Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro has singled out tourism as one of his administration’s top priorities earmarked for economic development of the kingdom of Lesotho.
business
May 14, 2021
STAFF REPORTER
3 min read
Majoro picks tourism as preference for development
Lesotho's Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro
In his webinar keynote address on May 12 in Maseru to the potential investors that included the World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB) and some local investors, Dr Majoro said Lesotho had identified four sectors as possible economic revitalisers and drivers and tourism is among them.
Dr Majoro’s two party coalition government composed of his All Basotho Convention (ABC) and his deputy Mathibeli Mokhothu’s Democratic Congress (DC) have ranked: agriculture, tourism, science and technology, and manufacturing as the principal focus of their economic development drive through the government’s National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP).
Dr Majoro’s two-party coalition has the support and buy-in of seven other smaller political parties, some of which have been allocated ministerial seats in the administration.
“Lesotho has assets to support tourism which include a prestige landscape, prestige and unique biodiversity, and endemic flora and grassland which has rich biodiversity,” he canvassed.
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He however noted that tourism is still at the level of a figment of imagination, an asset kept secret by a few people who know about it, an asset that people tell each other about; one area that everybody says and believes has potential but have not explored it.
He mentioned that Lesotho is water tour of Southern Africa with white water flowing down the slopes of Lesotho's mountains and noted this as a unique ecosystem.
He explained: “Senqu River otherwise (known as) Orange River originates from the eastern mountains of Mokhotlong and flows into the Atlantic ocean and four percent of it is in Lesotho and that four percent contributes 40 percent of water into the Atlantic ocean. Lesotho is over 35,000 square metres and 70 percent is rangelands and those rangelands host wetlands that feed the 40 percent that goes into the Senqu River.”
Dr Majoro said Lesotho's assets were immense and spectacular adding that he hoped the webinar would inject a seed among local and international investors to come together to develop untapped tourism potential in Lesotho.
He argued that there is poor development of tourism as a product despite a sprinkle of passionate tourism product developers in the country making it hard to stimulate investment sufficient to develop this sought after product.
Dr Majoro recommended packaging and marketing of tourism product that would include Lesotho’s God creations and all cultural heritages for international investors who want to come back or want to recommend the country to others.
He also lamented lack of expertise in tourism sector apart from inadequate financial injection and therefore said he hoped that the programme of addressing potential investors had laid foundations for local investors to have a different approach of forming joint ventures amongst themselves or otherwise with international investors in order to explore tourism development.
Dr Majoro encouraged that tourism should be driven by the private sector.
*Additional reporting by LeNa
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