Maseru, Oct.07 — Acting Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development Mr. Monaheng Monaheng said the apparel sector accounts for more than 80 percent of the country’s manufacturing value added.
He said this at a validation strategy workshop on textile and apparel sector on Wednesday where he said at its peak, the sector contributed close to one third of national output and employed more than 50,000 Basotho, the great majority of them women saying even today, with 42 firms, it remains the largest formal private sector employer in this country.
He said behind every one of those numbers is a household, a school fee paid and a family fed.
At its core, the strategy aims to create more and better jobs, attract productive investment, and strengthen local participation in the sector and position Lesotho as a preferred sourcing destination for higher-value textiles and apparel products.
He said for more than three decades, textiles and apparel have been the backbone of their manufacturing base, however said the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a long period of uncertainty over the future of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), has hurt them.
He noted that their exports to the United States fell by more than a third between 2022 and 2023 and employment, which stood at between 38,000 and 40,000 in 2023, has since declined to between 30,000 and 35,000. “Factories have closed and families have felt it. This Government does not take those losses lightly. But the strategy we validate today is clear on one point: what we have lost is orders and confidence, not capability,” he said.
He noted that Lesotho still has a mature manufacturing base, a skilled and compliance-tested workforce, duty-free access to the United States, the European Union and South Africa and one of the finest wool and mohair resources in the world.
He said the task before them is to build on that capability and to build on it with urgency.
He indicated that this strategy sets out a vision of Lesotho as a global and leading supplier of high-end, complex garments and services, built on modern technology, skilled labour and strong middle management and on their indigenous luxury fibres, serving regional and international high-end markets.
“It organises our work along three axes: Resources, meaning our people, our access to finance and our raw materials, including wool and mohair; Environment, meaning the laws, the infrastructure and the trade agreements within which our firms operate; and Promotion, meaning investment, export markets and the development of the industry itself,” he said.
Commenting on the extension of AGOA, Mr. Monaheng said it is breathing room and not a solution saying two years is enough time to implement the first phase of this strategy properly; it is not a reason to postpone it. “The strategy’s answer is built into its core: retain and upgrade our position in the United States; grow our sales to South Africa and the region as our quick response market; and open the European Union and other high-end markets, so that no single preference regime can ever again decide the fate of 30,000 Basotho jobs. The partnership agreement signed with the United States in March of this year gives us a further platform and we intend to use it,” he stressed.
He further indicated that among others as the government, they have to deliver the enabling environment this strategy asks of them, thus act on the review of fabric import regulations and application of SACU rebates, resolve VAT refund delays, take lesser time to issue work permits, invest in people: have a national skills needs assessment, invest in infrastructure as well as develop a national wool and mohair strategy so that the fibre that gives Lesotho 15 percent of the world’s mohair begins to be processed, branded and sold as Lesotho’s own.
He emphasised that a strategy is as good as its implementation and since it is not the first that Lesotho has launched, this one will be different in that it carries a costed action plan with timing, budgets and that the government will put in place in consultation with LNDC, industry and partners an implementation structure to oversee and drive delivery including presenting it to the High-Level Public-private Dialogue Forum in November for approval so that it carries endorsement of the highest platform of dialogue between government and private sector in this country.
To the manufacturers, he said this strategy requires them to invest in moving up the value chain, to train, to certify and to look beyond a single market, assuring them that the government will walk that road with them.
Therefore he invited banks and financial institutions to sit at the table from the first day saying the working capital, soft loans and export finance instruments in the strategy were designed with them in mind.
“To our workers, the women and men on the factory floor, this strategy exists for you”.
On the other hand, World Bank Group Country Representative Ms. Dinara Djoldosheva congratulated the Government of Lesotho, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development, LNDC, CAFI, industry stakeholders and all partners who have contributed to this important achievement.
She said the textile and apparel sector has long been one of Lesotho’s most important industries as it has created jobs, generated exports and provided opportunities for thousands of Basotho families. She said it remains a cornerstone of the country’s industrial development and economic transformation.
She noted that at the same time, the sector is operating in a rapidly changing global environment saying increased competition, changing buyer requirements and uncertainty in key export markets mean that standing still is not an option hence this strategy is so important.
