The announcement, made at celebrations marking the CBL's Silver Jubilee, was by way of supporting the Prime Minister's commendation of the success of the Bank in its 25 years of life. Its success has mainly been in devising policies that helped resolve problems and difficulties between society and the financial world, he said.

It had not only helped establish the Rural Savings and Credit Groups Scheme, through which rural-based communities, unable to access commercial banks as easily as they would have liked, are able to get loans from co-operative societies and other non-formal financial entities.

The Central Bank has continued to intensify efforts to put in place an efficient system for the delivery of credit to local exporters, made easy by the reformed Export Finance and Insurance Scheme, which facilitates the provision of short-term export financing, the Prime Minister said.

Great strides have also been made in regularising the banking sector in Lesotho, Mr. Mosisili said, pointing to the reform in the national payment system. An effective payment and clearance system for cheques has been put in place, reducing the period cheques are cleared through the banking system, from ten to four days.

27 January 2005