By Matṧeliso Phulane
Fresh from selling 500 copies of his book, “How Can Basotho Move to the Next Level Economically”, in three months, Khotso Mahonko has now won the Community Champion Award.
The gong is in recognition of Mahonko’s contribution to nation building through his books, seminars and economic leadership, which motivate people to better their lives in the market.
He was recognised under the Basotho Achievement Awards organised by the St Vincent Catholic Church.
In an interview with theReporter last week, Mahonko enthused that since it was published on March 31, the book has been receiving positive reviews for its potential to change the reader’s mindset into a productive one that can improve their economic situation.
He says the book is mostly enjoyed by the lower middle class, the middle class and the elites, all of whom have been giving positive feedback.
“It’s a huge milestone for me; remember we push ourselves as authors. Five hundred copies in three months is a big deal. I am willing to bet that I am the first author in this country to achieve that breakthrough. This is something I am very proud of,” he notes.
The book teaches ways of raising capital to start a business, guides on building wealth from scratch, cash management and issues around personal finance.
In addition, it equips the reader with creativity to come up with viable business ideas and provides guidelines to develop a business strategy and business plan.
The book also points out different types of thinking, attitudes and practices that lead to people’s failure in the market, while providing solutions to business-related problems.
It also challenges the status quo in the marketplace, especially the wrong setups that leave Basotho economically unprogressive.
Mahonko hopes the book will awaken as many people as possible economically, and believes it will go a long way in reducing poverty among Basotho.
“Other than that, the book will add extra weight to my economic profile. I want to be trusted for economic solutions,” he indicated.
He added that the book was inspired by concerns in the marketplace, such as the fact that large businesses are exclusively in the hands of foreigners.
As a result, it prompts one to seek Afrocentric answers to Africans’ socioeconomic plight.
“I had to appreciate that Africa is too big to be addressed generally since African countries’ problems are different. That is why I took Lesotho as a case study; the book highlights specific weaknesses and their solutions,” Mahonko explained.
The book is penned in Sesotho and this, he said, emphasises the importance of communicating in the language of the target audience for maximum impact.
Born and bred at Sebetia in the Berea district, Mahonko is an entrepreneur, phycologist, economic developer, and a business professional who runs an assortment of projects. He is undeniably a born leader.
He has other books under his belt that were published digitally in 2016 and 2017. His writing passion first became evident in 2011 when he published his first book “Shape My Life”.
He took a break when he enrolled at the National University of Lesotho in 2012, but resumed in 2016 after completing his Bachelor’s Degree in English, Linguistics and Literature.
“It is my wish to publish more books as long as there is a socioeconomic problem that affects multitudes.” A copy of his new book costs M200 and is delivered on demand.
