Master of Ceremony, allow me to pay my respects to

His Majesty King Letsie III,

The Right Honourable the Prime Minister Mr. Pakalitha Mosisili,

The Acting Principal Secretary Ministry of Communications, Mr. Makintane

LTA Board members,

Representative of the Chairman of AFRALTI governing council Mr. Kandie,

Members of the governing council of AFRALTI,

Acting Director of AFRALTI Mr. A.V Semkiwa,

Observer organizations,

The Press

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen;

I feel honoured to officiate at this important meeting of AFRALTI for three reasons: first, that AFRALTI is being hosted by Lesotho soon after the May 2002 general elections where telecommunications was tested to the limit. I must be the first to admit that it came out tops, especially the swiftness of accessing the election results.

Second, AFRALTI itself is engaged in the development of human capacity; third, that the capacity being developed is in the area of telecommunications which has proven itself to be the engine of economic development. The impact made by information and communications technologies on our lives cannot be ignored, hence the decision by the Government of Lesotho that a special department dealing with Information Communications Technology be established within the Ministry of Communications by the end of this year.

At this juncture, master of ceremonies, allow me to refer the distinguished delegates to the SPEECH FROM THE THRONE delivered by his Majesty King Letsie III on the occasion of the opening of the first session of the sixth parliament of Lesotho regarding the telecommunications sector. He said (and I quote) “my Government is committed to the development and implementation of information and communication technologies and the maintenance of an effective government website. The Lesotho telecommunications Act, 2000 has created a conducive environment for the promotion of foreign investment and competition in the provision of telephone services in Lesotho. This has also encouraged a rapid expansion of services throughout the country.  My government will erect state-of-the art transmitter technology throughout the country to expand coverage of radio and television” (Page 10) (end of quote). I would urge you to visit our website for the complete text of his Majesty’s speech.

On a practical note, the government of Lesotho found it fit to restructure the telecommunications sector. The Privatization Act of 1995, led to the privatization of the incumbent operator, Telecomm Lesotho, then known as Lesotho Telecommunications Corporation. The Telecommunications sector has demonstrated a positive response to privatization, to the extent that there has been an increase in Tele-density from 0.86 in 1996 to 1 (one) per hundred of population in 2002. The Lesotho Telecommunications Authority Act of 2000 gave birth to an autonomous regulator known as the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority (LTA, your hosts for this meeting). When the LTA was established there was only one GSM mobile operator, but today there are two namely Vodacom Lesotho and Econet Ezi cell. There are Three Internet service Providers and approximately 21,000 Internet users. For a country landlocked and with a population of 2.2 million, you will agree with me that the challenge to increase accessibility remains great. The Ministry of Communications and the Regulator are currently engaged in the development of the universal service and universal access policies and guidelines, modernization of the tariff regulation and procurement of a high-tech frequency management and monitoring system.  Indeed ladies and gentlemen our government believes that effective regulation at the end benefits the nation and its economy through competition, attraction of investors and development of indigenous businesses.

His Majesty’s government believes in the development of our human resources and this area has been given the highest priority.  The human resource, ladies and gentlemen, is the greatest resource, as it converts other resources, such as finances, materials, minerals etc. into wealth.  The potential success of any nation is no longer assessed by the amount of oil or gold a nation produces, but rather by its human capital.  Master of ceremony, if AFRALTI is about developing the capabilities of Basotho men and women, to give them an edge above other nations, my Ministry will fully support AFRALTI.  Having been a teacher, a trainer and an educator myself, you can understand my special passion in developing mankind.

According to the UN Human development report of 2002, Lesotho’s human development index, is at 0.535. Compared to the figures of other SADC countries, the country’s human development index is lower than that of the neighbouring countries RSA, Botswana, Swaziland, and higher than that of Malawi, Angola, Mozambique and Zambia. This, however, does not mean that Lesotho has graduated from under development. To the contrary, there is a need to improve the health and education sectors and income at household level.  When officially opening the launching of the UNDP Human Development Report 2002, the Right Honourable the Prime Minister stated that one of the many challenges facing Lesotho is to “improve Lesotho’s position on the Human Development Index (Page 6). A tall order indeed, which can be attained if all of us commit ourselves towards its attainment.

Our dream about telecommunications extends beyond a child in Maseru talking to his/her parents in the fields at home in the rural areas, but to being able to see our exports grow through electronic commerce.  Our children in the rural areas must learn the same things as those in the city.  I look forward to a day an elderly mother in the foothills of our beautiful mountains sells her farm produce to markets in India, America, indeed throughout the world, from her hut in the village, through the Internet. Our hospitals in towns and in the city where there are more doctors must be connected with the rural clinics and share knowledge with the paramedics and few doctors in those rural areas - the possibilities are limitless. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the founder of this nation Moshoeshoe the first, believed in unity.  The world now has seen the importance of unity of nations.  AFRALTI is a product of a multi-country agreement to put together brains as a way of combating one common enemy, which is ignorance of technology. In Sesotho we say; “Lets’oele le beta poho” meaning “Together we stand, divided we fall”. Master of ceremony, the government believes in team building. A good example of this is the political path it treaded towards the May 25th 2002 elections. Long and arduous as it seemed to be, it has ushered a more inclusive and representative parliament. Because of the belief in unified minds it finds itself with no choice but to support all efforts of AFRALTI.  The ministry and the regulator are under my instruction to sacrifice and contribute to all activities of AFRALTI.  We hope that the regulators, network operators and other stakeholders will make full use of this centre of excellence to fully justify the use of their meager financial resources in the running of this institution.

However, we must not forget that today the greatest challenge to our economies is the HIV/AIDS pandemic, for it attacks the resource that you are working so hard to develop. Current statistics indicate the prevalence rate in Lesotho has reached an alarming 31%. Let me also remind you that any human resource capacity building policy that is not gender balanced is likely to fail.    

Master of ceremony, ladies and gentlemen, mine is not to make a long speech, but rather to welcome you.  I invite you while in this country, which indeed as confirmed by our national anthem is the most beautiful of all, to visit a few of our villages, especially in the highlands, so that you may see the country at its best.  Fortunately for you, the weather is beginning to be friendly. Master of ceremonies, chairman of the governing council, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you fruitful deliberations and, it is now my distinct pleasure to declare the 24th meeting of the AFRALTI governing council officially opened.

I  THANK  YOU

KHOTSO!!!           PULA!!!             NALA!!!!

DATE : 31 JULY, 2002