| Abstract: | This paper highlights some of the reasons for the reluctance of many African governments to privatize public enterprises and records the efforts made by the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho to privatize and to develop the private sector. The first part of the paper discusses in general terms the evolution and role of public enterprises and their place in African economies. Despite their poor performance and their often ill-defined role and functions, public enterprises still find favour in many African countries. Their continued existence is usually justified on the grounds of the imperfections of the market mechanism and the absence of an indigenous entrepreneurial cadre with sufficient investible resources. However, because of their shortcomings, public enterprises have become prime targets for privatization under the structural programmes of the World Bank and the IMF. The second part of the paper discusses Lesotho's experience with privatization following the adoption of a structural adjustment programme in 1989. It looks at the grounds for privatization and the modalities of privatization, including the Privatization Unit and Privatization Act, 1995, and the promotion of a capital market and an enabling environment. Notes, ref. |
AfricaBib 
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Leiden University catalogue
WorldCat