Africa-Press – Lesotho. Lesotho joined the world in commemorating Identity Day 2025 on Tuesday, September 16th, under the theme “My Identity, My Umbrella” at Lehakoe Recreational Center.
The event, led by the Honourable Minister of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, Hon. Lebona Lephema, emphasised the critical role of legal identity in advancing social, economic, and national development, while calling for stronger integration of identity systems within the education sector.
In his keynote address, Hon. Lephema described Identity Day as not only a celebration, but also a moment of reflection and commitment to ensuring that no Mosotho is left behind.
“ID Day is not only a celebration, it is also a moment of reflection and commitment. Today, we reflect on the power of legal identity as a tool for empowerment, inclusion, and national development,” he said.
The Minister highlighted Lesotho’s remarkable progress in recent years, noting that between 2019 and 2023, birth registration rose from 21% to 61%, with 81.6% of children under five now registered. Additionally, around 90% of the population aged 16 and above holds a national ID card.
“These achievements place us firmly on track to deliver on Sustainable Development Goal 16.9 — legal identity for all by 2030,” Lephema said.
According to the Minister, the expansion of legal identity has already transformed public services and the private economy.
In government, it has strengthened payroll systems, eliminated ghost workers, and safeguarded public resources. Social protection programs such as old-age pensions have also become more efficient, ensuring that only rightful beneficiaries are served.
In the financial sector, legal identity has enabled citizens to open bank accounts, access credit, and use digital services like mobile money. For businesses, it has reduced fraud, improved trust, and expanded financial inclusion.
“These examples clearly show that legal identity is already an umbrella of protection and opportunity in many areas of our society,” Lephema stressed.
Despite the progress, the Minister admitted that the education sector continues to lag in fully integrating legal identity into enrolment and examinations. This gap, he said, denies the nation the opportunity to ensure every child is counted, improve resource allocation, guarantee fair access to bursaries, and build a lifelong foundation for learners.
“It is time for schools, at all levels, and other educational institutions to fully embrace the use of legal identity in enrolment and examination processes,” he urged.
To address this, Lephema outlined several key measures, making birth certificates or national ID cards mandatory for school enrolment and examinations, without denying children access to education, conducting public awareness campaigns to encourage early registration, extending mobile and decentralized registration units to rural areas and linking the National Population Register with education systems for seamless data sharing.
The Minister thanked the Ministry of Education and Training and other stakeholders for their collaboration in the 2025 commemoration, highlighting their role in advancing the dialogue.
“Your willingness to engage in this dialogue demonstrates leadership and vision, and it gives us hope that the education sector will soon stand alongside other sectors already benefitting from legal identity,” Lephema said.
Lephema reminded Basotho of the importance of embracing this year’s theme.
“Let us celebrate this ID Day with renewed dedication to our theme, ‘My Identity, My Umbrella.’ May we continue building a Lesotho where every person is protected, included, and empowered through identity,” he concluded.
Minister of Education and Training, Hon. Ntoi Rapapa in his remarks noted that legal identity is the foundation upon which individuals can access services, exercise their rights and participate fully in society.
“ID is crucial for social and economic inclusion, enabling citizens to contribute to their communities and countries,” said Rapapa.
He urged all to commit to universal legal identification by agreeing to strengthen Identity systems, raise awareness in communities and schools about the importance of a National ID, and empower marginalised groups by ensuring that they have access to ID’s and all the related essential services.
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