MASERU, April 24 (NNN-SANEWS) — President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa and Lesotho are making strides in cooperation on water resource management.
The President was delivering opening remarks at the occasion of the second session of the Lesotho-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) held in Lesotho’s capital Maseru.
He highlighted the Lesotho Highlands Water Project as a good example of how two friendly countries can collaborate to the benefit of its peoples.
“As neighbours, we have great scope to deepen bilateral cooperation in many areas while maintaining political and economic engagements with all countries. It is our hope that Phase 2 of this project is completed soon,” the President said.
President Ramaphosa commended Lesotho’s ongoing efforts to advance the political and constitutional reform agenda.
He said the relationship between the two countries is characterised by cooperation, good neighbourliness and a mutually beneficial relationship.
“This BNC mechanism needs to ensure that the 45 agreements and legal instruments that have been signed are fully implemented. We assemble in this session at a time of new global challenges and uncertainties.
“These challenges are not insurmountable. Working together, we should identify opportunities for progress in this rapidly changing environment,” President Ramaphosa said.
He called for South Africa and Lesotho to work together in electricity generation and align both countries’ just energy transition agendas and projects.
“Energy security is critical for our two countries. It will play a major role in driving our manufacturing industries, powering our cities, towns and villages and enabling us to adapt to the demands of the new global economy.
“We need to redouble our efforts to establish bilateral and regional value chains that are sustainable and economically viable,” he said.
The President emphasised that both countries are endowed with mineral resources and must and must prioritise local beneficiation to maximize value.
He underscored the need to develop strategies within the jurisdictions for critical and rare minerals, which continue to attract global interest.
Simultaneously, he highlighted the importance of diversifying both countries’ product offerings and service sectors to drive sustainable economic growth.
In this regard, President Ramaphosa said the establishment of logistics hubs, agro-processing facilities and data centres to support the emerging digital industry, are some of the opportunities that South Africa and Lesotho should harness.
“Lesotho hosts many South African companies and we appreciate the conducive environment in which these corporate entities operate. Investments by Basotho companies in the South African economy need to be further promoted.
“We need to work together to harmonise measures for the movement of our respective citizens across our borders,” the President said.
Touching on immigration cooperation, President Ramaphosa said this can be strengthened in a manner that is effective and secure.
He called for both countries to address cross-border criminal activities that undermine the harmonious co-existence that both countries and peoples enjoy.
“Our respective authorities should remain seized with the threats posed by global organised crime, which fuels illegal mining, drug and human trafficking, arms smuggling, wildlife destruction, illicit financial flows and money laundering,” he said.
Moving to education, President Ramaphosa said cooperation in education is fundamental to the two countries’ shared future.
“We should make it easy for young Basotho pupils, who live a stone’s throw away from schools on the South African side, to be able to go to school. While this needs to be properly managed, bureaucratic impediments should not prevent the development of these young minds.
“South African institutions of higher learning host many Basotho students, who provide the skills and capacity needed by the Kingdom of Lesotho,” the President said.
President Ramaphosa recalled that during the days of apartheid, children of exiled activists and young adults attended schools and institutions of learning in Lesotho.
He added that many of South African leaders attended the National University of Lesotho, famously known as Roma.
“It is therefore only fitting and proper that we enhance cooperation in the field of education. As South Africa undertook its transition to democracy and was grappling with the process of constitution making and state building, Lesotho was there to support us.
“Now, as the Kingdom of Lesotho makes progress in its institutional reforms, we stand ready to share our experiences in areas such as strengthening the constitutional architecture, security sector reform, judicial capacity building and other areas of institutional development,” the President said.
He added that the two countries’ common heritage and shared destiny require that “we be united in purpose and work towards the upliftment of our peoples.”
“Let us work together as peace-loving nations – within SADC (Southern African Development Community), the African Union and the United Nations – to pursue a just global order founded on multilateralism, human rights and respect for international law.
“Let us strive together to reform global institutions so that they are inclusive and advance the interests of the Global South,” he said.
As the two heads of state opened the Session, President Ramaphosa applauded the Ministers and Senior Officials for their hard work, focus and commitment in preparing the report of this Commission. — NNN-SANEWS
