By Kefiloe Kajane
Cabinet last week acknowledged the decision to ban bottled still water from entering the borders in a bid to give a competitive advantage to Lesotho bottled water producers.
The minister of communication science and technology Keketso Sello said however water products like flavoured water and carbonated water will still be allowed as there are not many people producing such.
This comes after the minister of agriculture and food security Tefo Mapesela last month announced plans to import bottled water. Mapesela had said Lesotho spends M69 million on bottled water imports annually, which was a significant erosion of Lesotho’s economy.
“The ministry will cease to issue bottled water permits starting from February 8 2021. Despite Lesotho’s abundant water resources, we have always been known to import bottled water. However, this has reached intolerable levels,” Mapesela said.
Mapesela also disclosed that government was putting in place international standards for water production to ensure the health of consumers. He said his ministry was also working tirelessly towards strengthening value chains in the water bottling industry to ensure maximum benefit on the economy.
