Lesotho: SADC Protocol@Work Summit

Maseru 14 December 2017: The Lesotho SADC Protocol @ Work Summit 2017 was held under the theme Local Action for a Strong 2030 A-gender in Southern Africa! The summit ran for two days, garnered informative case studies of strategies to promote gender equality, women’s empowerment and justice at local and community levels. The summit ended on a high note with an awards ceremony to recognise the outstanding presentations of good practices from the Local Government Centres of Excellence (COE) councils.Gender Links, in partnership with and SADC Gender Protocol Alliance members organised the annual awards that brought together participants from 50 local councils from the ten districts of Lesotho. The 2017 Lesotho summit was supported by the African Women’s Development Fund’s Leading from the South (LFS) Grant.During the opening ceremony the partners shared statements highlighting the importance of the summit and emphasised that there is need for the Lesotho government to take over this good initiative for sustainability. They further stated that there is need for all the councils in Lesotho to become COEs because the councils that are part of the COE have shown a lot of improvement in gender responsive and sensitive service delivery.The award ceremony was filled with song and dance as winners were presented with certificates for the outstanding performances in many different categories. The judges gave participants feedback on their presentations and encouraged them to continue with the good work that they had presented. They complimented councils for the improvement that they have shown on their presentations over the years. Most of the councils noted that they value the opportunity and guidance provided in documenting their evidence as this is very crucial for supporting their presentations. The overall scores of councils showed a lot of improvement with some councils reaching Gold and Platinum. High media presence at both the opening and the award ceremonies increased the GL Lesotho visibility.Read more on Summit Report.Analysis of awards winners

CATEGORY	WINNER	RUNNER UP
Local Government COE
Urban – best performer	Thaba Tseka Urban Council	Mokhotlong Urban council
Rural – best performer	Menoaneng Council	Qibing council
Most Resourceful-Urban	Berea Urban Council	Hlotse Urban Council
Most Resourceful-Rural	Tosing Council	Ramapepe Council and Tenesolo Council

Entry 69627

Winners displaying their awards. From left Tosing council, Menoaneng council, Berea Urban council and Thaba Tseka Urban council: Photo by Ntolo Lekau.For more information visit the Gender Links 2017 summits page - www.genderlinks.org.za  Or contact: GL Lesotho Manager, Manteboheleng Mabetha, +266 22316755, lesmanager@genderlinks.org.za