His Majesty King Letsie III

Honourable President of the Senate

Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly

Your Lordship, the Chief Justice

Honourable Deputy Prime Minister

Honourable Ministers

Your Lordships, Judges of the Appeal and of the Court

Honourable Deputy President of the Senate

Honourable Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly

Your Excellencies Heads of Diplomatic Mission and

Heads of International Organisations

Honourable Attorney general

The Principal Chief of Matsieng

Honourable Members of Parliament

Government Secretary

Chairpersons of the Public Service Commission the Independent

Electoral Commission, and the Teaching Service Commission

Principal Secretaries

Ombudsman

Auditor General

Director of Public Prosecutions

Church Leaders

Leaders of Political Parties

Senior Government Officials

Heads of defence, the Police, the National Security and the Correctional

Services

Professor Peter Kinyanjui and Distinguished Guests from the NEPAD, the

Oracle Consortium and Other Private Sector Partners

School Boards, Principals and Teachers of Participating Schools

Batsoali le lona bana ba ka.

It is indeed a great honour and privilege for me to be with you this morning, to witness this historic and trend-setting event: the official launch of the NEPAD e-Schools Initiative Demonstration Project in Lesotho. Surely, with the launch of this project, the educational landscape of Lesotho will never be the same. This event marks our significant leap onto the global bandwagon of the information and knowledge-based society.

Director of Ceremonies

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

It is no mean coincidence that Lesotho High School, the first high school in Lesotho, is also the first e-school in this country and the third to host the launch of the NEPAD e-Schools Initiative Demonstration Project in Africa, following the launch at Bugulumbya Secondary School in Uganda, and Ola Girls' Secondary School in Ghana. It is an occasion which should be celebrated with pride by all as once again, Lesotho High School is called upon to assume the role of a torch-bearer. I have no doubt that the school will live up to the expectation.

I have been reliably informed that there are five other schools in the demonstration project in Lesotho and they are here to witness this momentous occasion. These are:

• Bereng High School in Mafeteng

• St Cyprian's High School in Botha Bothe

• Qacha's Nek High School in Qacha's Nek

• Sechaba High School in Leribe and;

• Sefikeng High School in Berea

They too have an equally huge responsibility. The successful implementation of the project in these schools will have a positive impact on the roll-out of this ten-year flagship initiative throughout Lesotho, and indeed, on the African continent. I congratulate the six schools for being selected to pioneer this epoch-making project in our country.

Director of Ceremonies

Ladies and Gentlemen

We are gathered here today to mark an important step in the advancement of the goals of the Lesotho NEPAD Chapter which, as many of you will recall, was launched with pomp and ceremony in August, last year. Today's occasion, which has been graced by the presence of senior NEPAD officials and private sector partners, should be seen within the overall context of the NEPAD's Vision and Strategic Framework for Africa's renewal. This framework is designed to address the current challenges of escalating poverty levels, underdevelopment and the continued marginalisation of Africa.

Among other strategies for Africa's renewal, NEPAD has identified Information and Communication technology (ICT) as a priority for schools, hence the NEPAD e-Schools Initiative Demonstration Project. The launching of this Project in Lesotho creates opportunities for our education system to:

• Provide ICT skills and knowledge to primary and secondary students that will enable them to function in the emerging information society and knowledge economy;

• Provide ICT skills to teachers to enable them to ICT as a tool to enhance teaching and learning;

• Provide ICT skills to school managers for effective and efficient management and administration in schools; and

• Make every learner health literate

The NEPAD e-Schools Initiative is consistent with the Millennium Development Goals (the MDGs), the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), the Lesotho Vision 2020 and the Kingdom of Lesotho education Sector Strategic Plan 2005 - 2015, all of which will significantly contribute to current education developments in Lesotho. Within the context of these frameworks, the e-schools strategy is crucial to Africa's sustained efforts to bridge the digital divide, promote global integration and increase competitiveness. As the RISDP puts it, "the modern information and communications technology revolution, characterised by the high level of development and use of computers in all aspects of life, is recognised as a key factor for regional integration and development, globalisation and modernisation."

