‘Mantšali Phakoana
The government has moved the youth apprenticeship and public works programme, popularly known as ‘lihalahala’, from the supervision of the ministry of finance and development planning to the office of the prime minister.
According to a recent statement issued by the premier’s office, the programme will resume in September this year after it was suspended three months ago.
The office also announced that those who had started their apprenticeship at the time of the suspension will have their contracts validated.
It called on youth who have not yet registered to do so in their respective local government councils throughout the country, from August 21 to 25.
The programme, which was launched in 2019 in a bid to curb unemployment among the youth, was suspended for review and evaluation.
Nearly 150 young people have been employed permanently since the project’s inception.
“The initiative is divided into two categories namely; non-academic Basotho youth (lihalahala) and academically qualified apprentices. “The apprentices will be placed in various government offices as well as large commercial firms, while the non-skilled (lihalahala) will be assigned to unique community initiatives,” the statement noted.
