GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE ON FORESTRY

Budget preparation

Each year, the Forestry Division draws up a workplan, showing all of the activities it plans to carry out. This annual workplan is based on an overall 3 year rolling plan. After approval of the workplan at the divisional level, budget estimates are made on the basis of the planned activities. Estimates from all divisions are added together to give a departmental budget, which is submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture. Budget ceilings are normally given in advance for each Ministry and this encourages each department to submit realistic estimates. Budget discussions are normally held with the Ministry of Finance to justify the proposed budget estimates.

Recurrent budget

The Forestry Division’s current recurrent budget is shown below in Table 3.

Capital budget (the Social Forestry Project)

The main capital expenditure in recent years has been on the Social Forestry Project, supported by the German co-operation agency (Deutschen Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit or GTZ) and the German development bank (Kreditanstalt für Weideraufbau or KfW). The total project cost amounts to DM 27.5 million, divided as follows:

Technical assistance (GTZ) up to DM 19.0 million;

Financial co-operation (KfW) DM 3.5 million; and

Government contribution DM 5.0 million (estimate)

On the project, GTZ has financed the salaries of most of the professional expatriate personnel for the duration of project plus almost all of the training of Basotho to diploma and degree level and travel and subsistence.

KfW has financed capital and direct expenditure including:

- the construction of buildings, offices, stores and houses;

- the purchases of vehicles, including tractors and trailers;

- the procurement of stores, equipment and materials such as tools; and

- establishment costs, including road building and maintenance.

The Government of Lesotho’s contribution to the project has covered the following items:

- the salaries and benefits of all established personnel;

- a proportion of wages for daily paid staff;

- the maintenance and upkeep of the transport fleet including tractors;

- fuel and oil requirements;

- some travel and subsistence;

- limited supplies of office machinery; and

- the bulk of office overheads.

From its inception in 1993 to date, the project has received funding largely from these three sources and details of expenditure on the project over the last six years is given in Table 4.