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Community involvement is a cross-cutting component which is
intended to facilitate community participation in the
implementation of other components of the project. The PCU
has identified relevant key stakeholders in the three main
districts, and has established a Community Involvement
Working Group comprising key stakeholders who represent
different interest groups.
Additionally, the MDTP has established District Steering
Committees and District Executive Committees in each of the
three main districts of Botha-Bothe, Mokhotlong and Qacha’s
Nek. The committees consist of representatives of various
stakeholders in the district, and these include community
groups, the private sector and the public sector. The
Steering Committees consist of up to 40 members in each
district, representing all relevant stakeholders, while the
executive committees consist of seven to nine members
elected from the general membership of the steering
committees. The steering committee provides strategic
guidance and identifies priority issues to be captured in
MDTP district action plans, while the executive committees
serve as implementing arms of the steering committees in
each district.
To ensure constant contact with the local communities in the
target area, the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and
Culture has been actively supporting the project by
convening public meetings throughout the project area in an
effort to sensitise the public about the objectives of the
MDTP as well as ecotourism opportunities that exist within
the project area.
A volunteer from the Lesotho-German Development Cooperation
(DED) has been attached to MDTP to assist the project
sociologist with the implementation of component 6.
The next step is to formulate district action plans with the
district committees and to establish MDTP district
coordination offices. |
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