Mohalenyane Phakela

NEWLY-CROWNED Miss NUL (National University of Lesotho) 2016, Mpoi Mahao, says filling the shoes of her predecessor Mojabeng Senekal will be a difficult proposition.

The 19-year-old stunner, who is based in Maseru East, beat 12 other contestants to walk away with the Miss NUL sash and tiara at the institute’s Netherlands Hall on Saturday.

Manana Mothabeng and Rethabile Thaatha emerged as First and Second princesses, respectively.

Mahao told the Weekender following her triumph that she had a tall order in matching the exploits of Senekal, who launched a number of initiatives in addition to winning prestigious accolades.

“Mojabeng set the bar high in the pageantry sphere considering the great achievements she made within a short period of time,” Mahao said.

“We all draw inspiration from Mojabeng as she is a wonderful mentor whom I feel honoured to have worked with on several occasions. “Succeeding her comes with a lot of challenges as now I am expected to match or exceed what she has achieved.”

Senekal represented Lesotho at the Face of Beauty International 2015 in Taipei, Taiwan last October and came home with the Charity Award which entails travelling around the world as the pageant’s social responsibility ambassador. She has also accumulated a slew of crowns which include the Miss Personality 2014, Miss Royalty 2014, Face of Lesotho and also a runner-up in the Face of KO 2014 pageant.

Senekal also held a modelling boot camp last December to impart pageantry and social etiquette skills to up-and-coming beauty queens.

Mahao is also Senekal’s Face of Lesotho 2015 first princess. The Humanities first-year student at NUL said she intended to contest in this year’s Face of Lesotho and hopefully take over from Senekal in April this year when her term ends.

Mahao also said preparation was key in clinching the coveted Miss NUL crown.

“I took my time to prepare for the Miss NUL pageant from the moment I enrolled as a student at the institution in August last year. I did not compete in any other pageant since then,” she said.

“There were times I felt like giving up when we were rehearsing about three weeks ago, but I realised that throwing in the towel would make me a loser. I prayed so hard for God to give me strength and, through His mercy, I managed to win.

“The competition was tough, with a number of experienced beauty queens contesting, but through the support of my family, the crowd that kept cheering me and God, I strutted with confidence, wore a beautiful smile and answered the judges’ questions eloquently.”

By winning the Miss NUL crown, Mahao automatically landed the opportunity to represent Lesotho at the Miss Intervarsity Games pageant which will also include contestants from Botswana and Swaziland national universities in March this year.

“It has been a while since Lesotho won the Miss Intervarsity title, so I believe it is my duty to make my country proud this year. I am confident of winning the crown,” she said.

Mohalenyane Phakela

THE BOLESWA Intervarsity Games are set to kick off with a bang, with a host of big name South African and local artists billed to perform at its opening bash.

The annual event is held on a rotational basis between the University of Botswana, National University of Lesotho (NUL) and National University of Swaziland to foster solidarity and mutual friendship among the students. This year, the games will be held in Lesotho from 14 – 19 March 2016 with the organisers including a live musical show for the first time.

According to NUL Student Representative Committee deputy leader, Lekhafola Kaloli, the bash would be held at Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village on 12 March 2016 and organised by entertainment outfit Rock The City SA in conjunction with Vodacom Lesotho.

Among the heavy-hitters lined up to perform at the fiesta are Cassper Nyovest, Professor, NaakMusiq, Dr Malinga, Prince Kaybee, Heavy K, Mpumi, Fifi Cooper, Nokwazi, DJ Micks, Mono T, Muungu Afrika, Character, DJ Mlungu, Trademark, Zinhle, The Josh and DJ Lyquid from South Africa, and AfroDJ, Lakabane, 3RDCode, Juvy, Bootz, Paycetra and Taemane from Lesotho.

Kaloli told the Weekender this week that they decided to raise the bar by holding the bash to ensure a memorable event.

“We used to have build-up activities for the games by holding the Miss NUL pageant and mini soccer leagues between the university and the Institute of Extra Mural Studies but never a musical fiesta,” he said.

“So, this year we decided to set the bar high for our visitors from Botswana and Swaziland.

“We were inspired by the entertainment provided by the organisers in Botswana during last year’s inter-varsity games. We partied every day and, thus, compelled to come up with something bigger than that.”

Kaloli said they engaged Lesotho-born promoter and Rock The City SA owner, Lehlohonolo Nthontho, who is responsible for the line-up, to sponsor and market the event.

“Nthontho blew us away with the concept he came up with, and we even have billboards in Gaborone (Botswana) and Mbabane (Swaziland) for the show,” he said.

“With the large number of people we are expecting, we realised that the NUL campus could not accommodate all the revelers, hence our opting for Thaba Bosiu Cultural Village because it is not only bigger, but showcases Lesotho’s cultural legacy.”

The foreign acts, Kaloli said, were meant to attract more revellers to the show and not to undermine local artists.

“We take pride in local talent, but if we were to strictly keep the line-up local, only a few people would attend the event,” he said.

“The show is meant to make a lasting impression and that is why we brought in the crowd pullers from South Africa, complemented by local artists.”

Limpho Sello

LNFOD Executive Director Advocate Nkhasi Sefuthi says persons with disabilities experience serious inequalities in terms of access to justice due to attitudinal and environmental barriers facing them when trying to access justice sector services.

Advocate Sefuthi during a lecture on access to Justice for people with disability at a local hotel on Monday said LNFOD realized that there are barriers after they conducted a study in 2015 that was intended to determine the extent to which Lesotho was complying with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in terms of removing and amending laws which restrict people with disabilities to exercise the right to access court as a fundamental human right since its ratification in 2008.

“For example, Section 219 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence act of 1981 prohibits people with mental disabilities from becoming witnesses in the proceedings on the basis that, they cannot understand the proceedings of the Courts. This section does not take into account the degree of disability which one may have and it does not distinguish between people with disabilities and those with mental illnesses,” Advocate Sefuthi said.

“As a result, people with intellectual disabilities particularly women and girls continue to be the victims of sexual offences on a very high scale because the perpetrators raise the defence envisaged by section 219 of the fore mentioned Act,” Advocate Sefuthi said.

“Lesotho became a signatory to the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities on the 02 December 2008. Lesotho is therefore under the obligation to domesticate This Convention in order to promote proper protection and enforcement of the rights of people with disabilities within the Lesotho judicial system. Article 4 of the Convention requires all member states to review, modify, amend, and eliminate all laws, policies and practices which constitute discrimination on persons with disabilities on the basis of their disability.  Seven years after the Ratification,” Advocate Sefuthi said.

Advocate Sefuthi added: “the Police have difficulties when investigating cases involving people with disabilities because of the lack of expertise from the investigations’ department to communicate with the Deaf or people with intellectual disabilities. In a nutshell, access to justice and to Courts remains a huge challenge to people with disabilities due to the institutionalized unfair discrimination, lack of Sign Language Interpreters at the Courts of law and lack of accessible information for the visually impaired persons.”

He said persons with disabilities have the right to personal assistance whose costs should be borne by the institution mandated to provide such services to all.

“LNFOD is therefore calling upon the relevant Ministries in the administration of justice to reconsider their position towards people with disabilities by amending the laws which constitutes unfair discrimination against people with disabilities. In order to address the challenges aforementioned, LNFOD has approached the main stakeholders in the justice sector with the aim of finding solutions to the challenges aforesaid,” he said.

Advocate  Sefuthi said they have then introduced the concept of strategic litigation in their programs in which the aim is to litigate the human rights violations perpetrated against people with disabilities in order to influence  the human rights based  jurisprudence of the Courts of Lesotho around the protection of disability rights.

In his remarks Deputy Commissioner Correctional Service Akim Phamotse said everybody has some form of disability within them and if that is so everyone as long as its human being they have to have access to justice.

Mr Phamotse said if it’s the justice system of Lesotho that’s being financed with the resources of Basotho then it means the disabled also need to be included since they are also human.

“The way I look at justice it’s a wheel that needs to revolve. It does not only have to start at the courts but it has to start from the home and take a coherent process of then going at village level, police stations , to the prosecution, the courts of law and then to the correctional services,” Mr Phamotse said.

“The other thing that comes with all this is that our children need to be afforded justices starting from the families at home because we are all born of inherent dignity, and as long as you are a human being you deserve dignity,” Mr Phamotse said.

He further said her argument again will be based on the bible where god created man with his image and that image of god within every one of us needs to be respected.

Asked what is his take on people with disability not having access to justice, he said: “We need to admit that people with disability still lack services on a number of fields its not only justice although we are making efforts to ensure that we reach to a point where we all equal.”

“What we have done to improve services that also include people with disability might be just a drop in the sea but we are certain that one day we will get there especially during a period when the government will be working on reforms in the constitution, as well as the human rights commission’s completion can protect us all. Although there is still a long way to go,” Mr Phamotse said.

Former Minister of Planning Moeketsi Majoro

Moeketsi Majoro

Introduction

THE reading of the 2016/2017 budget speech last Friday has presented an opportunity to comment on the policy proposals the government of Lesotho is making to Parliament for consideration and approval. As was the case last year, I take this opportunity to share a few observations on the speech and accompanying information.
Does the budget follow international best practice and principles?

A full appraisal of any public sector budget must pit it against basic principles of international best practice. As the budget is a statement of policies financed by tax-payer resources, it must achieve credibility by presenting genuine agreed and ready-to-implement policies accompanied by accurate financial estimates. Large variations in policy and financial commitments between any two years signals lack of credibility of the budget, which undermines confidence. The 2016/2017 budget raises serious issues that speak to the principle of credibility. In May 2015, the government indicated that it planned to run a budget deficit of four percent of national output. The government is now predicting a surplus of 0.3 percent, implying that actual financial operations have deviated from the budget by some 4.3 percent of national output, equivalent to many millions of Maloti. This summary measure alone points to many large deviations in both revenue and expenditures during the 2015/2016 budget year.

Public sector budgeting must also be fiscally transparent. The executive must disclose to Parliament and the public as much information as possible regarding budget policy and the associated financial data. Based on the two budget speeches of 2015/2016 and 2016/2017, the government is demonstrating a worrying lack of fiscal transparency. The 2016/2017 budget speech does not disclose the political context underlying the proposals as well as the macroeconomic policy that underpins it. In particular, it ignores the political instability that has persisted since 2014, both in terms of the needed policy changes, the allocations required to restore normalcy to Lesotho and more critically that the uncertain political environment renders the budget itself uncertain. Finance Minister Dr ‘Mamphono Khaketla recognises this only in passing when in Paragraph 90, she says that reforms “have started at a very slow rate due to unfortunate incidents that befell our country in the last year”. At least three tables disclosing macroeconomic intentions that appeared in the 2015/2016 budget speech have been excluded in this speech, thus undermining fiscal transparency.

