Berea, June 23 — The three days National Leadership and Accountability Summit staged at Teyateyaneng, finally came to an end on Tuesday night with the Prime Minister (PM), Mr. Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane calling for more action and less talking when delivering their commitments to the nation.
The PM strongly remarked that time for endless discussions has passed, the Basotho nation is expecting some results, therefore enough with talking and the time for action now.
He acknowledged dedication, commitment, level of engagement, active participation demonstrated by leaders throughout the deliberations, highlighting that the level of engagement is precisely what leadership requires.
“Leaders must engage honestly, challenge one another respectfully and if need be, they should agree to disagree,” he added.
Mr. Matekane stressed that what inspired him most despite their differences in their views and perspectives, their intentions remained the same to strengthen governance, to improve service delivery and advance the development of the country.
“Such spirit of collective responsibility is what leadership should constantly embody,” he boldly explained.
As they conclude the forum, he reminded the participants that it was never meant to be another meeting or reporting exercise, but a platform for alignment in leadership, performance review, coordination, accountability and collective problem solving with a clear intended outcome aimed to improve the effectiveness of their institutions and accelerate the delivery of tangible results for the Basotho nation.
“Throughout our discussions, we reviewed our collective commitments, held one another accountable, spoke about achievements, but most importantly they acknowledged their shortcomings, highlighting that level of transparency is essential if they are to build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement across the government,” he explained.
Mr. Matekane pin pointed out that one of the important urgent needs is to strengthen our systems, particularly their planning, monitoring and reporting mechanisms, adding that frequent and meaningful reporting must become part of their institutional culture.
He continued to say such reporting must be aligned with the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP-II) as extended as their only guiding framework and indeed their development bible, however he said alignment alone is not enough, but they must ensure that all leaders and institutions understand the context of the NSDP-II and the results it seeks to achieve and only then they can properly measure their progress and direct their efforts towards meaningful outcomes.
“It was reported that effective reporting is not about activities undertaken, but it must speak to the baseline on where they started, progress achieved and most importantly the impact created in the lives of Basotho,” he highlighted.
The PM indicated that another critical lesion which emerged during their deliberations is planning for the future, citing that good governance is not only managing present challenges, but it is also about anticipating future opportunities and risks and positioning their institutions and responding effectively.
He also said he took particular notes from the remarks shared by the Rwanda President in his address, especially his emphasis on the importance of domestic resource mobilization as a foundation for sustainable national development, rather than relying on external support.
“We must therefore strengthen our capacity to generate and manage our own resources, broaden our revenue base and ensure that our development agenda is inclusively financed from within,” he added.
PM expressed his appreciation to the progress shared by the Ministry of Finance regarding the development of the integrated financing strategy of 2026 which caters for almost others; public private partnership and it is expected to be rolled out in the near future, citing that it is a significant step in the right direction.
“Our NSDP recognizes the private sector as the engine of economic growth and job creation, the government alone cannot deliver on the scale of investment, innovation and economic transformation that we seek and we must create an enabling environment that attracts private investment,” he said.
Additionally, he said they must accelerate efforts to operationalize frameworks and create opportunities for the greater the private sector participation in infrastructure development, service delivery and industrialization and economic growth, adding that in doing so they will not only reduce dependency, but also build a more resilient, self sustaining and prosperous economy for future generation.
PM articulated that the recommendations emerged from the forum will not remain on paper, but they will be consolidated and presented before the cabinet for consideration and once approved they must be implemented, adding that his office will ensure that such resolutions are followed up and enforced.
In conclusion, PM highlighted that in a few days time, they will convene the National Dialogue and the Accountability Summit where anticipation is high among the citizens to get the resolutions which arise from the forum and more importantly he urged them to approach it with humility, listen to their concerns, feedback and their expectations.
He urged them to recognize that accountability is not a threat to leadership, but it is an essential part of it, further highlighting that the government belongs to them, it is the government for the people, by the people for the people.
“Voices of the citizens must continue to guide our decisions and shape our priorities, therefore leaving this forum will continue to carry out the spirit of collaboration, accountability and action characterized by their decisions,” he said.
The PM reiterated that they should continue to commit themselves in the implementation of the resolutions, strengthening their institutions they have adopted and to deliver measurable improvement for Basotho’s lives, adding that the success of the forum will not be judged by the discussions, but by the quality of their actions and the results that follows.
He also issued a stern warning to service providers to timely process their payments after getting the services.
Also sharing her vote of thanks, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Justice Nthomeng Majara briefly acknowledged the participants for their dedication and hard work and seriousness and they now have an almost ready report for the national accountability dialogue summit.
Justice Majara said for the fact that they are going with the same report being made by different clusters to the nation, all discussions will then be reviewed by the cabinet and approved of its content.
Among the issues which unfolded during the summit includes capacity building in mindset shift and cultural transformation, strategic governance and performance management, and other issues pertaining to good governance.
The forum also saw a virtual address by the Rwanda Prime Minister Dr. Nsengiyumva Justin who made a reflection about their journey from post genocide to being the most recognized country when it comes to good governance.
Meanwhile, the same summit saw, Prime Minister handing over the certificates of participation for the participants who successfully completed the Executive Leadership Coaching Programme, as one of the initiatives which began in 2023 through a partnership between the Government of Lesotho and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Ends/RM/tl
