Problems and Purpose

For decades there has been a lack of youth participation and women involvement in Lesotho, influencing economic-policy decisions in the country of Lesotho. The DWF implemented Putting Youth and Women at the Centre of Inclusive Economic Growth (PYWIEG) to remedy the specific social phenomena. The programme has been implemented in the Butha Buthe, Leribe and Maseru districts. The project is designed and benchmarked on two main areas mainly; ‘Supporting Civil Society Organisations in initiatives that promote youth participation and empowerment at district and national level and Strengthening Women CSOs capacities and engagements for participation in decision- making processes. The programme's goal is to increase Youth and Women- led participation in Lesotho's Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) space.  

Background History and Context

The existing literature indicates that politics in Lesotho is facing a crisis, whereby citizens do not have confidence in the government to make the correct policy decisions [1]. This evidently affects participation in political activities in particular, which is a concern because voter behaviour is characterized by politics on the global stage. This social phenomenon is apparent in Southern Africa. Divorced from voter apathy, the emergency and existence of too many political parties in one political environment has brought to the fore the dispensation of coalition governments which struggle to last a single five year term, as evident in Lesotho between 2012 and 2022 [1]. It becomes problematic when there is a political sphere that is characterized by too many political parties. This evidently causes a divide and fragmentation of the existing major political parties and new political parties that emerge to congest the already crowded political space. Due to this social phenomenon the youth are resistive, demanding for jobs and expressing their disgruntlement at exclusion through street protest organized by movements such as #bachashutdown [1]. The existing literature that I consulted provides the social landscape of Lesotho. The fact that there are conflicting ideas between different political parties decrease the democratic participation that must be exhausted by the youth of Lesotho. 

As a developing country small business and entrepreneurship play an important role in stimulating economic activity, through creating jobs, alleviating poverty and uplifting standards of living [2]. Lesotho has high unemployment rates because it is a developing country. There are low levels of formal and higher education. With the movement of Lesotho citizens from rural areas to cities, the state needs to restructure its infrastructure and government policies for this type of movement. The government of Lesotho needs to implement regulations that allow larger organizations in the country to assist with and provide input on policy-making decisions. The literature indicates that Lesotho has an urgent need for entrepreneurs in the small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) who can act as a tool to combat unemployment and crime and by extension stimulate the economy as a whole [2].

It is because of the above mentioned socio-economic context that a Non-Profit Organization (NPO) called, the Democratic Works Foundation (DWF) implemented a programme [Putting Youth and Women at the Centre of Inclusive Economic Growth (PYWIEG)]to remedy the situation in Lesotho. The DWF is based in Southern Africa and is solely focused on developing democratic norms and principles in Southern Africa. It is important that the DWF remains a NPO organization, in order to ensure that it does not divert from achieving its objective of wider civic participation and developing democratic principles. Its headquarters is in South Africa and uses the resources within South Africa to provide the tools to further develop its reach in the southern areas of South Africa. The foundation aims to reconstruct and promote inclusive, equitable and sustainable consensual democracies. It does so by providing tools, platforms and content to strengthen democrats, democratic culture and democracy institutions. Evidently, the foundation ensures that there is direct engagement between the state and its citizens by organizing meetings between the stakeholders regarding policy-making.  The DWF works on the supply and demand side of democracy. Their programmes run across a variety of areas. The programmes are very successful because of the monitoring tools the DWF deploys. It collects data to conduct research studies and then uses the data to provide analysis on the state of democracies. To deepen democracy it supports democratic institutions, through knowledge sharing to fulfill the mandates. To promote change, the DWF conducts programmes to train members of vulnerable communities to become future democrats. 

The DWF is also concerned about the relationship between climate change and democracy. It strengthens the capacity of disadvantaged communities and democracy institutions to prioritize climate change initiatives. Through its programmes, the foundation generates a form of culture by providing platforms for democratic engagement to cultivate and create innovative ideas for the development of democracy. The DWF also provides advisory services on good governance and knowledge (supported by day) social impact and functions as a financial host and a fund manager. The DWF is uniquely placed to continuously invest in and nurture resilient democracy and development [4].

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

The main stakeholders are the DWF, the European Union Delegation (EUD) in Lesotho and the Federation of Women’s of Lesotho (FIDA-Lesotho). It is found that each of the funder’s mandates are aligned with the PYWIEG programme. The EUD is a core funder of the project because it looks to include marginalized groups in the economy.

The Democratic Works foundation is a non-profit organization and was established in 2014. The DWF aims to deepen and build resilient democracies in the Southern Africa region. It aims to empower ordinary individuals and civil society. The organization believes that every citizen can play a crucial role in policy-making decisions and this is the objective of the programmes the DWF conducts. The organization actively runs four programmes. This includes deepening democratic culture, citizens and leaders, climate governance and strengthening institutions. The organization claims that many young democracies are not embedded in any form of culture. Democracies find themselves in certain historical elements and it is for this reason that it is important for democracies to invest in critical thinking, engagements and the exchanging of ideas to foster freedom of speech. It is clear that the DWF is an advocate of citizen participation, which drives a healthy democratic state. From the above mission-statement of the DWF it is clear that it is an organization with improving the quality of public participation. 

