US commends Lesotho for Compact II

‘Mantšali Phakoana

The US government has commended Lesotho for passing laws required for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)-Compact II to enter into force.

Speaking during the Entry Into Force ceremony and launch of the Lesotho health and horticulture compact in Thaba-Bosiu yesterday, MCC deputy chief executive Chidi Blyden said the milestone proved that Lesotho has the strength and stamina to succeed.

The compact’s entering into force comes after receiving an implementation letter from MCC confirming and unlocking a US$300 million investment between Lesotho and the US government.

This comes after Lesotho successfully passed the three outstanding pieces of legislation which were a requirement for implementation of the project. These are the Labour Code Amendment Act 2024, Administration of Estates and Inheritance Act 2024 and Occupational Safety and Health Act 2024. 

“On behalf of MCC, I congratulate the people of Lesotho on this historic milestone and provide our very best wishes for continued peace and prosperity.

“We are proud that our previous investments in Lesotho laid the foundation for health infrastructure and have served as a bedrock of the US government’s engagement. We have a history,” Blyden said.

He added: “Together with USD300 million invested by MCC and USD22 million invested by the government of Lesotho, we will partner to spur development and financing for businesses, particularly for women and youth, invest in irrigation and agricultural production to improve climate resilience for local farmers.”

For his part, prime minister Sam Matekane said the investment was a major boost to the government’s investment programme.

He indicated that the country expects to experience more equitable distribution of wealth, access to services and opportunities as well as social transformation that embraces equality among people and striving to uplift the marginalised groups.

Matekane assured government’s continued commitment and support to the Compact’s implementation.

The project comes at a critical time when the country is in dire need of financial injections to revive the economy. It forms the core of Lesotho’s private sector-led economic growth, recovery and job creation agenda, he noted.

The job creation potential of the horticulture project is estimated at 4000 jobs and other indirect jobs that are expected be created through packaging supplies, logistics, cold chain activities as well as the processing of the output.