LESOTHO SEES PROGRESS ACROSS DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES-MATLANYANE
Maseru, Nov. 26 — The government of Lesotho has witnessed tangible progress across key national development priorities in the 2025/26 fiscal year, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning Dr. Rets’elisitsoe Matlanyane has said.
This she said when presenting the 2025/2026 mid-term budget review, in the joint sitting of Parliament on Wednesday, under the theme, ‘Building Strategies for Inclusive Growth’.
Dr. Matlanyane said this is due to strategic partnerships, policy reforms and targeted investments since the government continues to advance its transformative agenda, with notable achievements in infrastructure, public finance, digitisation, education, governance, and youth employment.
She indicated that at mid-year, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) through government-backed schemes have facilitated M29.7 million for SMEs through four investments, saying LNDC Partial Credit Guarantee facilitated M4.5 million of which 86.8 percent reached youth and women-led enterprises.
She added that in agriculture, over 6,600 farmers were trained in Climate Smart Agriculture, supported by expanded irrigation infrastructure across several districts.
She further said youth empowerment progressed through amongst others, payments, grants to nutrition clubs and mentorship under Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) and WomCop, with 300 farmers awarded SADP II grants and 80 young farmers supported.
She stated that three investors have been secured to develop high-end hotels and resorts in Lesotho, saying the projects include amongst others, Semonkong, a 5-star resort offering full amenities and adventure activities, with an estimated investment of M24.0 million and the potential to create 300 jobs.
She also said Lesotho’s mining sector is undergoing transformation through strategic reforms and diversification, highlighting that in 2025, simplified licensing procedures for artisanal and small-scale mining were introduced, lowering entry barriers and encouraging community participation.
Meanwhile at the time of budget approval in February this year, the economy was projected to grow by 3.4 percent, driven primarily by robust performance in the construction sector which was expected to expand by over 30 percent, and steady growth in services and agriculture.
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