A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 1979 / The central focus of this thesis is on the machinery of planning in tae Lesotho Government and the tasks which it endeavoured ;o initiate and administer. One objective of the study has therefore been ti furnish a detailed internal history of those departments of" Government (in particular, the Central Planning and Development Office) principally concerned with planniig. The primary purpose, however, lias been to use this casu study to provide an insight into the nature of the bureaucracy and, mere specifically, into its attitude toward, and capability of Initiating, reform. The study thus relates to one of the major issues of concern to political and administrative analysts of underdeveloped and recently politicallyindeoendent states: namely the compatibility or otherwise of the ’bureaucracy* with 'reform' and 'development'. Planning wa. selected as an appropriate focal point for this analysis, since it had generated such great expectations in the early post-colonial period. It was common to the administrative experience of many new state that the establishment of a central planning office was considered to be one essential early step toward change and progress. The detailed case study covers the administration of planning in Lesotho for the ten years between 19^5 and 1975• It commences immediately before the establishment of the Planning Office, obt.vrvcs its establishment, the problematic early years of minimal advance and, later, its more rapid growth and relatively enhanced efficiency. A portrayal of this history as a subunit struggling to increase its influence in conflict and competition with other subunits of a large bureaucratic organization, presents a more accurate representation than one Which suggests the evolution of tic planning machinery as part oi a s'- Totic exercise in administrative reform. next section, which relates and discusses the visws and concerns of the participants themselves, is intended Co offer further insight into the •official mind' of the Lesotho bureaucracy, and thus to supplement the case study. A brief examination of the principal features of Lesotho's economy follows. This reveals clearly that the me L. trends are towards a deipening state of underdevelopment and a steadily growing dependence. The record of a deteriorating economic predicament is Jux+*posed with the strengthening of the planning machinery and so throws into question the role of the bureaucracy in a situation of this nature. At the cloaa, three approaches to public administration in underdeveloped countries are discussed as a means of interpreting wlia t , exactly, lias been observed. Ihe 1 irst conclusion is tliat the case a^udy reveals a strengthening of the planning machinery which would satisfy the very m dest requirements of reform as understood by the 'African Public Administration and Management' movement. Taking note of the manner in which the planning machinery has grown and also of certain practices and policies of the civil service as a whole, the second conclusion is that the changes observed fall far short of the demands of the 'development administration' movement; there was little serious interest in the type oi reform which that movement proposed. v- brief discussion of the 'bureaucracy' and the 'migrant worker , set against the background of economic deterioration and increasing dependence, leads to the final conclusion. This confirms the 'underdevelopment and dependence' movement's perception of the role of the bureaucracy in the post-colonial or,,. Lesotho's civil Service was gaining material advantage from, and serving to abet, the forces of underdevelopment. In the i trial analysis, therefore, the case observed is one of administration for underdevelopment; tliat is, underdevelopment administration.

Lesotho’s current production of raw wool is sold to global markets through South African wool merchants. Lesotho does not have any wool processing facilities and as such, the wool from Lesotho gets processed in South Africa or sold to international markets like China where it is processed. Since 2012, the government of Lesotho has publicly showed interest in developing a wool scouring plant that would process locally produced wool instead of selling it in its raw unprocessed form to international markets. The understanding by the Lesotho government was underpinned by perceived economic benefits that could be realised by the country and the wool industry of Lesotho, if the wool scouring plant was developed. The wool industry is important to the economy of Lesotho and as such, wool production in Lesotho contributes to the living standards in the rural areas as their lives are highly depended on the production of wool. A vibrant wool industry in Lesotho therefore has the potential to contribute to the growth of the economy, the manufacturing sector, employment at both the herder and the manufacturing levels, and the export sector. Wool scouring or wool washing is the early stage processing of greasy wool. The purpose of wool scouring is to extract grease, dirt, unpleasant smell and other foreign matter from the greasy wool. Raw wool fibers contain fat, suint (sheep sweat salts), plant material and minerals. It is therefore necessary to remove these from wool by scouring with a combination of detergents, wetting agents and emulsifiers before further processing. Wool can lose up to 30% of its original weight during this process. The Lesotho government feels that there is a need to develop a wool scouring plant in Lesotho because Lesotho does not benefit from the South African wool scouring processes and anything that happens post that process. Given that no viability studies had been conducted in Lesotho to motivate the government’s interest in developing a wool scouring plant, this study was conducted with the aim to investigate the benefits of developing a wool scouring plant in Lesotho. The research design employed in this study was a mixed method, which is a combination of positivism (quantitative) and interpretivism (qualitative) data collection and analysis in parallel form. In terms of the qualitative component of the study, structured interviews were conducted, governed by in-depth interview guidelines developed by the researcher. A questionnaire was used for the qualitative component of the study. Among some of its findings and recommendations the study recommends that there is insufficient wool produced in Lesotho to support a local wool scouring plant, the government of Lesotho should rather focus their effort on the improvement of the wool production value chain to assist farmers. The study finds no grounds for the justification of the development of a local scouring plant in Lesotho and recommends that for such propositions to be made publicly, at least proper groundwork should be undertaken to investigate the technical feasibility of developing the scouring plant.