On the posture of macroeconomic policy, although there is mention of the level of deficit, there is insufficient information on how the deficit of M2.7 billion is to be financed in a manner that does not ignite a debt spiral and endanger macroeconomic stability. The government suggests it will use domestic borrowing and foreign currency reserves, but does not say how much of each source will be used and what impact this will have on the target of Net International Reserves of $600 million (Paragraph 17). The government also does not disclose the instruments it wishes to use to borrow domestically and how domestic lenders will be willing to lend large amounts of money to the government of Lesotho during a period of political uncertainty. Equally, the government does not disclose the increase in public debt that will result from implementation of the budget as proposed. Parliament should seek clarity on the mix of financing and the increase in public debt expected from this budget.

Also evident is the lack of accountability for financial resources appropriated by Parliament. As indicated in my previous commentary in June 2015, the actions (and lack thereof) of the government on one hand to produce and Parliament on the other to require proper public accounts are contributing to poor accounting for financial resources appropriated by Parliament. For its part, the government of Lesotho has failed to present credible public financial accounts since 1975. Each year, the government tables in Parliament audited public accounts which do not represent the true financial position. Each year, Parliament appropriates the next budget, without demanding accurate public accounts for the previous financial years. By not forcefully and persistently requiring accurate public accounts, Parliament is failing in its duty to exact accountability from the Executive. Evidence from other countries shows that democracy fails when Parliaments do not perform their constitutional duty of oversight and elect instead to protect sitting governments from scrutiny and accountability.

The budget proposal ignores Lesotho’s political and other challenges

Good governance and a good budget are important contributors to the attainment of economic growth and reduction of poverty. To increase economic growth and reduce poverty, Lesotho needs to have in place at the same time political stability, macroeconomic stability, a conducive investment climate, and strong entrepreneurial capacity. For most of its 50 years of independence, Lesotho has lacked political stability and this speaks eloquently to the continuing underdevelopment, poverty and extreme inequality. The semblance of political stability that seemed to gain momentum in recent years was rudely interrupted in 2014, leaving Lesotho in the clutches of a government that has since March 2015 focused on deaths, insecurity and strenuous attempts to wish these away. It is sensible to assume that the implementation of the recent SADC Commission of Inquiry resolutions will also occupy government for a good part of the budget year, once again denying it the time it needs to devote to preparing an implementation plan for the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP).
To the extent that the financial data proposed in the budget is accurate, the budget deficit of 9.9 percent of national output (M2,732 million shortfall) could endanger at least two constituent elements of macroeconomic stability, namely a rise of public indebtedness and loss of Lesotho’s stock of foreign currencies which is used not only to pay for government expenses, but more critically to supply enough rand in Lesotho to support the one-to-one pegging of the Loti to the rand. The government does not disclose enough details on its financing plans, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently warned that Lesotho could move into a foreign currently shortage situation if its spending plans, particularly on wages are not controlled. Even if the government believed at the time of the speech it could maintain macroeconomic stability, political instability will complicate the management of the economy and render the revenue projections optimistic. The minister concedes in Paragraph 90 the role of political instability in disrupting the execution of government plans.
Lesotho has previously invested a lot of effort in securing macroeconomic stability, but not enough on attaining a conducive investment climate and strong entrepreneurial capacity. The Job Summit process launched in August 2014 was intended specifically to ignite entrepreneurial energy and undertake widespread investment climate reforms. This was the process that would result in district and national investment plans being developed to implement the NSDP. It is thus regrettable to hear that the Job Summit process has stalled, with the Ministry of Development Planning now looking for consultants to restart the process.

Growth policy is contradictory and wrongly focused

The government forecasts a medium term (3-5 years) growth of 4.3 percent (Paragraph 23) and at the same time indicates that the proposed expenditures target the NSDP growth rate of 5-7 percent and creation of 10 000 jobs per year (Paragraph 58). The analysis of growth in Paragraphs 18-33 demonstrate a bleak performance of the sectors that have traditionally supported growth in recent history. Construction declined 10 percent, reflecting the completion of the civil works related to health clinics and the Metolong Dam. Manufacturing declined 11 percent, reflecting economic slowdown in Lesotho’s export destinations and uncertainty from political complications. Although mining grew significantly by 16 percent, it remains a small sector that creates a small number of jobs. Going forward, the government has put its hopes on the ministries of Home Affairs, Energy and Meteorology, Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs and Mining to drive growth! But the paltry 12 percent it has allocated to these priority ministries cannot energise the growth sectors sufficiently to reach national output growth of 5-7 percent (see Paragraph 59). At any rate, this is not even how a government should think about growth — it is not the ministries of government in isolation that are going to create growth, but rather large investments by private investors supported by well-thought through policies and supportive public investment. Even this would still require political and macroeconomic stability and skilled and healthy workers.

The budget speech sees economic growth as driven by government spending through public procurement, which is a long-standing strategy of the key parties in the current governing coalition. But the focus is misplaced; decades of this procurement-driven approach bears testimony that it is inconsequential for growth and poverty and damaging for inequality. In its press release of 29 January 2016, the IMF concludes that “unemployment rates have remained high, especially among the youth, and the incidence of poverty is virtually unchanged from a decade ago”. Is it not time for a change in approach to something that has a chance to work?

Poor health, poor education, poor investment climate, and poor government capacity are the four foremost binding constraints to Lesotho’s investment, growth and poverty reduction. These are identified by the Lesotho NSDP (2013), Constraints Analysis conducted by the Millennium Challenge Corporation in preparation for Compact II (2015), and the World Bank’s Systemic Country Diagnostic (2015). A clear and forceful focus on these four should have been the focus of this and future budgets, provided long-term political stability is restored and risks to macroeconomic stability are tamed. Granted, social spending in Lesotho is very high, but the IMF observes that “….there has been little progress in the fight against poverty and unemployment, despite considerable spending on social sectors and transfers”.

The budget also does not address the risks to economic growth it identifies. In fact in Paragraphs 28-30, it downplays the risk of loss of investments linked to Lesotho’s eligibility to the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). It is true that the United States of America has so far not issued any warning related to Lesotho’s eligibility to AGOA. But it is also not correct to say that “there is no threat to Lesotho’s continued AGOA eligibility (Paragraph 30)” because the continuing political strife, insecurity and human rights and rule of law violations are persistent threats to AGOA eligibility. But even more critical is that investor decisions are driven by mere perceptions of risk. Investors are presently making assessments of the worsening polarisation of society and insecurity and are considering their options. Many of these can access AGOA from many countries in Africa where they already have operations — it would be easy to migrate their production activity. The Kingdom of Swaziland (effective January 1, 2014) and the Republic of Burundi (effective November 1, 2015) are examples of countries that have recently lost AGOA eligibility due to human rights violations. Also the speech notes, but does not provide details on how government intends to deal with competitive risk expected to come from the coming into effect of the Transpacific Partnership Agreement with the United States bringing together pacific rim countries.

There are however some welcome developments in the architecture of investment climate. The launch of the credit reporting facility (Credit Bureau) and the Maseru Securities Market could increase the ease and financing options available to Lesotho investors. Although there are insufficient details provided, access to Arab Bank for Economic Development in the Africa (BADEA)’s private window could complement financing for domestic investment. Investors should however be on the lookout for Lesotho’s sovereign risk complicating their borrowing rates. Fitch ratings downgraded Lesotho in October 2015 from stable to negative outlook, observing that “continuing political tension is affecting governance”.
Government spending remains high, fiscal policy risky

Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenues to Lesotho are like oil to an oil producing country — no amount of telling them not to depend too much on oil revenue ever works — until the price of oil collapses. Much has already been said about the risks of Lesotho depending too much on SACU revenues. In its recent communication, the IMF warns of the threat to macroeconomic stability unless Lesotho implements a major fiscal adjustment. By contrast, the government hopes to achieve a rising spending profile and macro-fiscal stability despite a drop of 6 percent of GDP (M1.1 billion) in SACU revenues (Paragraph 8). It is also surprising that both Company Income Tax (CIT) and VAT are expected to increase at the same time economic growth is expected to slow down! Anecdotal data suggests that company balance sheets are getting tighter, profits are more likely to flatten out rather than grow, and for property owners, rents are collapsing as tenants leave. Moreover, donor support is dampening largely as a result of unfavourable political developments.

In one of her memorable statements, the minister talks of “filling an ocean using a teaspoon” (Paragraph 83). This extraordinarily apt observation is applicable to other aspects of the budget. Raising non-tax revenue as outlined in Paragraphs 53 to fill the hole created by the loss of SACU revenue is to fundamentally underestimate the magnitude of the problem. Likewise, efforts to control spending (Paragraphs 93-94) are hopelessly insignificant in relation to the fiscal hole Lesotho faces from SACU revenue losses. Finally, the efforts to grow the private sector, while welcomed, are fragmented and woefully inadequate.

I welcome the civil service review to be launched in March 2016 (Paragraphs 43 and 68) and hope it can deal with anomalies associated with Lesotho’s wage bill management I outlined in June 2015 in the Lesotho Times. I look forward to an aggressive implementation of the project and hope again it will not fall prey to populism, patronage and politicisation of the public service. In this respect, the proposed across the board salary increase of four percent is a bad omen as it signals business as usual and worsens the problem. Moreover, the project seems targeted at reconciliation of human resource and payroll data, which falls far short of what would be needed to reduce the wage bill to well below domestic revenue collections.

Commitment to reform remains doubtful

Government Fleet: The government discloses in Paragraph 41 that it entered into a traditional short-term lease for six months! Previously, we were told the government failed to reach an amicable settlement with Avis, as it demanded unacceptable conditions for extension of contract by six months. Why was the government prepared to use tax-payer money to pay Bidvest multiple times more for the same fleet as provided by Avis? The government always had the power and authority to guide Avis to a settlement if it truly wanted that! Taking into account its failure to manage the Avis contract properly, was it worth it in the eyes to stomp off the negotiation and instead pay so much more for the same service? Why was the government not able to put Avis to order for the 6 months it gave a short-term contract to Bidvest under questionable affordability conditions? Was the government’s reaction more emotional that logical? Should tax payers now consider the extra expense justifiable? Did the government exercise proper discretion? A new fleet provision will commence in April 2016 according to the speech. Will this be the contract led by Basotho fleet owners as promised by the government in 2015? These are the kind of questions a Parliament doing its job of oversight and not ingratiating itself to the government should ask.

Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH): In my previous commentary, I doubted that the government would be able to re-negotiate the public–private partnership (PPP) contract with the shareholders of the QMMH, pointing out the complexity of the arrangement. This time around, the minister merely concedes that the hospital expended outside its budget and the government had to pay. There is no longer the commitment to renegotiate the QMMH contract! This cannot be acceptable. The government must prepare a clear road map for shielding Basotho against cost over-runs that arise from a poorly implemented contract. I welcome the improvement of facilities and services at the three filter clinics earmarked to manage referrals to QMMH and hope in future the government will run them at the level they were intended (Paragraph 34). Meanwhile, an independent and professional review of the fate of the Maseru District Hospital should be undertaken and its results published.

Public Sector Investment Committee: The establishment of the Public Sector Investment Committee (PSIC) in 2013 was intended to eliminate “a lot of underspending in some ministries” the Minister points to in Paragraph 45. As designed, it would prevent unnecessary and under-designed capital projects to be funded. It would also ensure that capital projects align well with policy and make an impact. The government should assess the capacity of this committee and strengthen it as soon as possible to avoid persistent underspending.

Primitive budget documentation and handling in Parliament: The documentation presented to Members of Parliament for scrutiny is archaic and prevents proper exercise of oversight. Even though the rest of the world has moved to the more logical three-year budgets, the Parliament of Lesotho has no choice but to consider one-year budgets. Public sector interventions are rarely fully implemented in one year; it is therefore logical to be transparent to parliament about the full multi-year costs of an intervention, which is possible in a Medium Term Expenditure Framework. For its part, Parliament has accepted the responsibility to scrutinise annual budgets without demanding full information including the full timing and geographical location of the requested interventions. By doing, this Parliament is failing to require accountability from the Executive and acting more as part of Government rather than an oversight body. Parliament should move aggressively to do its job by independently securing public financial management experts to undertake training of MPs.
Decentralisation: I welcome the intensification of reforms in decentralisation and hope that Lesotho will get it right this time around. The reforms should try to achieve best international practice in the re-design and in particular aim to achieve both subsidiarity and decentralisation. As the reforms will have far reaching political implications, they should be discussed with all political groupings as soon as possible, as local government elections are also slated for this year.

The responsibility for urban roads located at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs (MLGCA) appears sensible at first. However, since the MLGCA is a ministry in the central government just like the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the transfer of road construction responsibility from the latter to the former is not decentralisation, but rather merely transferring responsibility from the one central government ministry that is a centre of knowledge for road construction to another that is not! In proper decentralisation where power and responsibility are genuinely devolved, the responsibility for the construction of urban roads would fall under the urban councils themselves as separate and independent sub-governments. The current design of decentralisation is mainly deconcentrating power from central government ministries to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs, which is itself part of the central government! The accusations from local councils and civil society that central government is resisting change emanates essentially from this misguided notion of decentralisation.

The fight against corruption and restoration of the rule of law are mentioned, but there are no specific new policies proposed (Paragraph 90-91). This is regrettable since both are closely linked to Lesotho’s insecurity and the absence of peace and their persistence will render the budget significantly un-implementable.

Other sectoral plans

I welcome the signing of the financing agreement with Kuwaiti Fund to improve the Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MIA), but wish the government’s ambition could have been more elevated. The upgrading effort could have designed the airport as an aerotropolis rather than the upgrading of the runway, terminal building and paradoxically expanding the VIP lounge! Transforming the MIA into an aerotopolis would mobilise commercial, industrial and economic investment opportunities centred on aviation only as a logistic node. The previous government began working with the Mohlakeng council and community to raise their ambitions for their land for commercial and industrial development using the land around the airport and this concept was broadly accepted. In the broader vision, sensitive industries such as diamond processing, conference facilities, catering, and sensitive aviation-related exports such as flowers would locate around the airport, creating a new aviation-centred commercial and industrial city. The rushed signature of the agreement excludes this broader development and design for the airport; a truly missed opportunity.

The prioritisation of the electricity connections is welcomed. However, there are two sides to the equation, namely bulk generation and consumption. The government’s intentions on the generation side are not spelt out in the speech even though Lesotho’s supply capacity is limited by shortages in South Africa and Mozambique. In particular, it would be helpful to learn about the progress the government has made on Kobong Pump Storage and on concluding a power sales agreement with Eskom. On renewable power, it would be helpful to hear about the progress made in concluding a power feed-in tariff policy and independent power producer policy. Past attempts to sign off Lesotho’s renewable wind and solar resources without these two policies created a climate where corruption could subsist and was halted by the previous government to ensure an above-board and accountable process. Parliament should seek a report regarding the development of these policies and the government’s intentions on renewable energy generation.

The engineering feat Phase I of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project has been sullied by the corruption led at the highest echelons of the project. It would be a calamity to begin the second phase with questions about governance at the project. There is a slow drip of sinister stories about goings-on at the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission. Investigative journalist, Billy Ntaote, penned a story on 28 August 2015 about irregular payments to an officer convicted of corruption under the project. There has also been allegations of irregular patronage and nepotistic appointments and this coincides with the government’s reported wish to remove the current chief delegate. Parliament should assure itself that the LWHC, LHDA and associated institutions are not dogged by any allegations of graft and employ only people of highest professional pedigree. Failure in this area will double or triple the cost of the project and subsequently the cost of water to South Africa and electricity to Lesotho.

I welcome the proposals to improve governance and management of the loan bursary fund (NMDS), but find them insufficient to stabilise the NMDS. In particular, there is need to update and modernise the policy framework from its 1978 roots so that the large fiscal outlays for scholarships are governed by the national interests of today rather than those of nearly 40 years ago. I note the plans to look at means testing, but feel that the supply of loan bursaries could be expanded by bringing other sources of loans into the loan bursary pipeline. By heavily subsidising loan bursaries, the government is limiting the number of Basotho that can benefit from education loans. Operating the fund on commercial principles could increase the number of beneficiaries as commercial banks and other financial institutions would be enabled to lend to students. In addition, students would take loans to study only those areas for which they are assured of getting jobs, thus removing the extensive inefficiency in the current system where students study courses for which there are no employers. By adding a small user charge on the repayment steam, the new NMDS could be run completely as a private commercial concern and shed the inefficiencies associated with being a government institution. Parliament should seek deeper clarity on the loan bursary plans to complement the vague intentions outlined in Paragraph 86.

In Paragraphs 87 and 88, the government outlines its intentions to evaluate the NSDP and to begin the process of developing a successor NSDP. This is surprising because the NSDP is currently not being implemented and one cannot therefore evaluate its implementation. Indeed the IMF on 29 January 2016 says “implementation of the National Strategic Development Plan, which provides a viable approach for transitioning from government dependence to private sector led growth over the longer term — particularly in sectors with potential for high employment — needs to be restarted”. The Job Summit process, which aimed to develop national and district investment plans, has also stalled, with the Ministry of Development Planning acknowledging its lack of capacity to take it forward and now seeking international consultants to restart the process. The government should instead devote more time to completing a properly designed national investment plan to implement the current NSDP, while also assiduously working on restoring political stability and the rule of law. Parliament must seek clarification from the government on the fate of an implementation plan for the NSDP.

Conclusion

Lesotho will be celebrating 50 years of independence later this year. That celebration will be hollow and only symbolic of the fact that in 1966 Lesotho gained independence from Britain. Ignoring symbolism for the time being, the substance of 50 years of independence is extreme poverty (57 percent), one of the highest inequality in sub-Saharan Africa, poor health (very high HIV infection rates and a sharp rise in non-communicable diseases), poor education (yes high literacy rates, but low livelihood skills), poor investment capacity, and worst of all, governance capacity that falls well short of that needed to redress these ills. If the empathy of John Magufuli (the new popular president of Tanzania) was available in Lesotho, our leaders would know that it is improper to expend scarce financial resources to celebrate a hollow date when the substance is so terribly disappointing. The Government needs to be tested to justify its planned celebration in the context of this painful legacy and neglect.
The 2016/2017 budget fails several tests of a good budget.
a) It does not meet the test of fiscal transparency (the macroeconomic posture of the budget is not fully disclosed (borrowing requirements and debt implications are glossed over);
b) It does not facilitate a policy oriented discussion by Parliament, instead it promotes discussion of government consumption items;
c) It is not credible because of large swings in the information provided at the beginning of the fiscal year and the final outcome—the VAT and CIT projections also appear particularly overestimated.

Finally, taxing every Mosotho, but funnelling tenders and government jobs to only card-carrying members of the governing parties is fundamentally unjust and will sustain a permanent sense of grievance. Such extreme patronage will make peaceful transfer of power difficult and stoke conflict. The damage to Lesotho will however not discriminate in its impacts. Basotho as a whole and supporters of all parties will experience equally the effects of a failing economy and nation. Let us all act in the interest of this nation, and not ourselves or our political parties.

FINANCE Minister Dr ‘Mamphono Khaketla’s budget speech last week struck all the right notes given the difficult macro-economic circumstances Lesotho finds itself in. Among the positive interventions the minister announced was the involvement of the private sector in the development of prime land in Maseru. She said the initiative was not only meant to create jobs, but also generate revenue for both government  and  the  private  sector with the added benefit of improving the landscape of the city, which Dr Khaketla rightly noted was littered with eyesores of dilapidated buildings.

Such a development is not only long overdue, but necessary if this country is to emerge from its woeful least developed status. The government is lagging behind in meeting its obligation to provide basic infrastructure services such as clean water, sewage, roads, electricity, telecommunications, to name a few to support the basic livelihood of citizens and businesses. Without such basic services, the long yearned-for foreign direct investment will remain a pie in the sky as the country does not have the competitive edge to stand out among other potential investment destinations.

As elucidated in the budget presentation, Lesotho will have to cope with a highly uncertain global environment. The economy faces a state of heightened risk because of macroeconomic pressures, chief of which is the reduced Southern African Customs Union revenue and the slowdown in the South African economy.

With the monetary union faltering, Lesotho needs to carve her own niche by identifying sources of growth to replace those now becoming exhausted. Lesotho needs to gravitate towards the manufacturing and service industries to ensure increased productivity and growth performance.

However, with the government clearly unable to fill the infrastructure gap, strategic partnerships with the private sector are the way to go.

In this edition, we report that the World Bank has commended the benefits that have accrued from the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative that resulted in the construction of Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) and four primary care clinics. While acknowledging the challenges the PPP is facing, such as its high cost to the government, the World Bank was unequivocal that it had achieved better health outcomes for a larger number of patients, including providing more advanced medical technologies than were previously available in the country. Another benefit the World Bank noted was that the health network was operating more efficiently and caring for more patients at less cost per patient.

Empirical evidence also attests to the benefits of PPPs such as incentivising the private sector to deliver projects on time and within budget and supplementing limited public sector capacities to meet the growing demand for infrastructure development.

