Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08MASERU134
2008-05-14 04:39:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Maseru
Cable title:  

LESOTHO APRIL 2008 ECONOMIC ROUND-UP: FOOD, SHELTER, AND

Tags:  ECIN ECON ELAB PGOV KHIV LT 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3712
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHRN
DE RUEHMR #0134/01 1350439
ZNR UUUUU ZZH ZDK
R 140439Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3670
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 4089
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000134 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/S, AF/EPS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECIN ECON ELAB PGOV KHIV LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO APRIL 2008 ECONOMIC ROUND-UP: FOOD, SHELTER, AND
HIV


MASERU 00000134 001.4 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000134

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/S, AF/EPS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECIN ECON ELAB PGOV KHIV LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO APRIL 2008 ECONOMIC ROUND-UP: FOOD, SHELTER, AND
HIV


MASERU 00000134 001.4 OF 002



1. In this addition:

-- Prime Minister Inaugurates New Housing Project
-- Malawi Donates Food to Lesotho
-- EU Plans E136 of Support for Lesotho Over Next Six Years
-- Government Launches HIV/AIDS Guide for SMEs

-------------- -
Prime Minister Inaugurates New Housing Project
-------------- -


2. On April 16, Lesotho's Ministry of Local Government, in
partnership with Lesotho Housing and Land Development
Corporation, launched a new low and middle income housing
project eight kilometers outside of Maseru. In his address,
Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili indicated that middle and low
income groups in Lesotho face major housing problems as 72% of
urban residents live in unplanned communities on the outskirts
of towns. Mosisili stressed that it is the responsibility of
government to provide people with decent housing, and that the
Government of Lesotho has spent M40,000,000 (approximately $6
million) on housing initiatives. Lesotho's government will work
with Shelter Afrique Bank, based in Nairobi, to finance
construction of the new homes. Residents must rely on local
banks for mortgages to purchase the new homes.


3. While the local media largely embraced the housing project,
some analysts questioned the extent to which local banks are
willing to extend credit to low and middle income wage earners.
As Lesotho's banks usually would require very high collateral
pledges from this group for loans, it is unknown how many
members of the target group will be able to purchase new
residences.

--------------
Malawi Donates Food to Lesotho
--------------


3. Following the Prime Minister's July 2007 declaration of a
food insecurity crisis in Lesotho, the Malawian Government
donated 5,000 metric tons of maize (corn) to Lesotho. The
maize, delivered in April, was milled and distributed to about
70,000 people by the World Food Program (WFP). In a ceremony
marking the donation, Malawian Minister for Agriculture and Food
Security Mr. Fran Mwenifumbo said that every citizen has the

right to food and social protection. He also stated that there
is a need for African countries to assist each other in
difficult times instead of seeking help from outside the
continent.


4. The donation was received on behalf of GOL by Minister to
the Prime Minister's Office Dr. Motloheloa Phooko. Minister
Phooko expressed his gratitude to the Malawian government,
stating that the gesture symbolizes the cordial bilateral
relations between the two countries. He also confirmed that the
current harvest is favorable and that the food security
situation has improved greatly from last season.

--------------
EU Plans E136 of Support for
Lesotho Over Next Six Years
--------------


5. On April 23, the European Union Commission launched the 10th
European Development Fund National Indicative Plan (EDF NIP) for
Lesotho. The fund was initiated on December 7, 2007, in
Portugal. The EDF allocated to Lesotho financial support of
E136 million (approximately $210 million) to be disbursed over
the next of six years. The NIP's focus areas are: 1) human
development, health, and education (E27.2 million); 2) water and
sanitation (E32.0 million); 3) transport (E6.80 million); 4)
general budget support (E53.8 million); 5) decentralization (E8
million); 6) good governance (E3 million); 6) technical
cooperation capacity building (E2 million); 7) trade development
(E1.2 million); and 8) development of NGO capacity (E2 million).

--------------
Government Launches HIV/AIDS Guide for SMEs
--------------


6. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, supported by Britain's
Department for International Development (DFID),launched an
HIV/AIDS guide for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
this April. The guide is intended to help SMEs respond to the
HIV/AIDS pandemic at the work place. In his opening remarks,
Lesotho's Principal Secretary of Trade (and Ambassador-designate
to Washington) Mr. Rantenkoa mentioned that SMEs are an integral
part of private sector but have been overlooked by mainstream
HIV/AIDS workplace initiatives. As result, they are highly
vulnerable to the impact of HIV/AIDS within their small

MASERU 00000134 002.2 OF 002


workforce. Rantenkoa stressed that this HIV/AIDS guide is an
important milestone in assisting these businesses to effectively
manage the pandemic in their work places.


7. In his remarks at the launching ceremony, Minister of Trade
and Industry Popane Lebesa's called HIV/AIDS a suppressor of
economic growth. He noted that the disease cost approximately
1% of GDP and comprised 10% of health budget. He said that
since the labor code was amended in May 2006 to include HIV/AIDS
policies in the workplace, there have been concrete improvements
in HIV/AIDS workplace practices in the government and
large-scale industry. However, the response has been the
slowest among SMEs. He noted his hope that this new initiative
could help correct this problem.
NOLAN