Announcement of Lesotho Receives Seven Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars Credit for Education on November 17, 1977

eWorldBank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Telephone: (202) 393-6360 IDA NEWS RELEASE 78/18 NOVEMBER 17, 1977 LESOTHO RECEIVES $7.5 MILLION CREDIT FOR EDUCATION The International Development Association (IDA), the soft loan affiliate of the World Bank, has announced a credit of $7.5 million to Lesotho for a second education project. Through curriculum development emphasizing agricultural and other practical skills and through the expansion of facilities for teaching pre- vocational subjects in secondary schools, the project will help Lesotho shape its general education system to correspond to the socio-economic con- ditions and development needs of the country. By strengthening its technical education, the project wi 11 help increase the country's pool of skilled' • workers . In the long term, the pool of skilled manpower wi 11 directly benefit the country in its effort to accelerate domestic employment and gradually reduce reliance on migration to another country. In the medium term, the project wi 11 enable workers seeking jobs in the Republic of South Africa to increase their incomes through improved skills, thus increasing their remittances to their families in Lesotho as well. Lesotho has benefited substantially from these remittances, which have helped improve the living standards of a large segment of the popijlation. The remittances of such migrant workers are estimated to be almost equivalent to the country's domestic product. The $7.5 million IDA credit to Lesotho is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace. It carries no interest but has a service charge of 3/4 of 1% per annum to meet administrative costs. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents . • FCRM NO. 1121 1 5-76) T ECHNI CAL D A T A PROJECT: COUNTRY: TOTAL COST: Second Education Lesotho $9.29 million • IDA FINANCING: $7.5 million, standard IDA terms OTHER FINANCING: Government of Lesotho IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION: Training for Self-Reliance Project, Ministry of Education, P.O. Box MS ,279, Maseru, Lesotho. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: It includes: construction of a National Curriculum Development Center and extensions to two technical schools and •:;]even secondary schools, furniture and equipment, essential staff housing, teclh- • nical assistance, and support for project administration. PROCUREMENT: All contracts for civil works, furniture and equipment wi 11 be awarded on the basis of international competitive bidding in accordance vlith IDA guidelines except as follows: (a) construction contracts costing less than $25,000 each (total estimated at $150,000) could be negotiated with small un- registered contractors on the basis of a program to be agreed with the Association; (b) construction contracts for the two schools in the mountain regions (total estimated at $900,000), wi 11 be underta~en by local teams assisted by skilled workers· furnished by the Project Unit or by the Ministry of Works; and (c) furniture and equipment contracts costing less than $50,000 each (total estimated at $200,000) which are unlikely to attract foreign bidders will be awarded on the basis of competitive bidding advertised locally in accord- ance with local procedures acceptable to the Association. Review of tender evaluation documents by the Association prior to award will not be required for contracts for civil works costing less than $200,000 and for contracts for furniture and equipment costing less than $50,000. Where international competitive bidding procedures are used (1) domestic rrianufacturers of furniture and equipment vlill be allowed a preference of 15% or the exist- ing applicable rate of import duties, whichever is lower, over the c. i .f. price of compet- ing foreign suppliers; and (ii) qualified domestic civil works contractors wi 11 be al lov,ed a preferential margin of 7.5% over the bid prices of competing foreign contractors. CONSULTANTS: (i) A specialist in trade-testing (two man-years); (ii) a sped al ist or specialists in educational evaluation (two man-years); (iii) an architect and a quantity surveyor (five • man-years total for both together); (iv) engineering and procurement consultants. EST!MATED COMPLETION DATE: 1981 - 0 -