PPPs also help develop local private sector capabilities through joint ventures with large international firms, as well as sub-contracting opportunities for local firms in areas such as civil works, electrical works, facilities management, security services, cleaning services, maintenance services. If properly implemented, PPPs can also result in the transfer of skills ensuring that locals can ultimately run their own operations professionally and eventually bid for projects without foreign help.

While the PPP framework is far from perfect, since the QMMH deal is facing some problems which need to be addressed as a matter of urgency, it is the government’s best bet to quickly address the debilitating infrastructure shortfall to spur economic growth and development.

Experts recommend that in implementing PPPs, the government would need to build and maintain the capacity to manage them, and to monitor and enforce the terms of the contracts. PPPs, they say, do not eliminate, but rather change and intensify the need for a government’s continuous involvement in monitoring performance in service delivery. Given the long-term nature of such projects and the complexity associated, it would be difficult if not impossible to identify all possible contingencies during project development and events and issues may arise that were not anticipated in the documents or by the parties at the time of the contract.  If the need arises, the government and its partners would then need to renegotiate the contract to accommodate these contingencies.

Ultimately, the buck stops with the government since citizens will continue to hold them accountable for the quality of utility services.

Barclays said it will sell down the stake in its Africa business and reorganise the company into two divisions, as fourth-quarter profit fell by more than half.

The bank will sell down its 62% stake in Barclays Africa Group Ltd, which includes Absa, over the next two to three years to a level that allows it to deconsolidate the business, according to a statement Tuesday. Adjusted pretax profit, including restructuring costs, fell 56% to 247-million pounds in the quarter from 563-million pounds in the year-earlier period, according to the filing. That missed the 519-million pound average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The moves are meant “to accelerate our strategy and simplify the group, as we prepare for regulatory ring-fencing requirements,” chief executive Jes Staley said in the statement.

Staley is counting on his first results announcement and a revised strategy to reassure investors, who have been demanding bold moves to boost capital and returns as the bank languishes at its lowest valuation in more than three years. In addition to selling down the African stake, the chief executive has moved to address the underperforming investment bank. He previously announced 1 200 job cuts, the exit from seven countries in Asia, a hiring freeze and cutting the bonus pool to trim costs.

Barclays Africa Group “is a well-diversified business and a high-quality franchise,” Staley said in the statement. “However the stake in BAGL presents specific challenges to Barclays as owners, such as the level of capital held in respect of BAGL, the international reach of the UK bank levy” and other reasons.

Share slide
The stock has fallen 21% this year, extending a two-year slump that’s left the bank trading 50% less than its book value. In July, Chairman John McFarlane pledged to double the share price over the next three to four years.

Of Barclays’s four divisions, only Barclaycard and personal and corporate banking have consistent returns of more than 10%. The African business has been hit by slowing economic growth and a falling South African rand. Costs remain stubbornly high at the investment bank, which has the lowest returns of the four divisions.

The African business had 14% of the bank’s assets and 9.4% of its risk-weighted assets at the end of September. Barclays has operated in the continent for almost a century and owns a 62% stake in Johannesburg-based Barclays Africa Group, which was built up under former chief executives John Varley and Robert Diamond. – Bloomberg

Position one holder at LGSCE level Mamasoatsi Pearl Kopeka from Leribe English Medium receives prizes from Metropolitan MD Nkau Matete and Dr Phamotse

Rethabile Pitso

METROPOLITAN Lesotho showered top-performing students and schools in the 2015 academic year with prizes worth M250 000.

The prizes, which were handed over during a ceremony held in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training on Monday, were meant to recognise the country’s top academic achievers.

Eleven Lesotho General Certificate of Secondary Education (LGSCE)  students each received a laptop for best performance, while eight high school each received M12 000 for best performance. The high schools comprised Methodist High School (Berea), Lesotho High School (Maseru), Leribe English Medium (Leribe), St Stephens High School (Mohale’s Hoek), Hlotse High School (Leribe), Maputsoe High School (Leribe), Holy Family High School (Leribe) and Leqele High School (Maseru).

LGSCE top three student Mamasoatsi Pearl Kopeka from Leribe English Medium School and two Junior Certificate top three students Karabo Mary Molapo (from Leribe English Medium School) and Thesele Moshoeshoe Johannes (Lesotho High School) each received M5 000.

Addressing the gathering, Metropolitan Lesotho’s Managing Director Nkau Matete said the benefitting schools were expected to use the M12 000 for sustainable projects. He said while it was at the discretion of each school to decide what projects to invest the money in, they had to be sustainable, adding that progress would be monitored.

“We are not only recognising the excellence of hardworking pupils, but also giving the schools money that should be used for sustainable projects,” he said.

“We are able to contribute to the educational sector through the support we receive from the communities. Among our most valued customers are teachers whose investments play an important role in the growth of our company. It is through this partnership with our company that we are able to give back into the education system.”

In her remarks, Education and Training Minister Dr Mahali Phamotse said the government valued partnerships with the private sector for the betterment of the education sector.

“The Ministry of Education and Training under the Public Private Partnership has a longstanding relationship with such organisations as Metropolitan Lesotho to recognise and appreciate outstanding students,” the minister said, adding that GR Stationers were also among the sponsors.

“Such initiatives serve the purpose of motivating the students to work hard thereby improving the quality of education.”

On behalf of the parents of the top-performing students, Mafonti Kopeka lauded the sponsors for incentivising the students to perform at their best in their studies.

“To the sponsors, we wish to thank you for the gifts you have presented to the children. They are not just material gifts but motivational tools to the learners; both who have excelled and to those who will be sitting for examinations in future,” she said.

Minister of Mining Lebohang Thotanyana

Bereng Mpaki

THE government is in the process of revoking nine mineral prospecting licenses after the holders failed to begin exploration work, Minister of Mining Lebohang Thotanyana has said.

In an interview with the Lesotho Times this week, Mr Thotanyana said the ministry assessed all the 19 mining companies holding prospecting licenses in the country to ascertain the progress they were making.

“The assessment was necessary because lack of progress was inhibiting job creation opportunities that would arise from the exploration of the mines,” he said.

“The study revealed that very little progress was being made. It was then presented to the new Mining Board which was appointed in January this year and has since recommended the cancelation of licenses for companies that are not prospecting.”

Mr Thotanyana said he could not divulge the names of the companies because they were currently being served with the cancellation letters.

He said the assessment was made after an outcry by the public that most prospective license holders were not making use of them.

“The performances of most of the mining companies awarded prospecting licenses has generally been very poor to say the least. That is why we had to review their status,” Mr Thotanyana said.

“Most of the companies have been holding the licenses for over two years, which is longer than the permitted period since there has been no renewals.”

Added to that, the minister said, the mining companies had not submitted progress reports with some not even based at the locations they claimed to be their offices as required by the law.

“Our motto is use the license or lose the license. That is why we are revoking the licenses of companies that have not made use of them,” he said.

“The Commissioner of Mines wrote to all mining companies that were not making any progress to show cause why their licenses should not be terminated.

“They were given specific targets to meet within a specified period of time. But the companies still failed to meet these requirements.”

Mr Thotanyana said most of the companies were unable to mobilise the money needed to embark on prospecting operations, while others did not have the requisite technical skills.

“The holder of a prospecting license has to meet financial as well as technical requirements,” he said.

“But it would seem some of the licensees misrepresented their capacity when applying for the licenses. It is clear that we awarded some of the licenses to the wrong people.”

Going forward, the minister said they would come up with more stringent criteria for awarding prospecting licenses such as following up on claims of financial backing made by mining companies.

“These wrong people are giving this industry a bad reputation because they end up trying to sell (transfer) the licenses to desperate investors at inflated prices,” said Mr Thotanyana.

“The ministry will soon invite applications to mining companies interested in taking over the licenses.”

He also emphasised that the revoking of the licenses was above board and not politically motivated.

“We are not being malicious or anything of that sort as some people have claimed. The process is fair and transparent as it is based on merit,” Mr Thotanyana added.

Meanwhile, operators of Vinm Minerals and Diamonds, a company awarded a prospecting license in February 2015 for diamond exploration in Sekubu, Butha-Buthe told this paper they started operations later than planned due to disruptions by the surrounding community.

“The people were accusing us of stealing their land. They were clearly ignorant of what the law says regarding this process. And the chiefs were also to blame for failing to explain such issues to their subjects,” the company’s founder, Vincent Mabolu, said.

He said they had managed to construct access roads to the prospecting site and initialised the process of exploration.

“We are hoping to increase the intensity of our prospecting work within the next month as more resources have been raised,” Mr Mabolu said.

Mohalenyane Phakela

TIMES Café will on 26 March 2016 host a neon-themed party organized by entertainment outfit, Gift Givens Productions.

Dubbed the Red Cup Neon Switch, the party is a sequel to the Redcup Hangout outdoor events that took Maseru’s entertainment scene by storm last year. However, this time around the event would be held indoors under the glow of fluorescent colours.

According to Gift Givens Productions’ Refiloe Mokuoane, they decided to spice up the event by hosting an indoor neon-themed party.

“We had a major problem last year in December when we had to cancel our edition of the Redcup Hangout party which compelled us to think of an exciting event to make it up to revellers,” he said.

“We normally host outdoor events so it will be different this time as it would be our first indoor bash which would also be the first ever neon event in Lesotho.

“Red Cup is basically aimed at granting people the freedom to party in new and exciting themes.”

Mokuoane said, upon arrival, each guest would be given a glow sticks  for making bracelets or glasses and American original red cups from which they will drink beverages that take their fancy. He said the idea behind drinking from the same cups was to make everyone feel like they are part of something much larger than themselves.

Revelers would also be able to paint themselves in different patterns and designs with skin-friendly paint that is easily washable.

“Our mission is to share good times and break social barriers so as to give people the opportunity to forge new friendships and reaffirm old ones,” he said.
The event will also include an array of activities such as table tennis, foosball, darts, ping pong and arcade machines among others.

The entertainment lineup will include the likes of Trybz, Katz Lee, Smooth, Osmic, Jackie, Baby Lee, NINE24 and Afro-Miks among others.

LJ Lehana to perform at Moshoeshoe Day celebration

Mohalenyane Phakela
NEWLY-OPENED Moshoeshoe II-based restaurant, Green Gate, will celebrate the life and legacy of Moshoeshoe I through music and food on Friday next week.

During the month of March in general, and the 11th in particular, various events are held around the country to celebrate the Basotho nation’s founding monarch. While King Moshoeshoe I is believed to have been born on 12 March, it is marked on 11 March, the day he died in 1870.

According to Green Gate representative, Fila Maema, the show would be youth oriented, with such artists as LJ Lehana and Chino El Vito lined up to entertain revellers.

She said patrons would also be served beef and veggie burgers as well as potato wedges and coleslaw among other gourmet dishes.

