public services.
According to Justice Majara, the forum will also enable citizens to contribute ideas and solutions that can help shape national development.
She encouraged Basotho to follow the proceedings through television, radio, social media platforms and other public engagement channels to ensure broad participation.
Justice Majara added that the government remains committed to the national reforms process and said the upcoming forum will provide an opportunity to reflect on progress made and update the public on key developments.
Meanwhile, Minister of Trade, Industry and Business Development, Mr. Motlatsi Maqelepo, said accountability is not a new concept, but there has been a lack of a structured mechanism through which government reports back to citizens.
He said the Accountability Summit is intended to address that gap by creating a formal platform for government to account for its work and performance.
Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Mr. Stephen Mputi, stressed the importance of providing feedback to the public and called on the media to help inform Basotho about the upcoming events.
He said citizens should be encouraged to participate actively and contribute towards achieving the country’s development goals.
“We have served the people and there is a need to report back to them. This is a new concept that requires contributions from all stakeholders to build the Lesotho we want,” he said.
On his part, Minister of Public Service, Mr. Moeketsi Mots’oane, said government has a responsibility to provide feedback to citizens and indicated that there are plans for annual reporting to the nation through the Prime Minister.
Speaking on previous cabinet decisions that were communicated through Lesotho Television, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Mr. Matjato Moteane, said the practice was discontinued after it became apparent that only state media regularly attended the briefings.
He expressed hope that the Accountability Summit will provide a broader platform for engagement and produce better outcomes.
The upcoming summit is supported by the United Nations Development Programme and has also benefited from technical expertise from the Rwanda Cooperative Institute, which has assisted the Government of Rwanda in organising similar annual summits aimed at improving service delivery.
Ends/AM
