The Prime Minister, Dr Moeketsi Majoro says he is committed to making the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU) reach its goals.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the Seventeenth Private Sector Consultative Meeting. The objective of the meeting was to give a progress report on the work of the PMDU in promoting Public Private (PPD) and facilitating the removal of obstacles to investment in Lesotho.
Outlining some of the PMDU objectives, Dr Majoro said the unit has been established to remove structural bottlenecks that include obstacles between the government and private sector, to accelerate delivery of service that is domain to the government delivering its part to the private sector as well as to enhance business between the government and private sector.
He therefore, noted with gratitude the achievements of the PMDU since its commencement in April 2021, saying 21 projects in agriculture, manufacturing and technology have been developed and that these projects will help in the creation of jobs.
He singled out other achievements of the PMDU, saying they include issuance 313 construction permits, commenting that this is higher than the previous years because the government has opened a way for people to tell them what they want.
On top of the 313 construction permits issued, 66 applications are under review and this marks the achievement of the Unit.
Again, PMDU has managed to re-establish a One-Stop Shop within the Ministry of trade where they have brought everyone in the supply chain of construction and their work is being tracked.
Furthermore, Dr Majoro mentioned that it was on this dialogues that they had a presentation on the development of the Millennium Challenge Compact, saying therefore, it is expected that by the end of March 2022 the government will sign the second compact.
He said this compact will solely focus on private investment hence a lot of work coming out of this compact will be on the private sector.
The Head of the PMDU Head, Mr. Chaba Mokuku said the private sector lead inclusive economic growth as well as the transformation of the private sector to become an engine for growth saying this can only happen through meaningful and genuine dialogue between the public sector and private sector.
He urged the unit to work towards a coherent national vision, saying in Lesotho, the coherent vision is the National Development Strategic Plan II which is a blueprint for sustainable socio-economic development for the country.
He said the primary rule of PMDU is to remove obstacles to private investment, noting that when removing these obstacles, the unit will encounter challenges where certain individuals and institutions are resilient to change.
Mr. Mokuku, therefore, stressed that the PMDU will not appease everybody as they accelerate socio-economic development.
In conclusion, he thanked Dr Majoro for his support of the unit, saying his humane and dedication are unmatched.
He also thanked World Bank and African Development Bank for their support saying the delivery unit could not have been here without their support.
This was the seventeenth Private Sector Consultative Meeting that the office of the Prime Minister through the Delivery Unit held.
The Public-Private Dialogues are organized by the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit (PMDU) to facilitate regular dialogue between the government and the private sector. There have been seventeen meetings since April 2021 where different topics have been discussed. Participants in these meetings include the Prime Minister, Ministers, Principal Secretaries, Heads of State-Owned Entities, Representatives of Development Partners and Private Sector.
By Noliwe Velaphe and Maphoka Likotsi