“This will be our first event celebrating the legacy of our founder Morena Moshoeshoe I,” Maema told the Weekender this week.

“We believe the youth have an understanding of who Morena Moshoeshoe I is and what 11 March means to Basotho as a nation. That is why we are including them in marking the historic moment.

“The event is not exclusively for Basotho as Morena Moshoeshoe was renowned for accommodating people from different nations. So everyone is welcome.”

Mohalenyane Phakela

SOTHO Hop sensation, Skebz-D, is set to launch his long-awaited album on 11 March 2016.

Skebz-D, whose real name is Mokebe Mohasoa, released his last offering, Money Cars and Girls, in 2013 under veteran rapper, Papa Zee’s Big Bang Records.

The Naleli-based rapper told the Weekender this week that while the album was a success, it did not put across the messages he wanted to relay. Skebz-D said the soon to be released The Real Skebz speaks about the issues he stands for. The album will also be Skebz-D’s first offering from his Sotho Hop Records label.

“In Money, Cars and Girls I was expressing my views on the perception most up-and-coming artists have of the Hip Hop industry,” he said.

“I was trying to show budding rappers that there was more to rapping than striving for money, girls and flashy cars. However, I don’t think the album achieved the intended purpose because most people were only entertained by it without really listening to the messages it carried.”

The Madito hit-maker said he took his time in working on the new 16-track offering.

“I started working on the album in 2013 to ensure I perfect my next delivery. The album deals with issues we tend to turn a blind eye to at a personal level and as a country,” Skebz-D said.

“I dropped the first single titled Rap Evangeni, last month which caused a lot of controversy on social media with some people accusing me of being arrogant yet I was telling it like it is.”

He said another standout track from the album was Mangoane Mpulele featuring the late Lebo Molapo.

“The song talks about the current political challenges and how they are polarising the nation,” said Skebz-D.

“I have also tried to balance the substance with entertainment by including such up-tempo songs as Sthalala. I have been performing of late and also being played on the airwaves.”

Pascalinah Kabi

ROMA-Worried that years of sleepless nights spent studying at university would all be in vain, three enterprising Roma residents decided to take the bull by the horns and create jobs for themselves and their fellow citizens.

That determination culminated in the establishment of Reed Basketry (Pty) Ltd in June last year, whose registration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry on 4 December 2015 marked yet another milestone for this innovative firm.

Reed Basketry is an amalgamation of three companies—Arts and Crafts Explorers Innovation Hub, Roma Reed Furnishers and Isaak Reed, Craft and Designs—and produces exquisite reed and timber dustbins, laundry baskets, furniture and décor.

Reed Basketry has since won recognition from Maluti Mountain Brewery’s (MMB) Kickstart Entrepreneurship Project, which recently awarded the company M99 000 to enhance its operations. The firm also won the 2015 Boliba Savings and Credit Youth Entrepreneurship competition and recognition from Hook-Up Dinner.

Reed Basketry was officially launched on Friday last week, with its Chief Executive Officer Rethabile Lesenyeho giving a background of the venture, while also speaking of the exciting times ahead.

“We possessed different skills, from business management and marketing to production and decided to join forces and form Reed Basketry. We were operating from Oblate Scholarsticate in Roma where we are to this day,” Mr Lesenyeho told guests attending the launch.

All the company’s founding members and most of their 15 employees hold tertiary qualifications, according to Mr Lesenyeho.

“When we started Reed Basketry, we only had five employees, and because of limited resources, we could not produce as many products as we would have wanted. We had to focus on dustbins and laundry baskets to make sure there were enough products for our clients. We are currently producing 100 baskets per week and work on special wardrobe orders on Saturdays and Sundays,” Mr Lesenyeho said.

“It’s true that we face many challenges in our business, but I am happy that in the short time we have been in existence, we have been honoured by Boliba, MMB and Hook-Up Dinner.”

Boliba Savings and Credit would fund the company’s operations, while Hook-Up Dinner Maseru, a networking community of local entrepreneurs, would help the firm with online marketing. The M99 000 from Kickstart’s second round of helping out promising projects would be used to cultivate reeds which are the company’s main raw material.

“We decided to join the MMB competition after realising our raw material was slowly running out. The reeds are not easily accessibly due to their location in different parts of the country and also the fact that they are not planted at the right time for them to be available whenever we need them,” Mr Lesenyeho said.

According to Mr Lesenyeho, the company recruited 11 employees last month due to increased business.

Negotiations to supply two major retailers with their products were at an advanced stage, Mr Lesenyeho further told the Lesotho Times.

“One of the retail companies wants us to supply their 13 stores around Africa with our products. This is good news to us and at the same time, a challenge that we must up our game so that we don’t disappoint our clients.”

Mr Lesenyeho further said plans were at an advanced stage to produce 1000 baskets and wastebaskets a week from the current weekly output of 100.

“Our target is to have at least 150 staff members by the end of this year because we can’t meet demand with our current workforce.”

Asked if increasing staff tenfold was not too ambitious for the company, Mr Lesenyeho said: “We can only meet production demand by increasing the number of our workers. And like I said, one of the retail stores which I cannot name at this stage, wants us to supply them with 1000 products weekly and with our current staff, we only produce 100 per week. So it will be impossible to produce 1000 top-class products with 15 workers.”

Mr Lesenyeho added: “We have seen potential in this business and need to ensure we meet market-demand by producing quality products. And if it means we have to increase staff, we will do just that.”

Mr Lesenyeho further said Reed Basketry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with one of the local tertiary institutions which supplies them with reeds.

“They supply us with raw material in exchange for a mentorship and internship programme which we offer to their students. As part of the MoU, and our corporate social responsibility, we also sponsored one of their business competitions.”

On his part, Reed Basketry production director, Isaak Tankiso, said his experience in the business meant he could lead from the front.

“I have been in this line of business since way back in 1994 and I would use everything I came across – grass, trees and reeds—to make beautiful products. My vision is to see this reed business growing in this community and I have no doubt this dream will come true,” Mr Tankiso said.

“I must thank all the staff because if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have come this far as a business,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the employees, Mpho Chobokoane thanked the management and donors for funding the company.

“I pray for the success of this company because it has helped in the fight against unemployment. This business is not new to most of us; what we are appealing for is support from the community and all the various stakeholders. We don’t want this company to be another statistic of failure hence my plea for support from all well-wishers,” Mr Chobokoane said.

“I studied carpentry and joinery at LOIC (Lesotho Opportunities Industrialization Centre) and I am happy that I am putting my knowledge to good use here.”

Bernadette Kalaka, who spoke on behalf of the parents of the management, said the initiative was something to be extremely proud of.

“We have seen most of the youths who have gone to school and graduated, idling at home while their certificates gather dust in the house due to the high unemployment rate in this country. But these children chose to make a living for themselves instead of complaining and sitting in pubs the whole day,” Ms Kalaka said.

“We will continue to support them in good and bad times as we know there will always be challenges in any business. I must thank all the companies which have supported these children and believed in their dreams.”

Boliba Savings and Credit’s Koena Molepi explained why the company decided to partner Reed Basketry.

“We normally want to be employed and are always blaming government for the scarcity of jobs but these young Basotho decided to go about the situation differently,” Mr Molepi said.

“Reed Basketry won first prize in our competition because of their clear business plan and good, quality products.

“They are now job-creators and as financiers, we will continue to support them in every way possible so that this business grows and passes the test of time.”

In his address, Basotho Enterprises Development Corporation (BEDCO) Principal Consultant, Abiel Mashale, warned Reed Basketry about the dangers of ineffective time-management. BEDCO is a government-owned corporation whose primary responsibility is the establishment and development of Basotho-owned enterprises.

“For you to say we only started one hour late is not good enough because in the business world, that excuse is not acceptable. Your orders will be returned because they would have failed to reach the client at the scheduled time and you will turn around and say people don’t buy your products,” Mr Mashale said.

Mr Mashale also lamented most Basotho’s attitude regarding entrepreneurship, citing the country’s continued importation of food and clothing.

“The problem is Basotho don’t want to use their hands to better their lives, and also stop unnecessary imports. As BEDCO, we have programmes targeting Basotho businesses and one of them is the Bacha Entrepreneurship Project in which the youths are expected to submit their proposals for assistance. The deadline for proposals is end of March 2016,” he said.

BEDCO runs the Bacha Entrepreneurship Project jointly with Standard Lesotho Bank and the Lesotho Revenue Authority.

Mr Mashale added: “Statistics have shown that 70-80 percent of businesses in this country collapse in the first three years of their establishment and given the potential we see in this initiative, BEDCO is going to work very hard to ensure it thrives and does not collapse.

“First we must teach them that they don’t have to live off their profits but should have salaries at the end of the month to ensure the business survives, and also that there is full accountability.

“We are also going to train them about quality management and how to resolve conflicts at the workplace as these are some of the reasons why businesses collapse.

“We will not separate their conflict management training by organising one for management and another one for staff. They need to know in business, both management and staff have to work closely in order to increase productivity and profit.”

The Ministry of Labour and Employment and South Africa’s Department of Labour last week held a three-day forum in Maseru to implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the two countries signed in December 2013.

The ministry’s Principal Secretary (PS) Advocate Karabo Tlhoeli speaks with Lesotho Times (LT) reporter, Lekhetho Ntsukunyane, about the event and what it seeks to bring to the two neighbouring countries.

LT: Last week’s forum between Lesotho and South Africa could not have come at a better time for Basotho who are hoping for better relations between the two countries to enable them to seek jobs across the border. Could you please explain what the forum was all about?

Tlhoeli: There was a forum between ourselves and South Africa’s Department of Labour. This forum or meeting was the result of an MoU signed by the government of Lesotho, through the Minister of Labour and Employment, and the government of South Africa, through the Minister of Labour. The MoU is an effort on implementing the Joint Bilateral Cooperation Commission (JBCC) of the Kingdom of Lesotho and Republic of South Africa, which was initiated by then President Thabo Mbeki, signed by him as the head of state of South Africa, and Lesotho’s head of government, Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, in 2001.

LT: What exactly does this all mean?

Tlhoeli: The whole concept was to assist Lesotho and take it out of the economic classification of Least Developed Countries. The JBCC is an umbrella cooperation agreement, but to implement it, it has to go two further phases. The phase that comes immediately after this (agreement) is the MoU between ministries. And the third-tier is that of senior officials of government, where the intention was to have South Africa assisting Lesotho across all sectors.

LT: Who took part in the forum?

