Purpose

1. The National Reforms Transitional Office in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP Lesotho) is conducting an expenditure review of the Security Sector with the support of the Lesotho / UN National Security Sector Reforms for Peacebuilding Project (NSSRPP),

NSSRPP objectives

2. The project is supporting some of the major security sector objectives stemming from the National Reforms  which were formally agreed at the Multi-Stakeholder National Dialogue Plenary II of November 2019. The National Security Sector Reforms for Peacebuilding Project has four mandated objectives:
   1. National security policy and strategy, review of sectoral laws, and an expenditure review;
   2. Strengthened internal and public oversight mechanisms;
   3. Enhanced government and state security institutions engagement with society, and citizen participation in SSR; and
   4. Informal / community conflict resolution;

With a strong gender and human rights emphasis.

Aim of the review

3. The expenditure review brought together participants from the security agencies and the relevant government ministries and departments to provide information for the report of the first ever sector-wide expenditure review and to share their challenges, opportunities and ideas.

Why it is important

4. The interplay of security, justice, and public finance is still a relatively unexplored area of development. Informed discussions on security sector expenditure policy are an essential part of the national policy or reforms process, through which central finance agencies fulfill their function of contesting (or advocating for) expenditure proposals in the Kingdom’s planning and budgeting process.
5. Dialogue on security expenditure policy also strengthens international partners’ engagement on security issues, helping them make informed decisions regarding the appropriate level and form of external assistance.
6. Expenditure reviews are not to be feared, indeed they provide the scientific justifications for budgets. Simultaneously, they help identify waste or opportunities to redirect resources back to core business.
7. Expenditure reviews do not determine approaches to security threats and challenges. They are about numbers. Or more accurately, they help governments and practitioners to obtain a better picture of the money spent on security, including what it is spent on, how and, most importantly, why? By providing a better analysis of such spending - through public expenditure reviews - technical experts can facilitate better informed decisions at the senior leadership level about policy and operational approaches to the sector. These reviews also allow authorities to assess the sustainability of both current operations and proposed reforms.
8. In my opinion, public expenditure reviews are the also foundations of government and public trust, stemming from transparency and accountability for the effective use of taxpayers money. They pay for us so they should know, at least in broad terms, what their money is being used for.

The problem

9. Government departments in every country feel under resourced, even in rich countries. The budget never seems to be enough (and the United Nations is no exception). Every country has a limited budget and must live within its means, like the rest of us. Security institutions are no exception.
10. Of course, the impact of resource shortages is felt most sharply in poorer countries through a lack of the most basic necessities like rations and quarters, salaries and allowances, and basic training and equipment.

Solutions

11. Governments don’t hand out large sums of money unless there is a benefit from that investment. So, we need to demonstrate:
    1. that security is essential for citizens’ livelihoods and access to services, and for the free exercise of civil, political, social, and economic rights; that security is particularly important for the poor, for women and other vulnerable groups, who suffer disproportionately from insecurity.
    2. the link between security agencies mandated roles and tasks and the cost of delivering them.

Conclusion

12. This workshop has sought to address a mandated Multi-Stakeholder National Dialogue Plenary II activity.
13. We are confident that this will provide transparency on the costs and benefits of an adequately structured and funded security sector, and the dangers of not funding the sector.
14. A report from the workshop will be finalised next week for the NRTO’s consideration and further processing, in accordance with the mandate for national reforms in the security sector.

Thank you