Africa-Press – Lesotho. FINANCE Minister Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane made the right noises when she presented her 2023/2024 budget in Parliament on Monday. Dr Matlanyane spoke powerfully of the urgent need to focus on economic reconstruction and recovery for Lesotho after what has been an extremely bumpy ride over the last 10 years.
It is clear that the new government that was elected into office in October last year must do things differently if it is to haul Lesotho out of the doldrums.
That is why all eyes were on Dr Matlanyane to see if there would be any major departures from the usual platitudes that we had grown accustomed to during budget speeches in the past.
We must hasten to state that this budget speech sounded different both in terms of its fluidity and the absence of verbose economic jargon that does not reach the hearts and minds of ordinary Basotho.
Congratulations to those who drafted and penned the document behind the scenes. Dr Matlanyane correctly identified the major challenges facing Lesotho and was also clear on what needs to be done to breathe life into the country’s anemic economy.
We agree with most of her diagnosis of what ails this country and the medicine that is required to cure it of its ills. If all that Dr Matlanyane spoke of is implemented, we believe Lesotho will be able to solve 90 percent of all the issues that have held this great country back from fulfilling its dreams.
Dr Matlanyane spoke of the need to “secure inclusive and sustainable growth by focusing on food self-sufficiency through improved productivity in agriculture, aggressive industrialisation and building of value chains, rehabilitation of and building of key infrastructure that supports the private sector to thrive”.
In a nutshell, that is the key that will unlock Lesotho’s potential. We have argued in previous editorials on the urgent need to plough massive resources into the agriculture sector.
Very little has been done to revamp agriculture and resuscitate our comatose economy. Thankfully, the Sam Matekane-led government is clear on what needs to be done.
The test of course will be whether the government will plough enough resources into agriculture to ensure it becomes the engine to drive economic growth.
We now wait anxiously to see how the government implements some of the projects Dr Matlanyane alluded to in her budget speech. Basotho are eager to see instant results. In the era of instant noodles, she has no time to waste. She must deliver.
Apart from agriculture, we believe as we have argued in previous editorials, that the tourism sector provides what could be seen as very low hanging fruits ready for the taking.
We have some of the most stunningly beautiful mountains in the world. If marketed properly, Lesotho can be a tourism “Mecca” in Africa. Sadly, that has not been done for decades.
It will require massive investment in the sector by building hotels and lodges in remote districts so that tourists can spend more dollars in the country rather than drive to Clarens in South Africa after their tour.
The current set-up is woefully inadequate. We need a massive shake-up in the tourism sector so that it can rise from its current slumber. That will require that the government sends students to study tourism management in South Africa,
Kenya and Zimbabwe and see how things are done elsewhere. That practical training will be invaluable for Lesotho in the long run. On the back of a stunning electoral victory, Basotho have entrusted Matekane to drive the change agenda. He only has a five-year grace period before their patience wears off. That is why the government needs to act now.
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