Tlhoeli: This was a forum of senior government officials working on the modalities of implementing the MoUs signed by the ministers. The last MoU was signed on the 3^rd of December 2013. On our behalf, the government of Lesotho, it was signed by former Labour and Employment minister Lebesa Maloi. And for South Africa, it was signed by Minister Mildred Oliphant.  So we came up with the implementation plan; how we intend to implement this memorandum on cooperation in the field of labour.

LT: Could you please highlight some of the key issues in this MoU?

Tlhoeli: The cooperation agreement ushers areas of cooperation. And areas of cooperation in this field of labour include dispute resolution and social dialogue mechanisms and institutions. Dispute resolution mechanisms and institutions, to us in the field of labour, mean applying less aggressive and confrontational means to resolve disagreements at the workplace. The importance of this cannot be over-emphasised because if you want to improve investment in any country, you cannot successfully do it without ensuring that labour disputes are resolved amicably and speedily. Labour cases are very expensive compared to all other cases. If the country does not have the capacity to resolve disputes, it cannot be destination for investors because instead of people focusing on productivity; growing the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), things will be stalled where people are stuck in conflict. So we are saying let us cooperate in that area. To be specific, they (South Africa) have the CCMA (Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration), and we have the DDPR (Directorate for Dispute Prevention and Resolution). We are saying, as two countries, let’s cooperate in these fields and assist each other on how we can improve services; the efficiency of dispute resolution institutions; how do we make the DDPR stronger than what it is. That’s the context in which dispute resolution becomes an issue.

LT: Could you please mention a few cases as examples?

Tlhoeli: In some instances, you find that there are awards granted for employees against some employers, but for some reason the employer, instead of complying with the award, decides to leave Lesotho for business in South Africa, or vice-versa. How do we deal with these issues if we don’t cooperate? The police are police in countries they are appointed. A police officer in Lesotho is not a police officer in South Africa. To be able to achieve the ends of justice, as per the arbitration award issue, we need to cooperate. South Africa is a big country with a big economy. The benefit that comes with a big economy is the capacity on all other sectors which affect the economy itself. So it means they have bigger capacity when comes to dispute resolution. Their system is much more efficient than ours. We can learn from them.

LT: What are the other areas of cooperation pertaining to this relationship?

Tlhoeli: The training of arbitrators. True enough, the laws are different. They use the Labour Relations Act; we use the Labour Code Act. But generally, the principles are related and almost the same. In the general scheme of things, we can train our arbitrators together to share experiences. That way, we are improving efficiency. We also have social dialogue mechanisms and institutions. This, to us, is an engagement between government, employers and employees. In the labour field, unlike other spheres of life, we work on a principle of tripartism. This is all about three parties; government, employers and workers. We work with tripartism to achieve policy objectives, even to develop those policies and make laws. Workers and employers participate in the law that governs their affairs. We are true to the principle that says nothing for us without us. That’s what we mean by social dialogue. For instance, in this country, we have four statutory bodies which the principal secretary chairs, and which are made up of employers, workers and government.  We have NACOLA (National Advisory Committee on Labour), NACOSH (National Council on Safety and Health), Wages Advisory Board and Industrial Relations Council (IRC). All of them have a core mandate of advising the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment in different areas of their mandate. The Wages Advisory Board has a mandate of fixing the minimum wage; the IRC has the mandate of presiding over the industrial relations system, including determining or advising the Honourable Minister on the terms and conditions of arbitrators of the DDPR. NACOLA advises the Honourable Minister on the law. If we want to pass a new law, that law has to go through NACOLA. NACOSH advises the Honourable Minister, through NACOLA, on issues of occupational safety and health. We are saying, as part of the cooperation agreement, we also assist each other in this regard.

South Africans are now looking into the possibility of introducing a national minimum wage. They don’t have a national minimum wage as yet. They have what they call sectoral bargaining agreements. By default, they become minimum wages per sector. Remember we also have many Basotho working in South Africa. These people get injuries at the workplace. So in that scenario, we need an area of cooperation. What we are talking about here is not necessarily new. What is new is the implementation plan, but the cooperation is already there. What this MoU simply does is basically to formalise the cooperation. We have, among others, agreed on having contact persons to deal with issues of compensation. When our official picks a phone to call on a given case concerning someone whose benefits were not paid in South Africa, the arrangement is that there will be a specific person to address that issue. There is also the issue of social security. This relates to pension and the provident fund. For these benefits to be paid to a Mosotho who has already left South Africa, a follow-up is needed. That follow-up is the responsibility of government. We have such a department in the name of Labour Migration. If there’s no cooperation, the efficiency and effectiveness of the service we provide would be low. This results in people resorting to private tracers who charge exorbitant amounts of money because they operate in syndicates.

These private tracers trace the very social security benefits. These are the people who have become the modern loan-sharks to desperate family members. They charge more than 50 percent of the provident fund in most cases. It is therefore important that as government, we should be efficient in dealing with this issue so that we earn public confidence. This brings portability of social security benefits. Another aspect of the same is where South African employers in Lesotho leave the country without paying Basotho workers. Why should people lose their benefits because of the border? We need this agreement to be able to attend to those matters.

LT: So, generally, what can we expect from the ministry following this meeting?

Tlhoeli: The plan, for now, is to implement the agreement for two years – from now until end of 2017. The plan has an evaluation aspect every six months. It is jointly administered by chief accounting officers from the ministry and Labour Department in South Africa. It has a sub-committee comprised of our officials from both countries; two from Lesotho and two from South Africa and chaired by an ILO (International Labour Organisation) official based in Pretoria. You will understand that ILO is the natural partner in the labour movement. But what you should expect is a much improved Ministry of Labour and Employment; much improved services offered; more programmes to be launched by the ministry as part of this plan, responding to some of the national crises such as high rate of unemployment.

MOVES by the government and opposition to map out a framework for the return of exiled political leaders deserve utmost commendation.

As reported in this edition, representatives of the opposition bloc consisting of the All Basotho Convention, Reformed Congress of Lesotho and Basotho National Party yesterday met with government officials in Modderport, South Africa to discuss the modalities for ending their leaders’ involuntary stay in the neighbouring nation.

The meeting, which was convened by the government at the urging of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), constitutes a coup for the regional bloc in its slow but sure approach to resolving the political impasse in the Mountain Kingdom.

However, it is our leaders who deserve a pat on the back for finally sitting down by themselves to chart a way towards ending the impasse. Despite its many powers, SADC could not have coerced both parties to the negotiating table. The national interest, in our view, could have been the driving factor.

Another positive development is that the talks were not held in secret, which shows that both parties are prepared to follow the process through.

In previous occasions when such talks were held, they we held in secret giving room for the negotiators to abruptly pull out without any explanation. Pictures published in this edition of the representatives conversing in a cordial manner in Modderport are a welcome sight and speak a thousand words about their commitment to the talks.

As has been stated on this column on many occasions, protest and boycott politics have their limits however effective they may be in the short-term. On its part, the government needs the opposition to play its role of holding them to account.

However dysfunctional the arrangement may be, all the players need each other to make the country operational. This is more so given the challenges before this nation.

Elsewhere in this edition, the European Union (EU) has announced that it would not disburse €26.85 million (about M454.96 million) in budget support to Lesotho due to the insufficient progress made in the implementation of agreed policy reforms.

With all the haggling that has characterised the body politic of this nation for much of the preceding years, it is no surprise that little progress was made on the economic front. Added to that, the country is in the throes of a severe El Nino-induced drought that has made a lot of Basotho food insecure.

All these challenges require a government and opposition focused on the task of alleviating the people’s suffering and not at each other’s throats. An all hands on deck approach is the remedy Lesotho needs to emerge from its logjam.

Without doubt, these talks have the potential to be a turning point for the nation. Development partners who are mulling over their continued support of the country given recent unsavoury development would certainly be won over by a government and opposition speaking with one voice with regards to the national interest.

While we are under no illusions on the enormity of the task before the negotiators, we are cautiously optimistic of a framework that would bring not only the exiled leaders home, but other activists and Lesotho Defence Force members.

The talks will be a give and take affair, with no party likely to get everything they would want. However, the overriding objective for all parties involved needs to be ending the impasse so that focus can return to developmental issues. After all, Lesotho urgently needs to grow and diversify her economy to be able to weather the storms of global downturns and other shocks.

Leaders from across the political divide should not regard each other as oil and water, but as Basotho first and foremost. With time the congress and nationalist ideologies will become archaic, but Lesotho will remain.

Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu

THE global commodity slump and China’s economic slowdown have pummeled several African economies, making clear that the continent’s “rise” was a myth. Now is the time to re-examine the basis of Africa’s recent “boom” and move from feel-good rhetoric to action that will drive genuine economic transformation.

Commodity exporters such as Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia are reeling, with their currencies crashing since the prices of commodities such as oil and copper began falling sharply. Moreover, fiscal and monetary policies are in disarray, with the risk of social unrest rising if the trend is not reversed in the near to medium term.

The heart of the matter is this: African countries mistook a commodity supercycle-fed boom for a sustainable economic transformation. But a boom connotes transient good fortune – enjoy it while it lasts, or save the proceeds for a rainy day. Most African governments opted for the former.

To be sure, Africa benefited from higher GDP growth and expanded opportunity over the last decade. But hundreds of millions of Africans have yet to be lifted out of poverty in the manner China has accomplished – a path that other Asian countries, such as India and Vietnam, are following as well.

Without question, many individual Africans have become stupendously wealthy and are playing more assertive roles in the world of business. Entrepreneurship is on the rise, especially among young Africans, gradually replacing the dead end of foreign aid. But the vast majority of Africans lag far behind.

Despite the spread of formal democracy on the continent, the nature of domestic politics in most African countries has hardly changed. Real leadership involves not just mobilizing citizens to vote for candidates, but also effective management, strategy, and execution of public policy. And yet power often is sought for its own sake or to secure control of state resources on behalf of ethnic kin or co-religionists. Politics is not yet, as it ought to be, a contest of ideas and programs affecting all citizens. Corruption thrives in such an environment.

Moreover, a proper understanding of economics is necessary. The continent and its leaders have so far failed to understand – or, where they have understood, to apply – historical lessons concerning how the wealth of nations is created. Instead, we often see uncritical acceptance of the received but self-interested conventional wisdom of globalization.

Achieving prosperity in the overarching context of globalization requires creating a competitive economy based on value-added production and export. But it also requires selective engagement with international treaties that favor today’s competitive good producers but put at a disadvantage the developing countries that are increasingly the markets for these goods. Some of these treaties take away the very possibility for African countries to join global value chains, impeding their development.

This is precisely why Africa’s biggest folly is to believe that mineral resources and other raw commodities are automatically a source of wealth. This misconception is why Africa is the world’s richest continent in terms of resource endowments, but at the same time the world’s poorest in terms of income per capita.

