LESOTHO: LOCAL STAFF COMPENSATION LOSES GROUND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000130 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/EX DIRECTOR, AF/EX BUDGET DIRECTOR, HR/OE/CM, AND AF/S PRETORIA FOR FMO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AFSN ECON AMGT KICA LT SUBJECT: LESOTHO: LOCAL STAFF COMPENSATION LOSES GROUND REF: A) MASERU 319; B) STATE 30757; C) STATE 51729 MASERU 00000130 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. SUMMARY: Recent economic, labor, and commercial reporting and U.S. Mission Maseru's LE Staff Compensation Questionnaires provide growing evidence that post's LE staff compensation plan is not sufficiently competitive in the local market to effectively recruit and retain qualified staff. Since 2005, the mission's annual salary adjustments have been far below inflation and the increases offered by comparable organizations in Lesotho. The same factors have also eroded the purchasing power of salaries and the value of benefits to local staff. The situation is most evident at higher level grades, where competition for qualified staff is most fierce, driven in particular by an influx of international NGOs to support a national AIDS emergency. Cost of living increases for LES have shot up over the past year, exacerbated by skyrocketing prices for food, fuel, and utilities (over 10 percent annual inflation, higher during the first quarter of 2008); increasing interest rates; and the devastation of an HIV/AIDS pandemic which drains resources from virtually every U.S. Mission family. We need additional resources for salaries to sustain our most important resource, our local staff. END SUMMARY. -------------- The Macro Economic Context -------------- ¶2. Lesotho is a small landlocked country completely surrounded by South Africa - a nation on which its economy is highly dependent. This position makes the country extremely vulnerable to external shocks, especially changes in the prices of imports from its only neighbor. After sluggish economic growth in recent years, real GDP growth surged to an average of 7% between 2006 and 2007, largely driven by revived diamond mining and recovery in the garment industry. Poverty remains high and Lesotho has the third highest prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the world (23% among the general population, over 40 percent among adults between the ages of 18 and 25). Life expectancy has dropped from more than 50 years to under 40 years in the past seven years. -------------- Spiking Inflation in Lesotho -------------- ¶3. Due to a drought-induced decline in cereal production and surging oil prices, there is strong upward pressure on food prices and overall inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), Lesotho's primary inflation measure, stood at 10.6% in February 2008 (a record high since 2002)--a 75% increase since December ¶2006. But more importantly, food prices have risen by 15% year on year, and staples such as grain have been even harder hit. Food comprises 39.8% of Lesotho's CPI basket, so price changes in this basket component have a great influence on the overall inflation rate. Electricity rates for residential end-users increased by 12% in April 2008, although the country's utility had requested a 40% increase to compensate for declining supply and the cost of related inputs and imports. -------------- Inflationary Pressure from South Africa -------------- ¶4. In February 2008, inflation in South Africa leaped to 9.4% compared to the same month the previous year, exceeding the target band by 3.4%. As 80% of Lesotho's imports come from South Africa, these undesirable inflation developments have a multiplier effect in Lesotho, adding to the country's already unfavorable inflationary environment. Interest rates in Lesotho generally reflect the South African prime rate plus a premium for perceived additional risk in the Mountain Kingdom. The South African Reserve Bank, for example, recently raised its key repo rate to 11.5%, which resulted in a hike of interest rates to the current 15%. This caused Lesotho's prime lending rate to rise to 17% although actual access to credit is a near impossibility for most Basotho. The Monetary Policy Committee has hinted that further interest rate hikes could be in store should the power utility Eskom receive approval to double its tariffs. ¶5. These adverse price and interest rate developments are accompanied by hikes in fuel prices, a recent 300% raise in toll taxes at border crossings, and the continuing adverse economic effects of the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. All of these factors reduce our local staff's spending power as their earnings are eroded by inflation, higher debt payments, and medical and funeral expenses for those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Increased toll fees will also result in higher prices of imports as business will pass the 300% toll tax increase on to consumers. Given the fact that current price pressures emanate mainly from food and fuel, consumer spending is likely MASERU 00000130 002.2 OF 002 to slow, which will have an effect on the overall economy. Increasing interest rates are forecast to have the same effect. -------------- Prevailing Labor Market Practices: We're Falling Behind -------------- ¶6. In response to prevailing economic conditions, most local employers competing for skilled labor have improved their compensation plans. For the past three years, Embassy Maseru's main comparators (i.e., the Central Bank, the Lesotho Electricity Corporation, the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority, Lets'eng Diamonds, and various commercial banks) have competed successfully for skilled labor by offering attractive compensation and benefit packages, some of which include housing and vehicle allowances. ¶7. From 2005, a basic salary survey of seven of Embassy Maseru's comparators in labor market indicated that post's salaries, especially at the higher grades, remained significantly below the mean. At these higher grades, for example, the survey indicated that several senior locally engaged staff (LES) earn 30% less than their local counterparts. Competition has not been confined to the domestic labor market, and therefore salaries in Lesotho have also been influenced by higher salaries offered in South Africa. Lesotho's new Millennium Challenge Account board of directors has approved a compensation plan for dozens of new employees that will vastly exceed the U.S. Mission's LCP and compete favorably with the country's top employers. Further, the GOL's FY2008 budget introduced a 20% percent pay hike across the entire civil service. -------------- Comment: Now is the Time to Act on Local Compensation -------------- ¶8. COMMENT: Embassy Maseru kindly requests the AF Bureau to favorably consider increased financial resources to post to more closely align its local compensation levels to prevailing labor market rates, and to also support the transition of the mission's pension plan from a domestic underperformer to a regional program already in utilized by Pretoria, SA constituent post, and Mbabane. At this critical juncture of unparalleled Mission growth, associated with two new Presidential Initiatives (MCC and PEPFAR),the program and service support required to sustain Mission efforts to ensure their success rests largely on LES. Our inability to attract and retain LES severely diminishes the prospects for this success. The financial and operational costs of staff attrition are considerable and require immediate attention. Thank you for your support. END COMMENT. NOLAN