Government-by-Government Assessments: Lesotho
During the review period, the government made significant progress by making its budget proposal and enacted budget publicly available in a reasonable period. The government did not, however, publish an end-of-year report in a reasonable period. The government also made significant progress by publishing information on debt obligations, including state-owned enterprise debt, within a reasonable period. Budget documents provided a mostly complete picture of the government’s planned expenditures and revenue streams, including natural resource revenues. According to budget executive reports and end-of-year reports, actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget. The supreme audit institution met international standards of independence and published audits that covered the entire budget and contained substantive findings. The government specified in law or regulation and appeared to follow in practice the criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts and licenses. Basic information on natural resource extraction awards was not publicly available.
Lesotho’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:
* Publishing an end-of-year report online within a reasonable period;
* Ensuring actual revenues and expenditures correspond with those in the enacted budget;
* Making expenditures to support executive offices publicly available; and
* Making basic information on natural resource extraction publicly available.
