A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in Lesotho

Abstract

The Government of Lesotho has drafted the Local Government Bill 2016. The Bill is supposed to be a reformist piece of legislation to transform not only the model of decentralisation established by the Local Government Act of 1997, but to also undo the colonial legacy of de-concentration. To this end, the government adopted a new decentralisation policy in 2014, which unequivocally provides that the model of decentralisation in Lesotho shall be ‘devolution’. Hence, the 2016 Bill is assessed in this light: whether it implements this policy decision. This paper contends that, while an attempt is made by the Bill to introduce some semblance of autonomy for local authorities, the model of devolution it introduces is in fact very weak and needs significant strengthening if decentralisation is to succeed.