2006 - the Transformation Resource Centre

Local Government
Local government is only one year old yet there
has been a lot of expectations from the public
in terms of quick and improved service delivery.
Conflicts between the new local councillors
and the chiefs intensified as the chiefs felt that
their powers were being taken away by the local
councillors. To prevent further conflicts which
could negatively affect the important role which
both the chiefs and local councillors play in
community development, the TRC worked hand
in hand with other organizations such as Centre
for Conflict Resolution in South Africa, Lesotho
Council of NGOs (LCN), the Development for
Peace Education (DPE), the Rural Self-help
Development Association (RSDA), the Ministry
of Local Government, Women and Law in
Southern Africa (WLSA), the Lesotho Mounted
Police Service (LMPS) and the Master of
the High Court to address such problems.
It was noted that in terms of service
delivery there was no improvement at all and
this was due to financial constraints as the
central government had not yet decentralized
financial resources. However, due to efforts
made by the TRC, the Ministry of Local
Government and other stakeholders there
seemed to be major progress in improving
the capacity of the local councillors. The
roles of the chiefs, local councillors and
community members were clarified and in
areas which were covered within the districts
of Maseru and Quthing all the stakeholders
are clear as to what is expected from them.
The Open Society in Southern Africa (OSISA)
funded the programmes through a project
which focused on enhancing service delivery
of local councillors within Thaba-Bosiu and
Matsieng wards. The programme provided the
communities, chiefs and local councillors with
intensive training in relation to their expected
roles, functions and responsibilities in ensuring
that the local government becomes a success.
The concerned communities were assisted to
form development committees for different
development issues and came up with action
plans which they should implement as per their
priorities. The committees were introduced to
the relevant government ministries for more
assistance in the implementation of their
action plans. The project has been used as
an advocacy tool to show the communities
that with little assistance from the outsiders
they could still realize their dreams of
developing their communities. Activities such
as land reclamation, construction of small
roads, and the protection of springs and
establishment of home gardens do not need
assistance from the central government.
Exchange Programme
Through the assistance of the Norwegian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the TRC received an
employee from IDASA and sent one to IDASA
as way of improving the capacity of the two
organizations. The participants were expected
to spend at least nine months with the host
country to learn and contribute in the activities
of the host organisation thereby sharing
information, skills and knowledge. The Norwegian
government also invited the representative
of the organisation to attend a 1 week
meeting in Norway whereby about more than
300 participants from more than 20 countries
through out the world discussed and
shared ideas on how the participating organizations
could fully benefit from the exchange
programme. The meeting also gave TRC a
good opportunity of networking with other
NGOs which are dealing with the same issues.
TRC led the community of Thaba Boisu on a public
works campaign
Ms. Tiisetso Madikhetla spent time with TRC on
Norwegian Fredskorpset Exchange from Idasa
Annual Report 2006