Maseru, Lesotho, 12 June 2015 (ECA) - The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho hosted a ceremony in June to mark the completion of the country’s Africa Mining Vision (AMV)-compliant Minerals and Mining Policy. The new policy was developed with technical support from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) and the ECA Sub-regional Office for Southern Africa.
The new policy, developed in a fully transparent and consultative manner, will provide a strategic direction for the development of the country’s mineral resources and will ensure that the sector contributes to socio-economic development and transformation.
In his keynote speech, Lesotho Minister for Mining Mr. Lebogang Thotanyana said, “The mining sector has been identified by the National Strategic Development Plan as one of the key economic enablers; it contributes around 10 percent to the Gross Domestic Product of Lesotho.”
Mr. Thotanyana added that the sector employs directly and indirectly around 3,000 people. “And is set to grow as we commission new mining operations during the cause of this financial year.”
However many new directions in the policy are not adequately supported by the current legal and regulatory framework, and this prompted the government of Lesotho to request for assistance for the development of a legal and regulatory framework that would underpin the new policy
The development of an AMV-compliant legal and regulatory framework would facilitate the full alignment of the policy with the aspirations of the AMV and set the stage for the successful implementation of the new policy.
The first consultative meeting for the new legislative framework for Lesotho will take place from 8 to 9 July in a high level event that will be presided over by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Minister for Mines.
AMDC would officially hand over the stakeholder consultation report and the proposed mining bill to the Ministry of Mining by the end of August 2015—paving the way for the realization of the Africa Mining Vision in Lesotho.
Approximately 60 participants, including representatives of key government ministries and companies from the mining sector, attended the ceremony. Ms. Rose Mwebaza, Senior Policy and Regulatory Advisor represented AMDC.
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