ABSTRACT

This chapter examines a donor-supported project designed to address the constraints in Lesotho. It investigates the functions performed by a labour market information system (LMI system), especially with regard to their role in the planning process, including the formulation of policies and their subsequent monitoring. The chapter provides contextual information about the country’s current socioeconomic situation, including the status of the economy and the labour market. It also examines the establishment of an LMI system in Lesotho. Poverty reduction policies in the 1990s in Lesotho show a number of parallel developments with employment and labour policies, notably the lack of integration between policies and data collection. In 1995, the World Bank published the Lesotho Poverty Assessment, including an Action Plan. The project Employment Policy Formulation and Labour Market Analysis was formulated in 1994 and originally presented in a single project formulation document together with a second project, Small/Medium.