Africa’s future competitiveness and prosperity lie in the opportunities afforded by science, technology, and innovation. From Nairobi to Lagos and Johannesburg, innovation hubs are springing up. This is not surprising. It is the modern rebirth of Africa’s ancient talents in science, evidenced in the pyramids of Giza, the astronomy of the Dogon tribe in ancient Mali, and the Caesarean sections of 19th-century Uganda.

Africa’s leaders in the public and private sectors have an opportunity to clear the policy bottlenecks that have prevented the commercialization of African inventions, especially in large economies such as Nigeria, South Africa (which has a more advanced innovation policy than the rest of the continent) and Kenya. Innovation must be deployed to cost-effective, competitive manufacturing and service industries.

The commodity downturn need not stop Africa’s development. But if lasting prosperity is to be achieved, today’s challenges must be regarded as an opportunity to reset the trajectory of the continent’s economies on a truly transformational path.

l Chiedu Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, is a professor of practice in international business and public policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and is the author of “Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy’s ‘Last Frontier’ Can Prosper and Matter.”

UTLOANG KAJENO 

A DISEASE is a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal or plant especially one that produces specific symptoms or that effects a specific part, according to the definition by the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.  For its part the Wikipedia, free encyclopedia, defines obesity as a medical condition on which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health.  People are generally considered obese when body mass index (BMI), a measurement t obtained by dividing a person’s weight by the square of the person’s height, is over 30kg/m², with the range 25-30kg/m² defined as overweight.

Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food intake, lack of physical activity and genetic susceptibility.  A few cases are caused by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or mental illness.  In 2014, more than 1, 9 billion adults 18 years and older, were overweight, of these 600 million were obese.  The worldwide prevalence of obesity more than doubled between 1980 and 2014.

In 2013 the American Medical Association classified obesity as a disease.  In the United Kingdom the 2007 report by Sir Derek Wanless for the king’s fund warned that unless further action was taken, obesity had the capacity to cripple the National Health Service financially.  The way obesity is classified in different cultures differs.  For instance, in most of the industrialized first world it is classified a disease because of the crippling effects it has on the health services in financial and human terms.

However, in the so called Third World, which Lesotho is a part of, obesity depending on the financial and social standing of the individual is viewed either as a form of wealth and well-being or if the individual is from a poor destitute family, it invariably leads to stigmatization and rightly  treated as a disease.  Obesity, irrespective of the background from which the individual comes from, has far-reaching consequences on the health of the individual, the finances of the health services and how society treats him.  In regard to the latter consequence, it leads to stigmatization.

However, irrespective of the wealth or culture of a given society obesity by being accorded the status of a disease, behoves on the health care authorities of the state to allocate resources to the reduction or management of this medical condition thus getting the attention that it actually deserves.  This in effect allows obesity to be elevated to the similar level as other diseases.  However, this in no way translates that obese people should be stigmatized but only that resources be allocated to eradicating or managing it.

Obesity is associated with many diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of canner and asthma.  It therefore reduces life expectancy and therefore a disease.

Obesity is also a notable causes of mortality worldwide. On average studies found that obesity reduces life expectancy by six to seven years, a BMI of 30-35kg/m² reduces life expectancy by two to four years while severe obesity reduces life expectancy by ten years.

Obesity also increases the risk of morbidity in many physical and mental conditions.  These comorbidities are most commonly evident in metabolic syndrome, a combination of medical disorders which includes: diabetes mellitus type 2, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and high triglyceride levels.  Complications are also directly caused by obesity or indirectly related through mechanisms sharing a common cause such as a poor diet or a sedentary lifestyle.  Health consequences fall into two broad categories: a) those attributable to the effects of increased fat mass such as obstructive sleep apnea and social stigmatization and b) those due to the increased number of fat cells such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases.

Increases in body fast alters the body’s response to insulin, potentially leading to insulin resistance.

Obesity is caused by a combination of many factors such as excessive food intake and lack of physical activity.  The other causes though not limited to are due primarily to genetics, medical reasons or psychiatric illness.  Further, obesity rates are increased at a social level due to an easily accessible and palatable diet, commonly called junk (fast) foods, or foods with little nutritional value.  These sort of foods are speedily prepared at little cost and very cheap.  Obesity is also caused by increased reliance on cars and mechanized manufacturing both of which require minimal physical exercise.

Studies have also identified ten (10) other possible contributors to increasing levels of obesity: 1) insufficient sleep, 2) endocrine disruptors  such as environmental pollutants that interfere with lipid metabolism, 3) decreased variability in ambient temperature, 4) decreased rates of smoking suppresses appetite, 5) increased use of medications that can cause weight gain, 6) proportional increases in ethnic and age groups that tend to be heavier, 7) pregnancy at a later stage which may cause susceptibility to obesity in children), 8) epigenetic risk factors passed on generationally, 9) natural selection from higher BMI and 10) assortative mating leading to increased concentration of obesity risk factors.  While there is substantial evidence supporting the influence of these mechanisms on the increased prevalence of obesity, the evidence is still inconclusive, as opposed to the ones discussed in the previous paragraph.

Healthy eating or diet is also a contributory factor to obesity.  As societies become increasingly reliant on energy-dense, big-portions, and fast-food meals, the relations between fast-food consumption and obesity becomes more concerning.  Obese people tend to consistently under-report their food consumption as compared to people of normal weight.

Another significant contributing factor to obesity is sedentary lifestyle.  Studies have revealed that worldwide there has been a large shift towards less physically demanding work.  Currently at least 30% of the world’s population gets insufficient exercise.  This is primarily due to increasing use of mechanized transportation and a greater prevalence of labor-saving technology in the home.  In children there appears to be declines in levels of physical activity due to less walking and physical education.  In both children and adults, there is an association between television viewing time and the risk of obesity.

Another significant contributor to obesity are certain physical and mental illness and the pharmaceutical substances used to treat them can increase risk of obesity.  Medical illnesses that increase obesity risk include but not limited to several genetic syndromes as well as some congenital or acquired conditions, growth hormone deficiency and eating disorders, binge eating disorder and right eating syndrome.  The risk of obesity and overweight is higher in patients with psychiatric disorders.  Indeed certain medications may cause weight gain such as insulin, steroids, some forms of hormonal contraception and others.

Having considered above the most significant contributors to obesity it is now prudent to consider what are the main treatments obesity of which include dieting and physical exercise. Diet programs may produce weight loss over the short term but maintaining this weight loss is frequently difficult and often requires making exercise a lower food energy diet a permanent part of a person’s life style. All type of low carbohydrate and low fat diets appear equally beneficial.

The other effective treatment of obesity is bariatric surgery. Surgery for severe obesity is associated with long-term weight loss, improvement in obesity related conditions and decreased overall mortality. Depending on the type of surgical procedure undertaken weight losses differ and indeed complications do occur thus leading to researches searching for less invasive treatment including devises that occupy space in the stomach.

Lesotho like the rest of the world, experiences health impacts in addition to many problems including disadvantages in employment and business costs that are attributable to obesity. This effects are felt by all levels of society from individuals, to corporations and governments. Obesity can also lead to stigmatization when compared to their normal weight counterparts.  Obese workers on average have higher rates of absenteeism from work and take more disabilities leave, thus increasing costs for employers and decreasing productivity.

Experience has shown that by officially classifying obesity as a disease and elevating it to the attention of health care authorities at the highest level, in a manner similar to HIV/AIDS and other diseases (through this medical condition is not admittedly as pandemic as obesity), then all and sundry, primarily the government, we can treat and arrest this condition nationally with the desired results, can be channeled towards treating this conditions. If government takes the lead experience has demonstrated the nation will follow suit. However, this is in way should be perceived as being alarmist on my part.

GABORONE — Botswana’s mining industry faces further job losses as it reels from the global slump in commodities, with copper miner BCL set to shed up to a third of its workforce and Gem Diamond also planning layoffs, the mines department has said.

State-owned BCL, Botswana’s biggest copper miner, estimates it will have to cut as many as 2 000 of its 6 000 workforce as it streamlines operations in the face of weak copper prices, currently at six-year lows, the department’s director told local newspaper Mmegi.

London-listed Gem Diamond expects diamond production at its Ghaghoo mine in central Botswana to fall by more than half this year due to depressed demand for diamonds globally. It may have to lay off more than two-thirds of its workforce as it restructures to cope with the weak market.

Botswana is the world’s biggest producer of diamonds, and exports of diamonds mined in the country fell 38 percent to $2.4 billion (about M36.51 billion) last year, the southern African country’s lowest shipment of gems in six years.

“The figures are not final yet, but BCL plans to cut 2,000 jobs while Ghaghoo might lay off as much as 100,” Department of Mines Director Gabotshwarege Tshekiso told Mmegi on Friday.

“We are hoping the effects of these cuts might be mitigated by the upcoming Khoemacau Copper Mining and Lerala Diamond Mine which might absorb some of the redundant workers,” Mr Tshekiso said.

The Khoemacau project, expected to generate up to 400 jobs during the 2016 construction phase, is spearheaded by US-based Cupric Canyon Capital, which has already invested over $250 million in the copper and silver mine according to sources.

Production at Kimberley Diamonds’ Lerala mine, northeast of the capital Gaborone, is due to start late this year. Kimberley is redeveloping the mine which was mothballed in 2012 by its previous owners De Beers and the government.

The latest warnings on job cuts comes after copper mining contractor Moolman Mining cut 500 jobs in December and African Copper cut 340 jobs in late 2015.

Botswana said on Tuesday that it expects its mining revenues to fall by 8% in 2016 due to the continued fall in global commodity demand, led mainly by the economic slowdown in leading minerals importer China. – Reuters

CBL Chief Public Relations Ephraim Moremoholo

Rethabile Pitso

THE Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) held a consultative meeting with various stakeholders on Monday to gather views ahead of a rebranding exercise.

Among the stakeholders in attendance at the meeting held in Maseru were representatives from commercial banks, insurance companies, media and higher education institutions.

According to CBL Public Relations Manager, Ephraim Moremoholo, the apex bank intends to rebrand its logo, corporate colours and values as outlined in its 2015/2019 strategic plan.

He said the CBL had engaged local marketing firm Valence Group and South African brand design company Etiket as consultants in the process.

“Last year, we developed a five-year strategic plan in which we purposed to implement changes to bolster the CBL’s image,” Mr Moremoholo said.

“We decided to rebrand aspects people identify with the bank such as our logo, values, and conduct when we deliver various services. We also intend to modernise our facilities to ensure we provide efficient services.”

He said the rebranding exercise was meant to ensure the bank remained relevant to modern-day needs.

“The CBL is working towards improving service delivery through the use of modern technology such as mobile money transfers and banking,” he said.

“We are trying to move away from the traditional way of doing business through innovation and creativity. Staff members are also using technology to improve service delivery.”