Your Excellencies

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

It is worth noting that Lesotho adopted the NEPAD Initiative and acceded to the  African Peer review Mechanism at the African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa in July, last year. The deliberate haste with which NEPAD has sought to make a difference on the ground with this e-schools Initiative is commendable. I congratulate all the stakeholders in this pioneering initiative in the education of Africa's children.

The acceptance by Lesotho to participate in the e-Schools Initiative, of necessity obligates Government to provide the requisite resources for the successful implementation of the wider roll-out, in partnership with the e-Africa Commission and other cooperating partners. Today's launch, therefore, further demonstrates Lesotho's firm commitment to the Initiative.

We appreciate the support, in this demonstration project, provided by the private companies under the Oracle Consortium, who will provide the required infrastructure, the technology solutions, and the training of our teachers in the schools. This collaboration indeed demonstrates the opportunities which the smart partnership between the private and public sectors, which we advocate, bring for poverty reduction in this country. We want to assure you of our full support. We will watch with keen interest how this partnership evolves and we are hopeful that from the e-Schools Demonstration Project, we will derive lessons that can be adopted for other sectors of our society.

Mohlomphehi Motsamaisi oa Tšebeletso ea Kajeno

Bo-ntate le bo-'m'e

Ntumelleng ke retelehele ka ho bana, litichere, batsoali le botsamaisi ba likolo tsena tse tšeletseng, tseo morero ona oa tšebeliso ea lik'homphutha thutong o thakholoang ho tsona. Lona bana, le bo-pulamaliboho mokhoeng on oa sejoale-joale, o tsoetseng pele haholo, oa ho ithuta. Tebello ke hore le sebelise mechini ena ka hloko, le e boulele, 'me le e baballe hore le baena ba lona ba t'lo una molemo o tšoanang.

Litichere tsa heso, le hlahleletsoe ka lihlomo tsa morao-rao tšebetsong ea lona. Binelang ka matlahali a maholo e le hore mafelong a selemo sona sena sa 2005, tšebetso ea barutuoa e be e se e ntlafetse haholo. Le lona ka bolona le lokela hore ebe le fetohile, le le mafolo-folo ho feta pele.

Baokameli le Batsamaisi ba likolo, mechini ena e lokela ho sebelisoa ke bana bohle esita le litichere. Oho, litichere tsa Sesotho li se koteloe hle! Bohle a re tšoaraneng ka matsoho ho bona hore mechini ena e-ea baballoa le ho sebelisoa ka nepo, e tle e re phelele haleletsana.

Batsoali, bonang hore lehlohonolo lena le le oetseng, lona hammoho le bana ba lona, le fela le le tsoela molemo ka ho etsa bonnete ba hore bana ba lona ba fela ba kena sekolo. Hao! bo-ntate le bo-'m'e, le ka hana le ha le se le phalletsoe ha kaale ka theko ea libuka! Thusanang le litichere hle ho bona hore bana ha ba lelere literateng joaleka mona Maseru, moo ba tlala-tlalang le literata, kapa ba pota toropo ba palame makoloi a tlatsitseng lerata. Ha ho entsoe meralo e metle, e kopanetsoeng ke batsoali le likolo, mechini ena e ka thusa ho tlosa bana libakeng tsena tse kotsi.

Director of Ceremonies

Ladies and Gentlemen

In conclusion, let me take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the e-Africa Commission, the Oracle Consortium and other partners, for their hard work and commitment. We are indeed gratified that they have gone the extra mile to ensure that the equipment is installed and operational, and that the teachers are trained and ready to steer the boat. I have no doubt that this level of support will be a feature of our cooperation during the entire project phase and beyond. It is now my honour and privilege to declare the e-Schools Initiative Demonstration Project in Lesotho officially launched.

I thank you.

29 August 2005