The impact in international volunteer organisations in enhancing public service delivery in Lesotho: the case of the United States Peace Corps

[摘要] English: The delivery of public services is one of the key dimensions of governance. The sufficient provision of public services however continues to be a challenge to governments, this mainly as a result of the inadequate capacity of the governments to provide and sustain such services. In the case of Lesotho, international volunteer organisations such as the United States Peace Corps have been invited by the government to compensate the shortfall principally in building the human resource capacity.In this thesis, the impact of the Peace Corps organisation in improving the delivery of public services in Lesotho is examined. Theoretical perspectives on the history of public service in Lesotho and the linkages between human resource development and the effective and efficient delivery of public services are discussed. Furthermore, theoretical perspectives on the Peace Corps mission, developmental approaches and projects are provided.An empirical research was undertaken to solicit the perceptions of the Basotho and the Peace Corps volunteers on the contributions made by the Peace Corps organisation in strengthening the delivery of public services in Lesotho. A methodological triangulation involving personal interviews, focus group meetings and survey questionnaires was utilised to enhance the validity and reliability of the findings.The major findings of the study unveil that human resource development emerges as a fundamental priority in pursuit of the economic growth and improvement of public services. It was also revealed that the international voluntary organisations such as the Peace Corps contribute significantly in building the human resource capacity in Lesotho. It has emerged from this study however that the human resource development is not the sole factor in the effective and efficient implementation of development projects. The conclusion drawn is that the 'Human Factors' ultimately determines the degree of success of the developmental projects.The Human Factors include various qualities in individuals within a society such as responsibility, commitment, accountability, motivation and integrity. From this study that it is evident that a significant number of Basotho have been trained sufficiently in variety of skill areas and yet demonstrate a lack of motivation, responsibility and commitment to the development projects resulting in failure to sustain any developmental projects.The major conclusion drawn from this research is that despite the deficiencies resulting from the 'Human Factor' in project implementation, the Peace Corps organisation has contributed significantly towards enhancing the delivery of public services in Lesotho mainly by provision of education and training to the people of Lesotho and as such the organisation is poised to continue to offer the development assistance in the future. It is recommended that in order to exert greater impact in improving the lives of the Basotho, the Peace Corps organisation needs to restructure the developmental projects to align with the dynamic changes in global and local development fields and furthermore to invest in developing the positive Human Factors amongst the Basotho in order to enhance sustainable results.This study may provide useful information to the Peace Corps organisation globally, other international voluntary organisations and relevant government ministries or departments responsible for delivery of public services when designing and implementing programmes that seek to improve the public lives.

[发布机构] University of the Free State