Mr Moremoholo said, when completed, the extension to the CBL building would reflect the modern direction the apex bank is taking.

“The ongoing extension of the CBL building is in line with our objective to be a modern bank offering various facilities such as the newly-established Maseru Securities Market,” he said.

“The building is an example of what we mean when we say we want to promote efficiency. When there are facilities and resources, the staff will also become more efficient in meeting the needs of our customers.

“The main aim is to bring the bank closer to the people, as well as making it more accessible and approachable. This is our way of preparing towards achieving those goals.”

Billy Ntaote

FORMER Finance Minister, Dr Leketekete Ketso, has warned the government to tread with caution in drawing down its foreign currency reserves to cover a budget deficit.

Running down the reserves, he said, would send negative signals to foreign and domestic investors as well as making the option of borrowing “more difficult” for the government.

Dr Ketso made the remarks last week while presenting a review of the 2016/2017 national budget to parliamentary portfolio committees scrutinising the expenditure plan in the National Assembly.

The M17.423 billion budget was presented on 19 February 2016 by Finance Minister, Dr ‘Mamphono Khaketla, with a strong emphasis on reining in the government’s runaway expenditure and exploring new sources of revenue generation among others.

Dr Khaketla proposed to finance the budget through projected revenues of M15.473 billion of which government would provide M13.370 billion. The government’s provision would come from Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts of M4.593 billion, domestic taxes of M6.251 billion and non-tax revenue of M2.525 billion, leaving a shortfall of M1.950 billion.

The minister proposed to fund the shortfall through domestic borrowing, donor grants, loans and drawing down from the country’s US$600 million reserve fund.

“The government currently holds reserves worth 6.1 month of import cover (about US$600 million), which slightly exceeds the desired policy target of five months of import cover; this level of reserves leverages the government to fully finance the deficit in the budget,” Dr Khaketla had said.

In his analysis Dr Ketso, who was engaged by the National Assembly to advise Members of Parliament on critical issues to look for in their analysis of the budget, noted that the major challenge facing the government was the substantial decline in SACU revenues from M7. 034.1 billion in 2014/15 to M4 593 billion in 2016/17.

He said the decline in SACU revenues posed a threat to macro-fiscal stability, adding that it could lead to “major turmoil in the economy”.

“Although tax revenues are projected to increase this year, this will not be enough to offset the decrease in SACU revenues and unless other revenue-increasing measures are explored, the macro-fiscal stability objective will be put at risk,” the former minister said.

It was imperative, Dr Ketso said, for the government to implement a fiscal adjustment strategy that would reduce the projected deficit to a sustainable level.

“Learning from the experience of the Phase I of the LHWP, it has been argued in some circles that large capital inflows during the construction phase of Phase II of the project will reverse the trend beyond 2017 and therefore help to avoid the risk to microeconomic stability,” he said.

“We are unable to support this argument as project implementation can become a serious challenge itself and it is also highly doubtful whether there will be such capital inflows if the government chooses to finance the projected 9.9 percent deficit by drawing its reserves in the Central Bank of Lesotho.”

Dr Ketso called for “a lot of caution” in drawing down the foreign currency reserves.

“. . .While the government appears to be considering financing the deficit by drawing down its deposits in the CBL (Central Bank of Lesotho), we would recommend that a lot of caution be exercised in going in this direction as running down reserves could send negative signals to investors (foreign and domestic) and in the end make even the option of government borrowing more difficult in the medium term,” he said.

…says Vodacom Executive Head of Department: Human Resources, Advocate Pulane Ramonene

Vodacom Lesotho this week lined up a series of events in celebration of International Women’s Week.

In this wide-ranging interview, Vodacom Executive Head of Department: Human Resources, Advocate Pulane Ramonene, tells Lesotho Times (LT) reporter, Lekhetho Ntsukunyane, about the company’s continued commitment towards gender-parity and women-empowerment both internally and within the broader community.

Advocate Ramonene recently assumed her position as Head of the Human Resources Department after she took a bold move from the company’s legal unit. She explains her inter-departmental movement and general experience with the leading communications company.

LT: Firstly, please could you tell us briefly about your journey with Vodacom, from the time you joined the company to where you are today.

Ramonene: I joined Vodacom in March 2013 as the Anti Money Laundering Manager, in the Legal and Regulatory Department. As a curious person, I wanted to diversify and gain knowledge on business end-end and thus made a lateral move to a human resources environment. I joined the HR (Human Resources) Department in November 2014 as a Senior Human Resources Business Partner. I was confirmed as Executive Head of Human Resources from 1February 2016.

LT: Please highlight some of your experiences working for Vodacom.

Ramonene: I think one key aspect that I would like to highlight is Vodacom’s unique company culture. I think beyond our powerful brand, we’re a company with a very vibrant culture and high performing culture; a company made up of young people who are very talented and driven. Our culture revolves around treating one another as a family and putting customers at the center of everything we do. It’s a place where you are allowed to be your own person. For me, it was quite enlightening to be part of this phenomenon and distinct environment where you are able to be yourself and unleash your potential. It’s one of those environments where you are always and constantly being given an opportunity to say ‘how well can you do in a certain area, and to stretch yourself beyond your normal capabilities’. That’s why I am where I am today. Vodacom is also a technology environment. Of course, we all know that technology as an industry, is a male-dominated arena, but the company has a lot of solid policies and initiatives to ensure there is diversity and inclusion within our workplace.

LT: On that note, you play a significant role, as the Head of HR, in terms of employment and deployment of both men and women in balance. How do you manage this?

Ramonene: It’s a challenging task, but one that I believe is very achievable. We are positive and ambitious that at one point we will be able to say that we have achieved our goal of gender-parity in the workplace.  As I mentioned, our vision, especially as HR, is to ensure that we don’t only motivate but also develop and empower women within the workplace. As a company, we strongly advocate for gender equality and women empowerment in the workplace and in the community backed up by clear, bold and solid policies on diversity and inclusion.

LT: With regards to International Women’s Week, we are aware that you have prepared some events to embrace women. Could you tell us about these initiatives?

Ramonene: For International Women’s Week, we have a structured plan outlining how we are going to recognize, embrace and commemorate the week. Currently the campaign that we are internally pushing is called HeforShe, which is a global solidarity movement that calls upon men and women to take action and advocate for gender-equality to ensure their mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and other women in their lives have more empowered futures. The movement for gender-equality was originally conceived as a struggle led by women for women. However, in recent years, men all over the world have begun to stand-up and address the inequalities and discrimination faced by women and girls.  Vodafone and Vodacom have committed to support the campaign and have pledged to sign up 100,000 employees worldwide to make the HeForShe Commitment and contribute to the one billion United Nations target.

Beyond that, last year we introduced a new maternity leave policy, which is recognized as one of the most progressive in the world. Vodafone and Vodacom implemented this with the intention of us demonstrating that as a company, we support the work-life balance and realise the importance of women in the workplace as well as the family commitments they have. The new maternity leave policy grants four months fully paid maternity regardless of one’s position, the entitlement goes beyond the statutory requirements. The policy also provides for full pay for a 30-hour week for the first six months of nursing hours after their return to work. We are also cognizant of the fact that families are not only made up of women thus we also introduced a five-day fully-paid paternity leave for male. This is also a milestone we are proud of as a company.

As earlier mentioned, we appreciate people for who they are, we do celebrate the fact that beyond you being a Vodacom employee, you are also a member of the society. So we have what we call the Women in Red Awards. These awards have been introduced to recognise women who go the extra mile to give, on their own accord, a helping hand or any support or guidance in the community. They are women who are very passionate about giving back to the community. The winners of the award would obviously have someone motivating them to make that extra time to be doing such a phenomenal job outside Vodacom and therefore a mentor is also recognized for their guidance and support. The Women in Red winners are not only recognised in Lesotho, but worldwide where Vodafone and Vodacom operate and in total, 100 women and their respective mentors are awarded.

Furthermore, we have nominations for intelligent and dynamic female engineers within the company  whose achievements we celebrate. The recognition of individuals’ personal efforts is extremely important and Vodacom encourages the culture of recognition as we believe it builds confidence and drive within women in the company, and for that matter, for all staff that aspire to assume senior executive leadership positions in the future.

LT: What about the women outside Vodacom? Do you also recognize and celebrate them?

Ramonene: We do, indeed. There are a number of initiatives we have in place to celebrate women outside Vodacom’s workplace. The first is the mWomen Entrepreneurship Programme, launched to empower women in the community. In partnership with UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), the programme was launched in November 2015 with the mandate to support women societies in the community. Vodacom gave retail containers to six different women societies across the country for free and together with UNDP, ensured the women received financial and business training to enable them to successfully run their new container businesses. The motive was to support Basotho women be financially independent and have the expertise to operate a sustainable business. We need to see more local women contributing to the economy of the country through entrepreneurship.

The second initiative we engaged women in was AFCHIX, an Engineering Workshop for women in technology that is hosted annually in various African countries. In 2015, the workshop was hosted by Vodacom Lesotho and LCA (Lesotho Communications Authority), in partnership with the African Network Operators Group. The aim of the workshop was to give the female engineers participating the ability to install, upgrade and secure the LINUX operating system and associated functionalities. The overall goal of the workshop was to create a vibrant network of African Women in Computer Science and related areas for the purpose of supporting each other. Over 30 young Basotho women participated with well over 50 percent of those not being Vodacom employees.

LT: Are there any other Vodacom supported women initiatives in the community?

Ramonene: We have the Women in Resistance Exhibition. The Women in Resistance was a traveling exhibition, which was originally displayed at Alliance Française and was dedicated to women around the world who exist, resist, argue, survive and rebuild. Vodacom mWomen sponsored 12 portraits of ‘women in resistance’ in Lesotho to be added to the exhibition. Subsequently, we ensured each of the women’s inspiring stories was translated into Sesotho and Her Majesty Queen MaSeeiso officially opened the exhibition in Morija where it is formally housed at the Museum. Currently, Vodacom is sponsoring local students in Morija to be taught photography and writing skills through our partnership with The Hub, which they are then using to add portraits of ‘women in resistance’ in their local communities to the Exhibition. The additions shall be formally added during the month of March 2016 and will showcase stories of empowerment and inspiration of women in the Morija precinct.

LT: What about the issue of gender-based violence? What does the company say about this scourge?

Ramonene: Vodacom stands firmly behind the campaign to end violence against women and girls. We have continuously supported the Ministry of Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation by working with UN (United Nations) agencies and other NGOs addressing gender issues to eliminate violence against women and girls in Lesotho. We are also exploring an innovative new, technology-based approach to public safety, which has the potential to have a huge impact on crime in general, and gender-based violence in particular.