Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Ministry of Trade and Industries held a two days’ workshop for 12 cosmetics entrepreneurs in an effort to guide them on manufacturing sanitizers that meet the World Health Organization
(WHO) standards. The workshop was inspired by the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and aims to eliminate and reduce its spread as well as to generate jobs for Basotho. As revealed by the National
University of Lesotho (NUL) Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacy Dr Poloko Kheoane, who was invited as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Consultant to
give practical and theoretical education on manufacturing sanitizers, this is the second workshop following the first one was in April 2020 capacity building
which had attracted 28 participants. He informed that from this group, only six people carried on with the manufacturing business. “We found out that the main reason for the
rest to quit was because the raw materials and equipment were not easily accessible and those that continued produced in low quantity. So the aim of the
workshop is to reinforce the skills by striving for quality production that suits the set standards by World Health Organization (WHO),” he enlightened.
He said meeting the standard will be a good opportunity for international trade and thus economic growth. “During the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic sanitizers became very famous, we saw foreign shops selling
and using unprofessional sanitizers such as pure methylated spirit, some a wrong combination and those ‘sanitizers’ have bad effects on hands such as cracking hands, drying them up while some darkened the skin.
This is when the ministry found an opportunity with the funds from UNDP under enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) to produce proper sanitizers,” Kheoane informed.
Also to get the overview of the workshop Informative Newspaper had an interview with the Ministry of Trade and Industries Director of Industry Relebohile Molapo who said the
training is free. She said the expectation is that participants implement what they have learnt and pass it on to their communities and families. She said the
government only provides training in order to prepare consistent entrepreneurs that will contribute in the development of the country’s economy. Also speaking to one of
the participants who is the producer of JIT Cosmetics Relebohile Lephoto – a subsidiary of Buy Lesotho – Informative Newspaper gathered that the main challenge is buying and transportation of raw materials (water, glycerin and
alcohol). “I wish we could join together and form one company that will produce these sanitizers or contribute money that will be used to buy those products
and equipment at our convenient time as to beat the costly transport to South Africa (SA) in that way at least our products price will not be necessarily higher than those produced and made in SA. The higher our products prices are the lower the demand and that results in loss,” Lephoto clarified.
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