She mentioned that it recognizes both the challenges and the opportunities ahead. It also builds on Lesotho’s strengths: an established manufacturing base, a skilled workforce, strong market access and world-renowned wool and mohair resources. “Most importantly, it sets out a practical path toward a more competitive, more resilient, and higher-value sector”.
“This is a strategy about transformation.It is about moving up the value chain, attracting investment and building local capabilities. But ultimately, it is about jobs, jobs for young people entering the workforce, for women seeking greater economic opportunities, jobs that provide stable incomes and support families and communities across Lesotho. Because at the end of the day, the success of this strategy will not be measured by the number of meetings held, reports produced, or action plans completed but it will be measured by whether more Basotho have access to quality jobs, whether factories are expanding, new investments are arriving and more people are earning a living from a competitive and growing textile and apparel sector,” she said.
She indicated that success will depend on implementation, saying the critical success factor will be establishing a strong governance and implementation structure with a clear mandate, clear accountability and adequate resources to coordinate action across institutions and stakeholders.
“Government leadership will be essential. But no single institution can deliver this strategy alone. It will require strong collaboration between government, industry, investors, training institutions and development partners therefore the strategy can serve as a common platform for coordination,” she added.
On one hand, CAFI Managing Director Mr. Chaba Mokuku highlighted that being asked to validate this strategy is the moment when this document stops being the consultant’s work and becomes theirs. He said it will be the sector’s strategy but all of them will be accountable for their respective part in its implementation.
He said since the strategy and LNDC’s own Letsema strategy are fully aligned, LNDC will champion this strategy as its own: to carry it into its corporate plan, its performance targets and its engagements with investors.
He added that the strategy rests on a simple idea: the sector is the strongest when it speaks with one voice, a voice that represents the entire value chain: the large exporters, growing number of Basotho-owned firms and small and medium enterprises, and the wool and mohair producers who supply some of the finest fibres in the world.
He emphasised that they look to all to lead in building the broader and more inclusive representation saying when the government hears one voice speaking for the whole industry, it listens differently and attentively.
Furthermore LNDC Chief Executive Mr. Thabo Khasipe said LNDC, they must diversify the market and fight for a long time AGOA agreement, and widely explore AfCFTA and SACU.
He said they must ensure that no decision in Washington wipes out their mission. He said they will back Basotho-owned firms and indigenise and localise products saying it is high time that they start processing wool and make the next mohair jersey in Lesotho.
On behalf of the thematic working group for textile and apparel Ms. Malikhabiso Majara said this is an important milestone in their journey to strengthen the economy saying the textile sector has for many years been a cornerstone of the economy and livelihoods of many households in Lesotho.
She said this strategy is a roadmap to transforming the sector into more competitive, productive and resilient by improving and expanding production, value chain, skills and market through AfCFTA.
She said the critical role of the government is to see that they have enabling policies, facilitate trade, saying they are committed to the strategy and its implementation.
In November 2024, this Ministry requested the International Finance Corporation to support the establishment of a public-private dialogue platform for Lesotho and through the Textiles and Apparel Thematic Working Group, which brought Government, manufacturers, workers’ representatives, financiers, academia and development partners around one table in a structured way.
Through that platform and with technical assistance from IFC and support from the Competitiveness and Financial Inclusion Project financed by the World Bank, a team of international experts from Gherzi consulting group worked from December 2025 and through the early months of this year.
Meanwhile 28 concrete actions are sequenced across three phases: Diversification to 2028, which stabilises the existing base and lays the foundations; Expansion to 2031, which scales what has been built; and Consolidation from Year 7, which brings a stronger, more diversified industry to maturity. The targets are ambitious, and deliberately so.
By 2033 the strategy aims to grow employment in the sector to more than 70,000 workers; to more than double their annual exports to over one billion United States dollars; to attract more than 400 hundred million dollars in new investment; to raise the share of exports going to markets other than the United States to 55 percent; to move more than a third of production from cut, make and trim to full-package manufacturing; to raise the share of Basotho in management positions to 40 percent; and to process a fifth or more of wool and mohair here at home, rather than exporting it raw
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