VZCZCXRO3712
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHRN
DE RUEHMR #0134/01 1350439
ZNR UUUUU ZZH ZDK
R 140439Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3670
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 4089

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000134 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S, AF/EPS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECIN ECON ELAB PGOV KHIV LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO APRIL 2008 ECONOMIC ROUND-UP: FOOD, SHELTER, AND 
HIV 
 
 
MASERU 00000134  001.4 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  In this addition: 
 
--  Prime Minister Inaugurates New Housing Project 
--  Malawi Donates Food to Lesotho 
--  EU Plans E136 of Support for Lesotho Over Next Six Years 
--  Government Launches HIV/AIDS Guide for SMEs 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Prime Minister Inaugurates New Housing Project 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  On April 16, Lesotho's Ministry of Local Government, in 
partnership with Lesotho Housing and Land Development 
Corporation, launched a new low and middle income housing 
project eight kilometers outside of Maseru.  In his address, 
Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili indicated that middle and low 
income groups in Lesotho face major housing problems as 72% of 
urban residents live in unplanned communities on the outskirts 
of towns.  Mosisili stressed that it is the responsibility of 
government to provide people with decent housing, and that the 
Government of Lesotho has spent M40,000,000 (approximately $6 
million) on housing initiatives.  Lesotho's government will work 
with Shelter Afrique Bank, based in Nairobi, to finance 
construction of the new homes.  Residents must rely on local 
banks for mortgages to purchase the new homes. 
 
¶3.  While the local media largely embraced the housing project, 
some analysts questioned the extent to which local banks are 
willing to extend credit to low and middle income wage earners. 
As Lesotho's banks usually would require very high collateral 
pledges from this group for loans, it is unknown how many 
members of the target group will be able to purchase new 
residences. 
 
------------------------------ 
Malawi Donates Food to Lesotho 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  Following the Prime Minister's July 2007 declaration of a 
food insecurity crisis in Lesotho, the Malawian Government 
donated 5,000 metric tons of maize (corn) to Lesotho.  The 
maize, delivered in April, was milled and distributed to about 
70,000 people by the World Food Program (WFP).  In a ceremony 
marking the donation, Malawian Minister for Agriculture and Food 
Security Mr. Fran Mwenifumbo said that every citizen has the 
right to food and social protection.  He also stated that there 
is a need for African countries to assist each other in 
difficult times instead of seeking help from outside the 
continent. 
 
¶4.  The donation was received on behalf of GOL by Minister to 
the Prime Minister's Office Dr. Motloheloa Phooko.  Minister 
Phooko expressed his gratitude to the Malawian government, 
stating that the gesture symbolizes the cordial bilateral 
relations between the two countries.  He also confirmed that the 
current harvest is favorable and that the food security 
situation has improved greatly from last season. 
 
---------------------------- 
EU Plans E136 of Support for 
Lesotho Over Next Six Years 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  On April 23, the European Union Commission launched the 10th 
European Development Fund National Indicative Plan (EDF NIP) for 
Lesotho.  The fund was initiated on December 7, 2007, in 
Portugal.  The EDF allocated to Lesotho financial support of 
E136 million (approximately $210 million) to be disbursed over 
the next of six years.  The NIP's focus areas are: 1) human 
development, health, and education (E27.2 million); 2) water and 
sanitation (E32.0 million); 3) transport (E6.80 million); 4) 
general budget support (E53.8 million); 5) decentralization (E8 
million); 6) good governance (E3 million); 6) technical 
cooperation capacity building (E2 million); 7) trade development 
(E1.2 million); and 8) development of NGO capacity (E2 million). 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Government Launches HIV/AIDS Guide for SMEs 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  The Ministry of Trade and Industry, supported by Britain's 
Department for International Development (DFID), launched an 
HIV/AIDS guide for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) 
this April.  The guide is intended to help SMEs respond to the 
HIV/AIDS pandemic at the work place.  In his opening remarks, 
Lesotho's Principal Secretary of Trade (and Ambassador-designate 
to Washington) Mr. Rantenkoa mentioned that SMEs are an integral 
part of private sector but have been overlooked by mainstream 
HIV/AIDS workplace initiatives.  As result, they are highly 
vulnerable to the impact of HIV/AIDS within their small 
 
MASERU 00000134  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
workforce.  Rantenkoa stressed that this HIV/AIDS guide is an 
important milestone in assisting these businesses to effectively 
manage the pandemic in their work places. 
 
¶7.  In his remarks at the launching ceremony, Minister of Trade 
and Industry Popane Lebesa's called HIV/AIDS a suppressor of 
economic growth.  He noted that the disease cost approximately 
1% of GDP and comprised 10% of health budget.  He said that 
since the labor code was amended in May 2006 to include HIV/AIDS 
policies in the workplace, there have been concrete improvements 
in HIV/AIDS workplace practices in the government and 
large-scale industry.  However, the response has been the 
slowest among SMEs.  He noted his hope that this new initiative 
could help correct this problem. 
NOLAN