Africa-Press – Lesotho. While many young people perceive politics as a game reserved specifically for older people, Pusetso Borotho has a downright different approach as his unquenchable zest for democracy has been living with him for as long as he can remember.
Born 34 years ago in Leribe, Borotho describes himself as a go-getter who never procrastinates to grab new opportunities and follow his dreams. After completing his high school education at Joy to the World English Medium High School in Leribe, he relocated to Maseru where he stayed with his grandparents while he supplemented his high school results in 2000.
Borotho describes Joy to the World English Medium High School as a platform that made him the man he is today. “It is a game changer, a go-getting platform that armed me with entrepreneurial and leadership skills through the accelerated Christian Education it offered where my schoolmates and I were taught how to find solutions to problems on our own.
” Growing up, Borotho was not only an interactive child with appealing leadership skills but was also a brilliant and award-winning mathematician.
Married with two boys, Borotho will soon relocate to Ireland where he has been appointed consular and deputy head of Lesotho’s mission in that European country. The assignment will last for the next three years.
Borotho expresses his profound gratitude for the honour to serve Lesotho in foreign land, attributing the appointment to the sterling work and commitment he has shown towards helping develop Lesotho over the years.
He adds that through the country’s economic crisis with increasing unemployment statistics, his leadership skills and entrepreneurial spirit saw him survive in the business industry while also thriving on the political front.
When a young Borotho left high school, he enrolled at the National University of Lesotho for a bachelor’s degree in arts and statistics. He also holds a certificate in marketing and customer centricity from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and has attended numerous capacity building programmes in corporate governance.
Borotho recalls how during his first year at NUL he and some friends opened a cellphone business and sold cellphones to other students. The business was so successful that they added computers to their stock.
As their business flourished and their entrepreneurial spirits rose, the young partners organised trips for students to tour other countries in the region. They also organised gigs and fund-raising events for students who had financial challenges.
Today, he is an economist and statistics professional, business development executive, customer relationship management (CRM) specialist, business advisor and an entrepreneur.
He boasts over 10 years’ experience in business development and business operations in Information Communication Technology (ICT) which gave him a full understanding and knowledge of technology, communications business and services industry.
This is in addition to giving him a strong background and knowledge in software operations, ICT, business operations and business at large. He is adept in liaising between project implementation teams and stakeholders because he is an excellent relationship builder.
Borotho has co-ordinated a number of huge projects in Lesotho including the Students Sponsorship Management and Administration System (SSMAS) for the National Manpower Development Secretariat (NMDS) and the implementation of the Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) Data Centre and Virtualisation project.
In the past years, he co-ordinated and managed projects in implementation of software systems and business processes automation. He is the managing director and founding member of Channel Communications (Pty) Ltd – a consultancy company registered in Lesotho, in ICT, business consulting, and advisory services.
This company is positioned to provide a myriad of services in business management consulting, project management consulting, and ICT services. He has served as a member in the board of trustees of the Tabitha Care NGO where he is a co-founder member of that organisation and has also been a financial advisor for five years.
Borotho is also a founding member and executive director of Selemo Capital Company, which secured a license from the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) to operate as a venture-capital business.
He is also the vice-chairman of the board of directors of the Metolong Authority and serves in the finance, audit, risk and procurement sub-committee as a chairman of the said sub-committee. Borotho served as a member of the mining board under the ministry of mining as the representative of the ministry of finance.
He is the co-founding member and director of Tlohelang Foundation and Fundamentals Ltd – a non-profit making organisation aimed at offering development aid to the community of the Semena Constituency in Thaba-Tseka.
Borotho is a leader and decision-maker in his own right and this is evident in decisions he took and the role he played at the Metolong Authority. He has a vast experience in client-relationship management and business process out-sourcing.
With him at the helm of affairs, Channel Communications became a formidable giant in the provision of the high-level customer support in various sectors mainly in the Government of Lesotho.
It has been able to create employment and improve the lives of Basotho. Borotho is a man with many hats and is not just a business fanatic but has also made his presence felt in local political lines.
His parents – ardent followers of the Basotho Congress Party (BCP) – raised a strong believer in the congress movement who has been closely following politics since 1993 at the age of 10 to date.
With the advent of the Alliance for Democrats, (DC) a break-away party from the former ruling Democratic Congress (DC) Borotho fell in love with AD leader Monyane Moleleki whom he describes as his role model.
He followed Moleleki from the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) to DC until the latter finally founded his own AD. “I strongly believe he has what it takes to change the economic status of Lesotho and ensure peace and unity for every Mosotho.
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Although most of his family members joined the ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) after its establishment, Borotho chose his way and stayed with Moleleki.
“My home is where Ntate Moleleki is, which is with AD,” he says.
He is one of the first people to join AD after its establishment and has since been in charge of the campaign team and has also been involved in the committee working on the party brand name, youth festivals and rallies.
Significantly, he was instrumental during the political stand-off between the DC leader Pakalitha Mosisili and Moleleki and helped in the transition from DC to AD.
“AD provides a home for everyone; the party’s ideology and concept are different from other political parties as AD talks of unity which means it accommodates everyone and no one will be discriminated against,” he says, adding the party will unite and grow to fulfil its promises to the nation as the leader’s vision is clear and distinctive.
The highlights of Borotho’s achievements include being able to start his own companies and playing a strategic role in the formulation of the current coalition government.
“I have been working as a representative of the ministry of finance advising personnel in both the ministry of finance and the ministry of mining on mineral rights concession while ensuring that Basotho who applied for mining licenses on time received them.
“I was also in the mining board and we advocated the establishment of a diamond centre in Lesotho where diamonds would be cut and polished,” he says. His love for Lesotho forced him to stay in the country while most of his peers and friends migrated to South Africa for better job opportunities.
He strongly believes Lesotho can be a better place and is looking forward to being part of the change and the process of national building and transformation of the country. There are plenty of opportunities in Lesotho that can help develop the country, including the development of the economy, he underlines.
Borotho is confident that some of economic challenges can be addressed with good leadership and by devoted individuals who are prepared to ensure that the country develops the way China did.
He has attended seminars on trade promotion and development of small medium-sized enterprise for Lesotho and a training course on the mining sector in China.
Among others, he has learnt that Lesotho can reap a lot from the Chinese economic model of transformation to ensure that the country’s resources benefit the entire nation.
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