Africa-Press – Lesotho. Lerotholi Polytechnic (LP), the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture (MTEC) and DijonDesign signed a Memorandum of Understanding towards the delivery of exhibition ready
furniture for the Lesotho National Museum and Art Gallery (LNM) and for training of Basotho youth in the maintenance of museum equipment through a structured programme.
The government of Lesotho started the construction of a three-storey LNM building in 2014. The museum is anticipated to house social, natural and art exhibition spaces, a performance
art amphitheatre, a library, a shop, a restaurant or café, exhibition areas, a science hub with lecture theatre, storage and conservation facilities, research, curatorial and administrative offices.
The MTEC Principal Secretary (PS) Moliehi Moejane said the LNM will be the country’s leading facility responsible for researching, generating, collecting, managing, conserving
and communicating the heritage of Lesotho. “Not only will the Museum showcase the artistic, cultural and natural history of Lesotho via a lively exhibition programme,
but will also be a place of gathering, where people come together to actively explore the role that the past has to play in Lesotho’s present via curated
events that stimulate contemporary dialogue, research, documentation and creative response to the material held in the museum’s collections,” she said.
Moejane highlighted that the Museum is visualised to be a centre of excellence that prides itself equally on conservation and transnational conversation by providing a centre space for
cultural events and programmes, “the LNM will also promote and stimulate heritage tourism in Lesotho”. She highlighted that the signing marks the commencement of an era that will see partnership in the
production of infrastructure items for the Museum. “Through this partnership, we shall ensure that procurement of all equipment available in Lesotho is done
locally, skills sharing forms an integral part of the contract with companies that offer specialised services that are scares in the country and skilled
personnel will manage many sides of the museum once it is operational,” Moejane noted. She commended LP Rector Professor Spirit Tlali and LP management for agreeing to form a mutually beneficial
relationship with their ministry. She added that that once the Museum is complete, beneficiaries of the training will be skilled enough to form part of the maintenance
team and can further use the acquired skills in other prospective projects that may happen in future, in the government or the private sectors. For his part Tlali noted
that LP has so many partnerships around the country and stated that some of those partnerships is construction of the Post Office building and the old
bridge in Masianokeng. Tlali added that if it was not for the advent of Covid-19 they would have an open day where students showcase their talent. He insisted
that if there is a way for this country to progress, that has to be through his school as it is the only “technical” institution. He appreciated DijonDesign and MTEC for their support.
In an interview with Informative Newspaper DijonDesign Senior Project Manager Elroy Syce said they bring specialists in carpentry to teach the carpentry panel and finishing of the products.
“We shall also do middle work and at the end of the project do sketching design, art design and displaying of own art. We have 16 students grouped into two teams as per Covid-19 regulations,” Syce stated.
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