Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Lesotho Copyrights Society of Artists and Authors (LESCOSAA), in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture and the Ministry of Law and Constitutional
Affairs hosted a seminar on copyrights and related rights last week. LESCOSAA is a collective management organization tasked with the responsibility of protecting and
promoting copyright and related rights, as well as the collection and distribution of royalties accruing to rights holders through various activities,
thus the objective of the workshop was to raise awareness to policy makers and the rights holders on the importance of copyright. LESCOSAA Board of Directors
Chairperson Sechaba Mokoqo announced the purpose of the seminar and said they are thankful for the people who participated in the event. He said the purpose
was to present LESCOSAA before the two ministries, artists and authors, as well as to reveal LESCOSAA’s existence, which might have been overlooked and to work
together as stakeholders in cultural heritage. He further said it is widely known that entertainment promotes economic growth and creates employment in
many countries as well as Lesotho. The Minister of Law and Justice Advocate Lekhetho Rakuoane indicated that it is an utmost pleasure to talk about the importance of copyright and collective management on economic
and cultural development. He added that the Government of Lesotho has established the LESCOSAA as a collective management organization to promote economic interests of the owners of these cultural goods and services through
collection and distribution of royalties to authors and artists whose work has been used. He further said this does not only promote income generation to creators but has a potential to
contribute to the development of cultural heritage. He mentioned that Basotho live in times where the world corresponds with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, saying they thus have to ensure that Basotho talents gain recognition in the
international markets, in order to endorse the economy of the country. “We are witnesses that there is a certain criteria that needs to be followed for us to survive this
Covid-19 pandemic. We are also aware that our sectors; the creative industries and tourism are the most affected by the effects of Covid-19, but the products
are still used to give information during the lockdowns to entertain and inform people. We have also learned of a specific hindrance to social events which has
negatively impacted our artists, some of which have not recovered from the shock,” he noted. On behalf of the Attorney General ‘Mamoretlo Mohapi explained that the duo ministries have been
working together to better the situation in the entertainment industry. She said that there is a law governing the artists and authors in Lesotho; “Such a
law has been in existence for a while but without it being in use, it cannot be worthy to Basotho”. She said a lot of countries are promoting economy through
the development of artists and entertainment, and so they are working towards promoting the economy through the work of artists and authors while following the use of copyrights and related rights.