Pretoria - Lesotho and South Africa have exchanged views and experiences on issues of governance relating to planning, monitoring and evaluation in order to improve the level of service delivery in both countries.
On Sunday, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, Jeff Radebe, hosted Lesotho’s Deputy Prime Minister Mothejoa Metsing and his delegation in Pretoria.
Minister Radebe said the two-day meeting, which will conclude on Monday, was squarely aimed at sharing ideas and experiences between South Africa and Lesotho, especially in the fields of planning, monitoring and evaluation.
“Both South Africa and Lesotho have a long history as neighbours and we have strong historical ties as well, as Lesotho is amongst the countries that gave sanctuary to freedom fighters in order for us to defeat the system of apartheid,” Minister Radebe said.
He said going forward, the countries need to synergise their plans and monitoring systems to benefit from each other’s experiences.
Minister Radebe opened the meeting in the morning by outlining South Africa’s programmes that aim to fast track service delivery and improve the lives of citizens for the better. These programmes include the National Development Plan, Medium Term Strategic Framework, Operation Phakisa, Presidential Siyahlola Programme, Presidential Hotline, Citizen Based Monitoring and the Back to Basics campaign.
Minister Radebe also explained to the Lesotho delegation how his department monitors other departments’ progress and reports to the Presidency.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan and Public Service and Administration Deputy Minister Ayanda Dlodlo also delivered supporting remarks on Sunday.
Deputy Prime Minister Metsing said Lesotho will forever remain indebted to South Africa for its loyal support, as the country is the first point of call whenever Lesotho experiences challenges, and it is the only neighbour Lesotho has.
“South Africa has always been engaged in the problems of Lesotho and there has been a number of agreements that have been signed by the two countries. Lesotho is surrounded by South Africa and the relationship of our countries is unique,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Metsing said the majority of Lesotho’s population lives in South Africa, and that shows how his country is close to South Africa.
“We have around two million Basotho living in Lesotho but more than four million live in South Africa,” he said.
He said most of the lessons that Lesotho will learn from South Africa are not really foreign because “they are done by our people, within the same context, same culture and landscape. In the same manner, what South Africa learns from Lesotho cannot be said to be foreign”.
He said being hosted by Minister Radebe was profound as his department is in the Presidency in South Africa and Metsing is from the office of the Prime Minister in Lesotho. Both leaders committed to find ways to further engage in programmes for the betterment of their citizens. - SAnews.gov.za
