Event Summary
On 2 May 2025, the National Assembly of Lesotho approved a motion by the legislator for Mokhethoaneng constituency, Mokhothu Makhalanyane, to bring a Private Member’s Bill. This bill would pave the way for enactment of the Public Participation Act.
Currently, public participation in parliamentary decision-making is left to the discretion of parliamentary portfolio committees, which are given the power to determine whether or not to invite public participation on Bills through National Assembly Standing Order No 76. Public participation in governance thus remains superficial and tokenistic. For example, CSOs were given less than 24 hours to prepare submissions for crucial national legislative reforms when the portfolio committee was dealing with the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution Bill of 2024, limiting meaningful engagement. Parliamentary Portfolio committee’s Reports to the National Assembly on how bills were processed at committee level do not reflect CSO contributions, highlighting their exclusion from decision-making, according to advocate Mokitimi Tšosane, who is a former legal researcher at Transformation Resource Centre.
If passed, the Public Participation Bill will introduce legally binding procedures to ensure that citizens, civil society organizations, and other entities have a defined role in the legislative process. Enactment of this bill would therefore improve the enabling environment in Lesotho by creating a conducive environment for citizens, CSOs or any other entities to participate in the cultural life of the communities as understood under section 35 (1) of the Lesotho constitution, which provides that, “Lesotho shall endeavour and ensure that every citizen has an opportunity to participate in the cultural life of the community freely and to share in the benefits of scientific advancement and its application”.