VZCZCXRO1427
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHMR #0177/01 1691527
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171527Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3726
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 4145

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000177 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT ALSO FOR AF/S, IIP/SEG (ALVIN MURPHY, GRETCHEN WEINTRAUB) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP ECON ETRD PREL EAID LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: SPEAKER HITS HOME RUN FOR EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION 
 
REF: SMITH-WEINTRAUB E-MAILS (MARCH-JUNE 2008) 
 
MASERU 00000177  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The week of June 2, IIP speaker Phyllis 
Shearer-Jones visited Lesotho and engaged in an intense program 
on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the 
diversification of Lesotho's exports to the United States.  Ms. 
Jones addressed various interest groups including apparel 
manufacturers, entrepreneurs interested in export opportunities, 
small to medium sized enterprise owners, university academics, 
government officials, and local private businesswomen.  Embassy 
Maseru's Public Affairs Section (PAS) received exactly what it 
wanted from this program -- a dynamic, hands-on presenter who 
could explain to small business owners (especially in the 
fledgling aloe products industry) exactly what steps they should 
take to become exporters under AGOA.  The apex of the visit, an 
all-day workshop with potential aloe exporters co-sponsored by 
the Prime Minister's Office, was an unqualified success. 
Immediate results of the program included local government 
officials pledging to sponsor aloe industry representatives at 
the upcoming July AGOA forum in Washington.  We hope that the 
mid-term results of this program will include new AGOA-eligible 
export product lines which will provide economic growth 
opportunities for this developing country.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  Below is Embassy Maseru's official review of Phyllis 
Shearer-Jones' speaker program: 
 
¶A. NAME OF SPEAKER AND DATE OF PROGRAM 
 
Name:     Phyllis Shearer-Jones 
 
Date:     June 1-6, 2008 
 
Program:  To interact with Lesotho's current and potential 
manufacturers of exportable products, as well as academics and 
government officials, on the diversification of Lesotho's 
exports under AGOA, as well as to provide the latest information 
on changes to AGOA legislation. 
 
¶B. SUMMARY OF TOPICS, VENUES, AND AUDEINCES ADDRESSED 
 
Embassy Maseru's Public Affairs Section arranged presentations 
and workshops for Ms. Shearer-Jones during her five-day program 
at:  1) Lesotho National Development Corporation; 2) Shining 
Century and Precious Garments Textile Factories; 3) local small 
and medium enterprises; 4) the aloe product manufacturers 
coalition (Maseru Sun Hotel); 5) the Inter-Ministerial Task Team 
(Ministry of Trade); 6) the National University of Lesotho; and 
7) various media houses. 
 
The program's agenda was to provide information and to 
facilitate discussion on expanding AGOA export opportunities by 
diversifying beyond textiles and apparel while continuing to 
maintain success in these established industry sectors.  In 
order to secure the participation of the Lesotho aloe industry 
in Ms. Shearer-Jones's seminar, PAS partnered with the Lesotho 
Smart Partnership Office, a sub-unit of the Prime Minister's 
Office, which organized a full-day conference on AGOA and 
breaking into the U.S. market for that industry. 
 
MS. JONES' ENGAGEMENTS WERE LOCATED AT: 
 
-- Maseru Sun Convention Center (Sponsored by the Prime 
Minster's Office) 
Audience: 40 representatives from aloe producers 
 
-- Ministry of Trade (Inter-Ministerial Task Team) 
Audience:  25 representatives from various industries, including 
the Assistant Minister and Deputy Principal Secretary of Trade 
 
-- Lesotho National Development Corporation 
Audience: LNDC Chief Executive Officer 
 
-- Lesotho Textile Exporters Association 
Audience: 10 managers of various factories 
 
-- National University of Lesotho 
Audience: 20 staff members, faculty of Economics and Development 
Studies Department 
 
-- Meeting with Lesotho Chamber of Commerce 
Audience: 10 private sector representatives 
 
-- Mohloli Chamber of Commerce 
Audience: 10 private sector representatives 
 
-- Global Conferences and Seminars 
Audience: Managing Director and staff 
 
Media engagements: 
 
Lesotho Television 
 
MASERU 00000177  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
People's Choice Radio 
Informative Newspaper 
Lesotho Times 
The Monitor 
 
¶C. AUDIENCE SIZE 
 
By the estimates quoted above, this program directly reached 
approximately 125 people.  Coupled with media interviews, the 
audience size can be estimated at several thousand. 
 
¶D. EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SPEAKER IN COMMUNICATING INTENDED 
MESSAGES TO TARGET AUDIENCE 
 
Economic development is a key Mission Strategic Plan goal of 
Embassy Maseru, and AGOA is one of the mission's most effective 
tools for achieving it.  Ms. Jones was very effective in 
promoting an improved understanding of AGOA, including 
clarification on recent changes in the legislation and how it 
could affect Lesotho.  This program allowed the Embassy to 
provide up-to-the-minute information on AGOA to high-ranking 
government officials and entrepreneurial business owners.  As 
this was the speaker's third time in Lesotho addressing AGOA 
issues (she previously visited while working for the U.S. Trade 
Representative), she was able to provide local historical 
insights regarding issues she faced during previous meetings 
with the government and private sector stakeholders. 
 
¶E.  QUALITY OF IIP SUPPORT 
 
Embassy Maseru greatly appreciates IIP's support during the 
entirety of this program.  The lines of communication between 
our post and Program Officer Gretchen Weintraub were open, 
effective, and constant.  As a "PD-light" post with limited 
resources, Embassy Maseru is delighted to have been offered this 
opportunity which helped us to advance our Mission Strategic 
Plan goals.  We were in frequent communication with IIP 
regarding Ms. Shearer-Jones's schedule and requirements, and 
appreciated IIP's pre-departure coordination with the speaker. 
 
¶F.  IMMEDIATE RESULT/IMPACT 
 
This high-impact program had several immediate results: 1) 
during the program, the Lesotho Smart Partnership Office 
announced that they would sponsor three aloe producers as part 
of Lesotho's delegation to the July AGOA forum in Washington, 
demonstrating that they are increasingly taking the challenge of 
export diversification seriously; 2) the speaker diminished the 
misperception that AGOA is an opportunity geared exclusively for 
the textile industry; 3) the speaker bolstered the concept that 
exporting to the U.S. is possible for small businesses; and 4) 
the speaker informed policy makers in Lesotho's government and 
private sector of changes in AGOA legislation so that they can 
respond in their best interests.  In the medium term, we hope 
that this program will lead to substantive new export 
diversification initiatives. 
 
¶G.  PRESS PLACEMENT REPORTING 
 
Embassy Maseru arranged media interviews with People's Choice FM 
radio, Lesotho Television, Informative Newspaper, Lesotho Times, 
and The Monitor.  We estimate that the viewership of Lesotho 
Television is approximately 30,000, and People's Choice FM has 
an estimated listenership of about 10,000.  Informative 
Newspaper, Lesotho Times, and The Monitor have circulations of 
approximately 5,000 each. 
MURPHY