By Neo Kolane
The minister of trade, industry, business development and tourism, Mokhethi Shelile, officially launched the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) 2023/24-2027/28 strategic plan on Wednesday in Maseru.
The plan seeks to make a positive and sustainable impact on Lesotho’s economy, community, and environment for creation of intergenerational value.
Shelile said the ministry draws on the extended National Strategic Development Plan II and one of the key performances is growth.
The plan also aims to achieve inclusive, sustainable and equitable growth and create private sector led employment for Basotho.
Speaking at the same occasion, the interim chief executive officer of the LNDC, Molise Ramaili, said under the new strategy, the corporation intends to change operations. It would have a business acumen direction by promoting the domestic private sector, through access facilitation to finance, market, and foreign direct investment partnerships. It would further ensure intergenerational value, which embraces economic, social and environmental responsibility.
Ramaili said this is in line with the slogan of the corporation “Re batalatsa mabala a khoebo e hloekileng bakeng sa bohle.”
“Indeed, it is no longer business as usual at the corporation as it vies itself as integral to the growth of the economy of the country, and subscribes to the adoption of performance management to drive organisational excellence and accountability,” he noted.
The launch was attended by key stakeholders such as the government, development partners, academia, the staff of LNDC, as well as regulators like Central Bank of Lesotho and Revenue Services of Lesotho.
Ramaili said the launch seeks to present the new strategic plan to LNDC’s key stakeholders, who also contributed immensely to its development through consultations, and to ensure that it is fully appreciated for its successful execution.
“The six goals that drive activities of this strategic plan are institutional legitimacy, sustainable development goal, information hub for large-scale industry and business intelligence, improved organisational and people delivery, sustainable infrastructure and technology and lastly financial strategy for organisational and industry sustainability,” he explained.
To achieve its purpose, the LNDC would focus on facilitating or investing in businesses and value chains that create employment.
Ramaili added that the investment approach would seek to boost domestic investment by facilitating access to finance, attract required foreign direct investment and provide trade enhancing services for improved market penetration.
He also indicated that the LNDC would further focus on the growth of a selected number of high-value-adding industries based on the comparative advantage of the country. This includes incorporation of green programmes, opportunities for property development, and the promotion of sectors that support achievement of sustainable development goals.
Collaboration with other agencies would be core to the development approach to leverage strengths and resources that partner agencies are also deploying towards Lesotho’s economic development. “In particular, the corporation will build collaborative relations with leading investment promotion agencies and development finance institutions, investment climate stakeholders and academia for integrated planning in service delivery, innovation and knowledge creation and transfer,” he indicated.
