Africa-Press – Lesotho. The government of Lesotho has agreed to officiate the restriction on importation of still water to allot the opportunity to Basotho bottling companies.
The restriction is anticipated to last for a period of 8 years. It had earlier been stated that Lesotho imports an estimation of M69 million worth of bottled water annually
and this is said to play a critical part in eroding the economy of this nation. Also fruits and vegetables have been banned temporarily. According to the Minister
of Small Businesses Development, Cooperatives and Marketing Hon. Thesele ‘Maseribane, the ministry, under the department of marketing, had invited water bottling companies, the Ministry of
Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and reached an agreement that flavoured and sparkling water will still be allowed
into the country. “Today I am here to announce that the government of Lesotho has officially appreciated our encouragement of banning still water for a period of 8 years,” he stated.
Maseribane also stated that another restriction was also put on the importation of fruits and vegetables since it has been observed that Basotho have produced enough to
sustain the market in the country. He however mentioned that the fruits that are not locally produced can still be imported. Water Bottling Federation
of Lesotho and Mountain Kingdom Drops Sales and Marketing Officer Pulane Tšilo, told Informative Newspaper that this initiative by the government marks a new exciting
era for local water bottling companies. “This gives us an opportunity to bottle at large scale as demand will definitely be high, a move, which hopefully will create more jobs,” she stated.
Tšilo indicated that their future as water bottling companies is now in their hands. “We promise nothing but the best service delivery ever. Our biggest priority in this case is health since we produce a consumable product and we are ready to distribute clean and safe drinking water,” she said.
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