Development stakeholders globally argue that participatory development is the best model of development strategy in achieving sustainable, self-reliant development. This is one of the major tools of democracy used by democratic governments. This type of development strategy asserts that if people decide on their own development and if development becomes personcentred, there is a high possibility of successful and sustainable development projects within communities. It should be understood that participatory development involves people’s participation in development projects from the adoption stage of project to monitoring and evaluation of those projects. In Lesotho, lack of participatory development in development projects is reflected in environmental impact assessment reports by a number of developers. In these reports, participatory development and beneficiary empowerment are not regarded as valuable. It seems empowerment and capacity building is on the margins of the government and developers in Lesotho. This study addresses issues of participatory development with the focus of the Lesotho Highlands water project. It provides a critical examination of the events around the project from its conception, the beginning of the construction of phase one of the project to the end of this phase. The study then provides a critical analysis of the treaty of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project signed in 1986 with much reflection on participatory development and all it entails. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

The study aims to assess performance of Technical Reports as a channel of information for development in the Lesotho context. It concurrently evaluates how a specialized information unit of the Institute of Southern African Studies (lSAS) has performed in its obligation to devise adequate mechanisms for managing the report literature and meeting the development-related needs of users. In order to achieve that aim, the study contextualized development as a process, state, and condition and highlighted some development indicators for Lesotho. Agriculture and gender were selected as sectors of development. Global conferences, as one of the many development strategies that generate technical reports heavily, were used as a benchmark. In the performance and impact assessment methodologies, case study techniques were applied with ISAS as a site and one unit ofanalysis. Technical Reports (TRs) on Lesotho were studied. Triangulation approaches were applied in sourcing data. The academics, information workers, government officials, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and aid agencies based in Lesotho were surveyed. Research questions that guided the study centred on the productivity, distribution of technical reports, their management by intermediaries, use, non-use and the effects thereon. Seven types ofTechnical Reports feature in the development process, namely Academic, Project, Conference, Survey, Enquiry, Official and Special Committee Reports. Technical Reports are produced at varying levels depending on needs and approaches to development by producers or commissioning bodies. Academic Reports are authored mostly by the academics. The Government, Aid agencies and NGOs produce widely through external consultants/experts, who utilize centres such as ISAS where commissioning bodies do not have information services. TRs productivity is high and diverse in Lesotho, but capacity to manage the output is seemingly low, and hence under-utilization results; ISAS's out-dated mission, lack of, or limited resources and dejure national support in the form of acts and statutes affect the Institute's Technical Reports' services. Production is gender biased, thus making for imbalance in reporting on development. Agriculture as a sector is heavily researched and reported about, but the benefits to the populace are either few or non-existent. Restricted materials are estimated at 30%, but most ofthe TRs are unaccounted for. Hoarding and poor records or information management leave a vacuum that leads to a duplication of previous studies and production. The study confirmed that technical reports are required by all the surveyed groups. Technical Reports are not ofa transient nature even though they reach a peak oftopicality and use at certain periods. Where the channel conveys factual data timeously, there are developmental benefits. Low or non-use is common where there are no specialized information services especially within the civil service. Such negative factors cause delays and infrequent currency, inadequate reporting and erroneous budgetary allocations, for example. Seeminglythere is no clarity on what restricted, secret and limited materials mean. Major recommendations were made. One concerned an integrated approach to managing the channel. This would involve preparing a Manual for the production of Technical Reports which would clarify how to prepare them; for instance, the caliber of personneVexperts who should author reports, the conditions to be observed, the timeliness production, reliability of data used, and centres that would be acknowledged to then qualify for commensurate financial and other support. The other proposes that the envisaged National Research Council be given the powers to enforce the guidelines ofthe manual and related functions. The last recommends assigning to the documentalistsfor classified Technical Reports, the role of managing classified items. Consideration should also be given to important issues raised in the study, being the role of Information, Communication and Technologies (lCTs), sectors of development to be attended to, training and networking in technical report\s. Further studies are also recommended mainly for the causes and effects of the closures of information services that managed technical reports' in southern Africa; longitudinal studies on the impact of non-use oftechnical reports in major sectors ofdevelopment like Agriculture; comparative studies on the impact of specialized centres in the developed and developing countries. Further action is urged under the aegis ofbodies like the Standing Conference ofEastem, Central and Southern African Librarians (SCECSAL), Standing Conference of National and University Librarians. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.