International Benchmarking of Lesotho's Infrastructure Performance
The author provides a preliminary benchmarking of infrastructure performance in Lesotho in four major sectors--electricity, water and sanitation, information and communication technology, and road transportation--against the relevant group of compa...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2006/01/6534535/international-benchmarking-lesothos-infrastructure-performance http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17422 |
| Summary: | The author provides a preliminary
benchmarking of infrastructure performance in Lesotho in
four major sectors--electricity, water and sanitation,
information and communication technology, and road
transportation--against the relevant group of comparator
countries using a new World Bank international data base
with objective and perception-based indicators of
infrastructure performance from over 200 countries. The
results of the benchmarking are revealing of several major,
comparative deficiencies in infrastructure performance in
Lesotho: (1) extremely low access to electricity and its
affordability; (2) poor coverage, quality, and the cost of
local (non-cellular) telephony; and (3) poor quality of
roads. Infrastructure service delivery in electricity,
telephony, and roads is well below what would be expected,
on average, for a country in Lesotho's income group. In
these sectors, Lesotho also compares unfavorably with many
other geographical country groups. Unless addressed, such
infrastructure shortfalls are likely to adversely affect the
welfare of Lesotho's poor, and the cost competitiveness
and growth prospects of a range of economic sectors (such as
tourism and trade) that depend critically on a stable and
competitive supply of basic infrastructure service. They
could also affect the speed and quality of Lesotho's
regional economic integration within the South Africa
Customs Union (SACU) sub-region with attendant consequences
for the long-term growth of regional trade and real output.
By contrast, Lesotho's performance is solid in the
access to improved water and sanitation, in the aggregate
and in both rural and urban areas. Finally, this
benchmarking, combined with more in-depth, sector analyses,
could provide policymakers in Lesotho a useful guide to the
areas of infrastructure performance requiring attention. |
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