Completion and Learning Review - Kingdom of Lesotho - FY16-FY20 Country Partnership Framework - November 18, 2022

Jul 19, 2026

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Completion and Learning Review assesses the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework period for the Kingdom of Lesotho (FY16–FY20), updated through the Performance and Learning Review in April 2019, with the CPF extended to FY21 due to COVID-19 while keeping the results framework. The review finds development outcomes rated Moderately Satisfactory and World Bank Group performance rated Fair. Results strengths include public-sector efficiency and improved social assistance targeting, while education dropout outcomes and education indicators show weak or unmeasurable progress.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages37

Reading Time1 h 33 min

Executive Summary

Review scope and CPF alignment

Ratings and key results by focus area

Performance assessment and program design

Public Disc losure Authorized CLR Review Independent Evaluation Group Completion and Learning Review Review Kingdom of Lesotho FY16-FY20 Country Partnership Framework November 18, 2022 Ratings | | CLR Rating | CLRR (IEG) Rating | | --- | --- | --- | | Development Outcome: | Moderately Satisfactory | Moderately Satisfactory | | WBG Performance: | Fair | Fair | Pub lic Disc losure Authorized I. Executive Summary i. This review of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) Completion and Learning Review (CLR) covers the period of the Country Partnership Framework (CPF), FY16-20, and updated in the Performance and Learning Review (PLR) dated April 17, 2019. The CPF period was extended to FY21 under the blanket extension provided by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, this extension did not affect the results framework. ii. The CPF was aligned with Lesotho’s National Strategic Development Plans I (NSDP 2012-17) and II (2018-23) which aimed at transforming the economy into a producer-and export-based economy while addressing the most pressing challenges: slow economic growth, persistent poverty, growing inequality, unemployment, and low human capital development. To achieve this, as stated in the Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD), the size of the state would also need to be reduced, as the economy remained very dependent on public sector expenditures. These priority challenges were also consistent with the ones identified in the SCD and aligned with the WBG’s twin corporate goals. To address these challenges, the program defined two focus areas: Improving Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Public Sector and Promoting Private Sector Jobs Creation. iii. IEG rates the CPF development outcome as Moderately Satisfactory. Of the seven objectives, four were rated as Mostly Achieved, two as Partially Achieved and one as Not Achieved. The strongest results were under Focus Area 1, where efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector improved. Appraisal guidelines for capital projects were developed and for the first time the capital budget was derived from a public investment plan aligned with the NSDP, civil service payroll anomalies were identified and fully corrected (90% during the CPF period), and non-eligible beneficiaries from the Old Age Pension roster were removed. The quality and timeliness of public financial management information also improved. The delivery and targeting of the social assistance system improved as a higher percentage of the poorest population was reached in the Child Grant Program (CGP), and a larger percentage of vulnerable households was reached through existing programs that responded to shocks or natural disasters. There were poor results on drop-out rates for primary and secondary education and no measurable indicator on improvement of education outcomes. There were also limited results regarding public-private partnerships (PPPs) . Results under Focus Area 2 were weaker. During the CPF period there were five investment climate reforms exceeding the target, and WBG supported their enactment and implementation, including establishment of several registration and business support platforms. However, there were few outcomes from this work as these take time to materialize. There was limited evidence of improvement on the overall objective of creation of private sector jobs as well as limited progress on diversification of the economy and expansion in the agriculture sector. The expansion of land using climatesmart agriculture practices was modest, progress was slower than expected in bulk water supply works in priority areas, and there was no private industrial/agricultural investment supplied by electricity from a WB-supported infrastructure. iv. IEG rates World Bank Group performance as Fair. The selection of CPF objectives was aligned with the Government’s priorities and the country’s development challenges. However, program design was unev

FAQs

What review period and updates does the Completion and Learning Review cover for Lesotho?

It covers the Country Partnership Framework period FY16–FY20, updated in the Performance and Learning Review dated April 17, 2019, with the CPF extended to FY21 due to COVID-19 under a board blanket extension.

How does IEG rate the CPF development outcome and World Bank Group performance?

IEG rates the CPF development outcome as Moderately Satisfactory and rates World Bank Group performance as Fair.

What were the strongest and weakest results during the CPF period?

Strong results were mainly under Focus Area 1, including improved public-sector efficiency and better targeting in social assistance. Weaknesses included dropout results for primary and secondary education and limited measurable progress on education outcomes, plus weaker results under Focus Area 2 such as private job creation and economic diversification.

Jul 19, 2026

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