Let me give my complements to His Majesty King Letsie III.

Representative of the UNDP,

Representatives of the various Ministries here present,

Representatives of the Security Agencies,

Members of the Press,

Distinguished Participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, through the Ministry of Justice and Law, for authorising the holding of this workshop on Security Sector Expenditure Review at this critical time in the country’s history. Let me also congratulate you all for a job well done in successfully completing this workshop which has been going on since Monday this week. I thank all participants for your dedication in tackling this subject which is very important for the national reforms process of the Kingdom of Lesotho. Importantly I want to thank the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for supporting the workshop, and for the facilitation led by the UNDP Expert on SSR Mr. John Symons, and the National Reforms Transitional Office (NRTO) Security Sector Reforms Advisor Dr. Norman Mlambo.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am informed that participants shared very informative presentations made by experts from the UNDP, from the World Bank, from the Ministry of Defence and National Security, the Ministry of Police and Public Safety, the Ministry of Justice and Law and from all the security agencies and from the National Reforms Transitional Office.

I am further informed that the discussions were very lively and that participants were very frank with each other. I note some of the issues raised that cut across the whole security sector including the following:

• The need for rationalisation of the number of staff in all government ministries and in all the security agencies and to budget for them accordingly.
• The need to follow the appropriate public financial management procedures in the handling of government funds to achieve effectiveness, efficiency and equity.
• To implement gender best practices in the recruitment and retention of women and to guard against all forms of discrimination.
• To plan for the establishment of work stations that are in line with proposed national reforms and in line with the country’s ability to fund the planned establishments.
• To learn from the macroeconomic trends of the period 2017 – 2022 and to use that information to make informed projections of the expected expenses to sustain the security sector during and after the national reforms process.
• The need to submit appropriate reports regularly and to abide by government audit requirements.
• To collaborate with relevant national stakeholders in matters of national security, and to work together with regional, continental and global organisations on all matters of national interest.
• To plan for and budget for the building of the security sector that the Basotho want.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

All the above issues are not easy, but they can be achieved with the right political will, the right technical expertise and the right financial management. It is our hope and prayer that the Basotho are ready for change and that these difficult tasks will be done and that Lesotho will become a secure and prosperous country.

Let me take this opportunity to thank the administration and staff of the Molengoane Lodge for accommodating our workshop at such a short notice and for the entertainment on Thursday evening. I am informed that the rooms are very comfortable, the food is very nice and the staff are very hospitable.  

Once again let me thank you all for a job well done.

With these few words I declare the Security Sector Expenditure Review workshop officially closed.

I thank you.

KOTSO   PULA   NALA