Lesotho : Development in a Challenging Environment

Hassan, Fareed M.A.

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: AGRICULTURE;    ANALYTICAL WORK;    BANK LENDING;    CAS;    COUNTERFACTUAL;   

DOI  :  10.1596/0-8213-5156-7
RP-ID  :  24526

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The report reviews the Bank'sdevelopment assistance to Lesotho, a poor country, ofpredominantly rural populations, landlocked and completelysurrounded by, and economically dependent on, South Africa.Not surprisingly, a major development challenge for thecountry is that half the population lives below the povertyline, and income inequality is among the highest in theworld. Other challenges are low quality of education, andhealth services, widespread HIV/AIDS, weak institutions, andlagging private sector development. Given the circumstances,Bank assistance evolved from an emphasis on stabilizationand growth, to a focus on poverty reduction and privatesector development towards the end of the 1990s. Throughoutthis period, the Bank supported joint work with theGovernment, and the International Monetary Fund onsuccessive Policy Framework Papers, as well a PovertyAssessment, and a Strategic Economic Options Report;regrettably, other analytical work was not fully completed,and, notably absent were periodic reviews of publicexpenditures. Although the Lesotho Highlands Water Project(LHWP) featured substantial macroeconomic impact, serving asa catalyst in securing external financing, the Bank did notprovide adequate technical support. The Bank assistance israted as moderately satisfactory, institutional developmentas modest, with an uncertain sustainability, since growthhas depended on aid inflows, linked to the LHWP, but whichis likely to decline. Recommendations suggest a continuedassistance, centered on poverty reduction, focusing on thequality of education, and human capital development.