Linpico News and Job Opportunities

In September 2014, Linpico was awarded and began implementing the EU funded ‘Support to the Management and Coordination of Development Cooperation in Lesotho’ with the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning. The project, which will be implemented until 2018, seeks to improve transparency and effectiveness of policy orientation of the budget through strengthened management and coordination of development cooperation. Part of this project involves improving the coverage and reporting of externally financed programmes.

Last semester, our team has prepared a report providing an overview of aid flows to Lesotho, one of the highest consumers of donor funding in Africa. The report concluded that there is a recognition within the Government that an effective system and tools for management of development cooperation are of paramount importance to increase harmonisation and transparency. It emphasised the utility of the Public Sector Investment Database (PSID) instrument, (which our team have been developing within the MoDP), by both Government and Donors is essential if tangible development results are to be achieved.

Following this report, on 14th September 2015, Linpico organised a meeting with Development Partners who discussed the overview of aid to Lesotho, from which there was a renewed commitment to achieve better management of aid for a greater impact.

The local paper reported the event. The Minister of Development Planning, Mokoto Hloaele, gave an interview, during which he stated that Lesotho’s socio-economic development was largely due to the generosity of its donor partners. This, he said, has helped to “register achievements in maintaining macro-economic stability and economic growth preserving the debt/GDP ratio to remain below 40%”. But he also stressed the need for availability of reliable data on development cooperation as a critical factor for effective management and coordination, as previously mentioned in the report. This PSID that our consultants are providing technical assistance for, is meant to be used as a tool to monitor domestic and external allocations to national development priorities. Also, its aim is to enable the government and development partners to analyse aid flows, facilitate planning processes, mobilise resources and institutionalise transparency and accountability. Mr. Hloaele was very positive about the work of our team as well as the improvements that the PSID will help to bring the MoDP. They hope that “by jointly improving the management of development cooperation, Lesotho will be able to achieve good results in the key properties of the National Strategic Development Plan”.

For more information on our project in Lesotho, please contact Mr. Laury Incorvaia [email protected] 

In September 2014, Linpico was awarded and began implementing the EU funded ‘Support to the Management and Coordination of Development Cooperation in Lesotho’ with the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning. The project, which will be implemented until 2018, is funded by the European Union and seeks to improve transparency and effectiveness of policy orientation of the budget through strengthened management and coordination of development cooperation.

This month, our team celebrated Europe Day with the European Union Delegation in Lesotho on the 9^th of May, by contributing to the theme of “Women in Resistance”. In conjunction with the Alliance Française, Ellen van der Heijden of Linpico helped organize an exhibition to display pictures of 14 prominent Lesotho women which had been taken by a French Photographer.  A specific EU contribution to the exhibition addressed the theme “Women Artists in Resistance to Poverty” and permitted village start-up women painters, who took lessons in painting in the village Morijja , to bring their first paintings to the public in Maseru, Lesotho’s capital.

Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho opened the exposition and spent much time looking at the displayed paintings. Guided by Ellen, the Queen took great interest in the paintings that were exhibited. She bought one of the paintings, which stimulated other visitors, which included the EU and US Ambassador as well as Members of Lesotho’s Cabinet, to purchase paintings.

The main objective of the painting exhibition was to launch the work of talented village-level women painters to the public in Maseru and market their paintings and generate income from their art work.  Linpico is proud to report that this objective was successfully achieved, and the results were promising for the future of the women painters concerned.

For more information about our project in Lesotho, please contact Mr. Laury Incorvaia at lincorvaia@linpico.com

Linpico is supporting an exciting initiative to attract investments to the yachting sector designed over time to transform the Eastern Caribbean into a major hub for mega and cruising yachts.

The project involves a Regional Assessment of the infrastructure and services available for yachting in the Eastern Caribbean from the USVI to Trinidad and Tobago. The study will provide information on the movement of yachts through the region, identifying main hubs, the linkages between private jets and the yachting sector, best practices and common challenges across the region with respect of standards and the delivery of ancillary services.  It will provide key recommendations for the enhanced capacity of the region as a whole to attract greater numbers of cruisers and mega yachts, and strategic information to the four member states with respect of the amenities available within the region. The report – the first of its kind in the Caribbean – will be a rich and invaluable addition to the body of knowledge on the yachting sector in the Caribbean and will be of particular benefit in regional policy formulation.

The second component will be a Plan for Investments in the yachting sector tailored to the specificities of  Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, St Lucia, Dominica and St Kitts & Nevis. The gaps in services and infrastructure identified in the regional analysis will be transformed into investment opportunities and presented in each of four Investment Plans. These will identify investment opportunities in infrastructure and services in both new and existing facilities, and will also focus on the value chains: youth skills, training and certification requirements of the industry and linkages to the agricultural sector through provisioning. It will add value to the macro-economic and policy framework of each country and provide the basis for new flows of FDI.  Public and private sector stakeholders will be consulted in the process of producing both the Regional Assessment and National Investment Plan.

Preliminary results of both the Regional Assessment and National Investment Plan will be presented at another Flagship initiative of the ECS Embassy – The Eastern Caribbean’s First Annual International Yachting Event hosted in St Vincent & the Grenadines on 28-29 April, 2015.  The event to promote the attractiveness of the region for yachting and provide enhanced investment opportunities for the sector in the Eastern Caribbean, transforming it into a hub for mega & cruising yachts, is designed to attract investors, super yacht owners, insurers and others, and will rotate annually among the four member states.

Linpico has successfully completed its Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Education with Textbook Supply Chain Management and Management Training in Namibia and has been congratulated by MCA-Namibia for exceeding the requirements, efficiency and added value it has brought to the project.  Linpico has been providing long and short term expertise to support upgrading of textbook procurement and supply chain management, training and building the capacity of teaching and management professionals throughout Namibia. An important component of the project was the installation of an Education Management Information System (EMIS).

Linpico has recently been awarded a new contract in Lesotho where it will contribute to the implementation of Lesotho’s national development agenda. The specific purpose is to help improve effectiveness of aid policy orientation through strengthened management and coordination of development cooperation and in particular strengthen the office of the National Authorising Officer. The project is funded by the European Union.

Linpico is very pleased to renew its close professional relationship with our associate Director, Dr. Hendrik van der Heijden, the Team Leader for this project and Linpico’s senior advisor on Macro Economic, Public Sector Management and Governance issues.

Linpico has recently been awarded its 200^th contract since the start of the company in 1991.

The contract started in June 2014, with the consultants doing an Assessment of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capacities for elections observations.  The specific objective of the project is to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in anchoring democratic values and structures, human rights, social inclusion and the rule of law, by contributing to a credible and transparent election process. The project also aims to support the EU integration process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the provision of expert advice for the 2014 elections in the area of media/advocacy strategy and detecting and addressing irregularities, including fraud, in the election process.

Linpico is providing the Team Leader for a number of 100 working days. The contract will run until March 2015.

For more information, please contact Sarah Gaisford: mgaisford@linpico.com