Moorosi Tsiane
LESOTHO is turning to the rest of Africa for answers to a problem that has long frustrated its development ambitions – the failure to translate good policies into effective implementation.
Lesotho, through the Ministry of Public Service, will host the 45th African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) Summit in Maseru from 8 to 11 December 2026, under the theme “From Ambition to Implementation” – only the second time the country has held the gathering, after the inaugural 2002 summit.
Minister of Public Service Moeketsi Motšoane said the theme was deliberately chosen to confront one of Africa’s most persistent governance challenges – the inability of governments to turn well-crafted policies into tangible results.
“There seems to be a big gap between ambition and implementation, and this is largely brought about by a lack of capabilities within our governments,” Mr Motšoane said.
He said Lesotho was no exception. While the country had developed sound policies, it continued to lag behind others on implementation.
“The truth of the matter is that Lesotho is still left behind compared to other countries in terms of implementation. On paper, we have very good policies, but we need a change in approach if we are to meet the Government’s strategic goals,” he said.
Mr Motšoane said the summit offered Lesotho a chance to learn from countries that had managed to turn their policies into measurable development outcomes.
“We need input from other countries to show us how best we can work around achieving our objectives. Some of these countries started with us, but today they are miles ahead of us,” he said.
He said the exchange of ideas among African countries was important because many of the challenges facing governments were shared across borders.
“This is why it is important to have these meetings where we can share ideas and learn from our counterparts. We want to see what others are doing differently and how those lessons can be adapted to our own circumstances,” Mr Motšoane said.
Mr Motšoane identified Lesotho’s own culture as one of the biggest stumbling blocks to effective implementation.
“Our culture remains our biggest stumbling block and has been holding us back. We will therefore learn from other countries through their presentations and from the experts who will be meeting here to share ideas,” he said.
Ahead of the summit, the ministry, working with the Lesotho Association for Public Administration and Management (LAPAM), has embarked on a nationwide sensitisation campaign, visiting districts to ensure communities understand the significance of the gathering. Mr Motšoane said the campaign was meant to make the summit more inclusive, so that discussions on public service reform did not remain confined to government offices.
“We want this summit to be inclusive. That is why, together with LAPAM, we have gone to all the districts to sensitise communities about this important issue,” he said.
He said the gathering would also boost Lesotho’s economy, with dozens of foreign delegations expected in Maseru.
“This summit is also going to have a positive impact on our economy because we are going to host delegates from across the continent. Their presence will benefit various sectors of our economy,” he said.
Mr Motšoane said the reactivation of LAPAM, which had been inactive for some time before being revived last year, would help ensure that lessons from continental forums were actually implemented back home.
“Even when we sent delegates to these summits in the past, it was always a challenge to implement what they had learnt when they came back. Now that LAPAM is active again, we hope things will be different,” he said.
He cautioned against expecting the summit to produce overnight solutions to problems such as corruption and poor service delivery.
“We cannot lie and say that immediately after the summit there will no longer be corruption or bad public service. That is going to take some time, but we intend to get over those challenges,” he said.
Mr Motšoane said LAPAM would work with relevant stakeholders after the summit to ensure the knowledge shared by African public administration specialists translated into improved services for ordinary Basotho.
“LAPAM will be working with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that Basotho are exposed to good public service. The summit should not simply be about talking; it must help us move from ambition to implementation,” he said.