The DWF is the creator of the PYWIEG and facilitates the process. It is the main driver of the programme. The DWF was created in response to the weakening of public organizations due to corruption and declining public participation in Southern Africa [3]. With this being the reasons the foundation was created, it has since continued in this nature however, it is also concerned about democracy and the progress made by post-liberation Southern Africa. The progress includes moving to a new democratic state that is all inclusive.  

The FIDA plays another crucial role in the programme. The FIDA, together with the DWF will use this platform to identify further areas of coordination among stakeholders for their input and reflections on enterprise regulation, advice on best business development support services, gender mainstreaming and governance components to augment participation and inclusion in the enterprise ecosystem [4]. The study was conducted to inform the design of evidenced-based advocacy and interventions in the country. The study has since been completed, and the report is now ready. It is against this background that the DWF, in partnership with FIDA, has organized a symposium to launch the PAR study report and present the findings of the study that targets the relevant stakeholders operating in the sector [4]. The findings will aim to raise awareness of the barriers, needs and challenges hindering women and youth-led enterprises in local and district economic activities to participate more meaningfully in policy decision- making processes. 

In order to facilitate the political and economic ecosystem in which women and youth- led enterprises are represented in government decision-making, it is imperative that initiatives that bolster and support participation are initiated. 

Participant Recruitment and Selection

Image by Democracy Works Foundation

Pictured above are youth beneficiaries of the PYWIEG programme in Lesotho. The project provides a support structure for women-led and youth-led businesses, enterprise development focused CSOs, women and youth-led CSOs, business development support services, government executive and parastatals, local authorities, private sector and development partners [3]. Individuals that fall within this categories are selected and empowered in the programme. As part of the inception phase of the PYWIEG project, DWF and FI DA conducted a Participatory Action Research (PAR) in the three districts targeting Enterprise. Support Civil Society Organisations (CSO), service providers, women and youth- led enterprises, Local Authorities and women and youth- led CSOs to identify the priorities, needs and bottlenecks in enterprise support services they receive, gender and legal barriers hindering participation and participatory models in planning of the District and Community Action Plans.  

Methods and Tools Used

The PYWEIG project is anchored on the pillars of the National Strategic Development II. This is the tool that the DWF deploy. It did so because the policy is focused on promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, Strengthening Human Capital, and Strengthening National Governance and Account ability Systems ( NSDP II ) , yet women and youth remain marginalised from this developmental and decision- making processes [4]. Within a generally high unemployment rate, women and youth in Lesotho experience the highest levels of unemployment (35% and 30%) [2]. The exclusion of women and youth from economic activity divorce the principles of good governance and resilient democracy and render business development service providers unresponsive and non- functioning institutions with financial and fiscal policies which cannot contribute to economic growth and sustainable development [4]. Participation and inclusion remain concrete pillars for promoting sustainable development and economic growth for inclusive economic growth.  

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

An ‘indaba’ was held on 2 September 2022. The event served as a platform to coordinate among the relevant stakeholders that include youth and women-led enterprises and CSOs. The stakeholders provided their input and reflections on enterprise regulation and advice on best business development [5]. The first engagement also input on gender mainstreaming and governance components that augment participation and inclusion in the enterprise space.

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

Unfortunately this case study is limited in this sense. The DWF recently launched the PYWEIG initiative and conducted its first meeting on 2 September 2022. With evidence provided in previous sections of this case it is evident that this project is relevant and provides an innovative and unique approach to participatory democracy by including women and youth (marginalised groups) in the economy.  

Analysis and Lessons Learned

This case provides an innovative approach to participatory democracy through the inclusion of disadvantaged groups in economic processes. The entire process of PYWEIG supports the argument that organisations remain prevalent. Organisations (DWF) remain the only institution with the power to mobalise citizens [6]. This process has shown us the importance of civil society organisations. civil society as the sphere of un-coerced human association between the individual and the state in which people undertake collective actions for normative and substantive purposes and are independent from government and the market [7]. Democracy is a form whereby self-governance proceeds and adult citizens participate in making decisions collectively. It is based on two key principles, public decision making and equality between all citizens, democracy also allows for the following, effective participation, equality, gaining understanding, exercising control over the agenda and inclusion of adults [8]. The key concepts to note are equality and inclusivity, which participatory democracy is built on. The PYWEIG serves as a platform to include women and youth in the economy. 

See Also

https://participedia.net/case/5837

References

1. Rapitse, S & Bhila, T & Mukurunge, T. 2022. Political Party Youth Exclusion: Case of Lesotho. ResearchGate. 

2. Langwenya, M & Mabuza, B & Tshabala. 2011. An Assessment of the Enabling Environment for Women’s Enterprises in Lesotho. N.P. 

3. https://www.democracyworks.org.za/category/workareas/institutions/pywieg/ 

4. N.A. 2022. PYWEIG-PAR-reflection-event pdf. N.P. 

5. htttps://www.democracyworks.org.za/  

6. Galbraith, J.K. 1984. The Anatomy of Power. Houghton: Mifflin Company.  

7. White, G. (1994). Civil Society, Democratization and Development (I): Clearing the analytical ground in Burnell, Peter and Calvert, Peter (eds) Civil Society in Democratization. N.P. 

8. Dahl, R. (1998). What is Democracy. pp. 35-43.