The Rt Hon. Moeketsi Majoro
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho
Welcome to Lesotho, the “Kingdom in the Sky”. Beautiful. Mountainous, landlocked and completely surrounded by ONE country. Her high mountains, covering about three quarters of the country, tower more than 3 000 metres above sea level, making her a country with the highest point in Southern Africa and the highest lowest point above sea level on the globe; a country with the highest diamond mine in the world (at close to 3 000) metres high), producing the highest proportion of large flawless gems of any mine on the globe. Lesotho is, indeed, the “Roof of Africa”, and the “Switzerland of Southern Africa”, the “Mountain Kingdom” and the “Kingdom in the Sky”, as she is popularly known.
Lesotho has an enormous tourism potential that remains largely untapped. As a tourist destination, Lesotho offers a range of activities and tourist locations. Come, see our towering mountains, rugged hills and ravines; undulating plains and gorgeous valleys punctuated by winding rivers and splashing streams; and unique alpine vegetation and fauna. Enjoy our sunny summers and ski down our magnificent slopes in winter. Join our pony trekking and trout fishing expeditions; breathe the fresh unpolluted air and refresh with our clean sparkling water.
All these, and more, coupled with our array of pre-historic and cultural heritage, comprise a diversity of tourism resources and investment opportunities in Lesotho. What Basotho lack is splendour, they will make up for in their warm hospitality.
Go on …. Explore this site and “Let Lesotho Smile on You”!
This message was provided by the previous Prime Minister.
Lesotho in the Commonwealth
did you know?
- Lesotho joined the Commonwealth in 1966
- Lesotho became an independent country on the 4th of October 1966
- Lesotho has been competing in the Commonwealth Games since 1974, and has won three medals over this time
- Lesotho is a monarchy
- The Government of Lesotho spends more on education than any other country in the Commonwealth, relative to GDP
- The country has relatively very little forest, but it has been rapidly expanding its forest area – by 4% p.a. during 1990-2005
- It is one of six landlocked Commonwealth countries, all of which are in Africa
- It is completely surrounded by South Africa
- The country’s lowest point of 1,400m above sea level is the highest lowest point of any country in the world
- Through the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Lesotho exports water to South Africa
- The Lesotho flag features a mokorotlo, a Basotho hat, which forms part of the country’s traditional dress
Commonwealth Projects
Strengthen the Capacity of the National University (2007/08)
The Commonwealth Secretariat assisted the National University of Lesotho (NUL) to develop a strategic plan and organisational structure (academic and non-academic). The NUL’s next priority was to implement the recommendation made on raising and sustaining the academic excellence of the university. The university also requested technical assistance to establish a centre for teaching and learning that would promote student-centred learning. The specific assistance required was a short-term consultant who would develop the policy framework for the centre and a long term expert for a period of three years, who would be the director of the centre. The Government of Lesotho also requested assistance for an annual contribution of US$30,000 towards the salary of the vice-chancellor to retain his position for a period of 2 years so that the changes at the NUL could be completed.
Change Manager (e-governance) Ministry of Education and Training (2007/08)
The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho aim to have a well educated and functionally literate Basotho by 2020. To achieve this, research was conducted for the Government and an e-Governance Master Plan prepared. Based on this plan an expert was provided for two years and located in the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). The expert assisted the Government in meeting its targets for developing e-Governance in the three key areas of education management, teacher management and school management.
Lesotho General Election Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) (2005/06)
COG was invited by the Government of Lesotho to observe elections in order to assess adherence to procedures that ensure that the elections were held in a credible manner that upholds democratic principles, thus contributing to a more stable political environment.
Business Systems Analyst (2003/04)
The Government of Lesotho sought, with Commonwealth assistance, to maximise revenue collection through more efficient tax collection measures. The services of a business systems analyst to the Department of Sales Tax were extended for one year on a cost-sharing basis. During the extension period the analyst continued to develop institutional capacity in the Lesotho Revenue Authority, implement the computerisation of information systems for the authority’s business domains, develop the institutional capacity of the Department of Sales Tax and implemented an effective computerised information system for sales tax business domains.
Consultant in Insurance Industry, Central Bank of Lesotho (1997)
This Commonwealth funded project required the provision of a consultant to review current insurance policies, formulate appropriate legislative framework and produce guidelines for inspection and regulation of insurance companies.
