KEVIN MAYHEW IN A bid to meet the need for more manufacturing sector investment – principally to replace the present slump in textiles – the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) reduced industrial sector rentals on buildings across the board by 10% last year. This follows a rental freeze that has been in place for two years, according to the LNDC web site. Its introduction aims to keep existing firms viable as well as provide a cost input incentive to promote strategies to diversify Lesotho-made products and markets. The recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the LNDC and Malaysian company TLWAY TEXCO to set up a fully integrated outfit that will manufacture garments from locally sourced raw materials, was a significant step forward. The cotton will be grown in Lesotho and a cotton specialist has been sent by the company for up to a year to set up a pilot project for cotton growing. The LNDC constantly tries to expose the country to new markets by exhibiting at major trade fairs and sending trade delegations to such events as the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT).
