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On 16 April 2015, the United Nations System in Lesotho convened a stakeholder
meeting on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The meeting brought together different
UN Agencies, Government of Lesotho Ministries and Lesotho's civil society.
The meeting focused on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which will frame the
new global development agenda. This Post-2015 Development Agenda will replace the
Millennium Development Goals, which expire in September 2015. More information on
the Post-2015 Development Agenda can
be found at
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview/mdg_goals/post-2015-development-agenda.html.
LCN Programs Director, Kanono Thabane presented LCN's work on the Post-2015 Development
Agenda to date, the outcomes of the recent community meetings, and the plans for further
civil society engagement on the Post-2015 Development Agenda in Lesotho.
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LCN's Programmes Director Mr Kanono Thabane making a presentation during the Post 2015 Development Agenda Stakeholder's meeting held at UNDP Maseru.
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Highlights of LCN's work to popularize the Post-2015 Agenda in Lesotho so far include:
- 2013: Community consultations in each ten districts, with the support of the Ministry of Development Planning and the UN
- 2014: Civil society training on the skills needed to engage with the Post-2015 Development Agenda in Lesotho, held jointly with the UN
- 2014: A series of dialogues involving Government, the private sector and civil society on the Means if Implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda
- 2015: a series of policy briefs on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, climate change, health and transparent and inclusive institutions, published in the Lesotho Times and the Public Eye, supported by radio and TV slots
- 2015: Community meetings to refresh community priorities for the Post-2015 Development Agenda in Lesotho
Ntate Thabane reflected on the outcomes of the recent community meetings, in particular
that along with being able to articulate their priorities, communities were also very keen
to be more involved in the formulation and implementation of the new global agenda. Specifically,
communities highlighted that they wanted clear and complementary roles and responsibilities for
Government and civil society when implementing the Agenda in Lesotho. Communities also indicated
they wanted greater ownership of development planning and implementation, and that this could be
achieved through more effectively decentralizing Government activities to the community level.
The Meeting also provided an opportunity for Government of Lesotho, civil society and international
partners to come together and begin the process of prioritizing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
in Lesotho. The task of prioritizing the goals is a detailed and important one for Lesotho, and civil
society will continue to be engaged with Government, to make sure that the interested of its
constituents are an important feature of Government negotiations.
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