FINANCE MINISTER TO OFFICIATE AT CAS 23RD GRADUATION CEREMONY

The Minister of Finance and of Development Planning, Dr Timothy Thahane will officiate at the 23rd Center for Accounting Studies (CAS) graduation ceremony to be held on  Saturday at the Lesotho National Convention Center in Maseru. Speaking in an interview with the Acting Director of CAS, Mrs. Moliehi Ts'ilo-Ralitapole, a total of 91 graduants will receive certificates to mark a satisfactory fulfillment of the three accounting stages offered by the Center.

These, stages, she said are the Technician Accounting Stage undertaken in two years with 74 graduants, General Accounting Stage, also done in two years with four graduants as well as the one-year Chartered Accounting Stage, which has 13 graduants. Mrs. Ts'ilo Ralitapole has however explained that among the 13 graduants, who have completed the Chartered Accounting Stage, three of them have also undertaken a new programme that the Center launched in the year 2000, which is run by the Lesotho Institute of Accounts and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

She has further explained that this new programme has been introduced by the ACCA, as the international accounting body based in the United States of America upon realization that the programme seems to be exactly what professional accounting should be. During the ceremony, the Center will also give present awards to students with outstanding performance since they started pursuing the courses in these three stages as well as those with the highest score for the examinations.

She has also disclosed that at this ceremony, CAS will also launch its new website which is about to be completed for public access at www.cas.ac.ls. Also expected to attend this ceremony is the Consular General of Ireland, some cabinet ministers, and senior government officials.

8 October 2003