The Ministry of Trade and Industry, Cooperatives and Marketing launched a One Stop Shop at the occasion held the Ministry's premises on Wednesday.

The One Stop Shop is an initiative intended to consolidate services that include, issuing of permits, trade licenses, residence permits, import permits and export visas into one premise to advance business services.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Trade Mr. Popane Lebesa said the launch of the One Stop Shop is yet another milestone towards government efforts to improve business and investment climate in the country.

He said in 2004, the Inter-Ministerial Task Team drove through a concept that was about bringing together a streamlined and integrated suite of services for businesses and investors to attract and maintain foreign direct investment.

Mr. Lebesa said the newly launched facility will be a vehicle through which such efficient services would be achieved.

The Minister said since the process of its establishment begun, the Shop has gone a significant process of reform whereby many things have been achieved.

'These include the re-designing of the export process to eliminate unnecessary steps, the change on licensing administration has been made to simplify the fee structure, application forms and information management,' he added.

Mr. Lebesa further said other achievements are the development of new software to integrate licensing, exports and import, improving information collection, automating forms as well as reducing processing time.

The Co-Chair of Executive committee of the Lesotho Business Council, Mr. Sehohoana Kao on behalf of the business community in Lesotho thanked the ministry of Trade for the initiative, saying this is the opening of a route to do business the best way.

Mr. Kao said, "Business is nothing else but providing services to the nation", and the One Stop Shop will enable them to perform their work more effectively and efficiently.

He called upon local business people to unite and do business jointly, adding that working together could bring change and more returns.

The Ministry is in the process of considering how to bring the One Stop facility services closer to the clients in areas such as Maputsoe, Nyenye and Mafeteng.

Source: LENA 19/09/2007