Midrand, 3 May 2019 –Supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)through the project titled as “Enhancing Coordination and Strengthening Institutional Capacity to Effectively Engage with Basotho Diaspora’’funded by IOM Development Fund (IDF), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations of the Kingdom of Lesotho planned three diaspora outreach forums in the Republic of South Africa, in close collaboration with other stakeholders, such as Lesotho National Development Corporation, Central Bank and private sector.   

Today, at the Ghallager Convention Centre in Midrand of South Africa, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations (MoFAIR), Home Affairs (MoHA), Labour and Employment (MoLE) and the Chief Executive Officer of Lesotho National Development Cooperation (LNDC) are meeting with many Basotho diaspora living in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The outreach was an opportunity to discuss the various salient issues for the members of the Basotho diaspora, notably “dual citizenship”, which became legal on December 2018 when the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution passed in the Parliament. 

‘’One of the threats to diaspora engagement, as you rightly observed, has been the issue of dual citizenship. You may wish to recall that sometime in 2018 we made a commitment as Government that we shall place before Parliament the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution Bill, 2018, which would address issues pertaining to matters close to your hearts’’ said Hon. Francis Mokoto Hloaele, Minister of Home Affairs of Lesotho. 

‘’Portability of social security remains a key issue for migrant workers, and diaspora members who may wish to go back to Lesotho upon retirement. Currently there are clear arrangements within the SADC region’’ said Hon. Keketso Rantso, Minister of Labour and Employment of Lesotho. She also added that ‘’In the long run, one would be able to receive their benefits in Lesotho without necessarily having to cross to RSA to get such benefits’’.

‘’With your support, there is no doubt that, we will be able to reach our destination timely and successfully: The Lesotho That We Want! Kaofela re Chabana sa Khomo!’’ said Hon. Lesego Makgothi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations of Lesotho. 

‘’The Government of Lesotho need to encourage civic participation of migrants in host societies; and to strengthen their sense of belonging and their co-responsibility in building a common destiny, that is why we are here with you ladies and gentlemen’’said Hon. Temeki Tsolo, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. 

Shane Molale, a Mosotho entrepreneur running his own ICT company in South Africa, said “I normally go to Lesotho to try and invest, but often face a lot of red red tapes and processes, which challenges the limited amount of visiting time we have. I hope this initiative will lead to the creation of an office that all of us diaspora that wish to invest in Lesotho can go to and be assisted.”

‘’I am confident that this Forum will start a new relationship between Lesotho and Basotho diaspora, and identify new, better approaches of Basotho diaspora engagement which can lead to the mutual benefits - improvement of the situation of Basotho diaspora, as well as the developmental impact to Lesotho through skills transfer, affordable remittance and investment by diaspora members,’’ said Charles Kwenin, Regional Director of IOM based in Pretoria. 

Diaspora Engagement is part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets (“10.7 facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies”)as well as one of the objectives under the Global Compact on Safe, Regular and Responsible Migration (GCM), which wasapproved at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in January 2019.

For more information please contact:

Eriko Nishimura, Head of Office IOM Lesotho, enishimura@iom.int