Finance Minister Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane yesterday outlined her government’s ambitious plans to build a resilient economy for Lesotho. It is an impressive budget statement with lofty goals that would likely see an upturn in Lesotho’s economic fortunes, if implemented to the letter. But as we already know from previous budgets, it is the implementation of the plan that will likely be Matlanyane’s biggest challenge.
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At the core of the budget is a realisation that Prime Minister Sam Matekane will need to do things differently if his government is to improve the lives of Basotho.
Some of the issues Matlanyane raised in the budget speech will have a huge transformative effect on the lives of Basotho if implemented correctly.
Take for instance, the proposal to set up a National Social Security Scheme for Lesotho. Such a vehicle, which we recommended in our previous editorials, will likely improve the lives of Basotho in the long term.
Congratulations are therefore in order, Dr Matlanyane. That is equally true of other ambitious programmes that she highlighted in her budget speech.
Matlanyane spoke of the government’s desire to see the private sector drive economic transformation in Lesotho. She spoke of the need to put the right stimuli in place and the need to create the right business environment in which entrepreneurs can flourish.
Yet, as she spoke, that same private sector is in serious distress. Every week, this newspaper carries at least four or five adverts about company closures.
Companies are operating in a suffocating economic environment. Most are now on life-support.
Matlanyane’s government will need to come up with creative ways to save these companies. That could be in the form of tax breaks; it could be in the form of expedited payments when they provide services to the government.
She also allocated M1.3 billion to the key agriculture sector. We, at thepost, are passionate about agriculture. We see it as a low-hanging fruit that the government must channel most of its energy towards to improve the lives of Basotho.
We will therefore always back initiatives that seek to revamp Lesotho’s agriculture sector and make the country food sufficient. The M118 million that the MCA Lesotho is channeling towards the development of horticultural projects in four irrigation schemes is a very good start.
Apart from agriculture, we have also argued that tourism could play a pivotal role in transforming Lesotho’s economic fortunes.
We have some of the most beautiful landscapes not just in Africa but in the world. However, over the years, we have become so used to these beautiful mountains to the extent that we no longer see why anyone should pay to come and see them.
They say familiarity breeds contempt. If we jerk up our tourism sector, we could soon be a magnet for the tourist dollar.
The government’s plan to waive tourist visas for citizens from certain selected countries could be a game-changer. That measure will likely drive tourism traffic into Lesotho.
All these policies might be well and good but will likely come to naught if the government does not stop leakages within its systems. Matlanyane promised to reduce these leakages so as to save resources.
While the budget is generally progressive, it is extremely thin on detail when it comes to other sectors such as sports and the entertainment industry, which are huge sectors.
Out of the 28-page budget speech, Matlanyane devoted just a tiny paragraph to the sports ministry. Could that be an indication of her government’s contempt for sports?
If true, that would be sad. Matlanyane only made general statements about “her government’s to promote leisure and recreation while harnessing the socio-economic potential of sports development”.
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