LESOTHO has opened its borders to the world from Wednesday as the country remains in blue colour code, restoring most of its economic activities.
business
April 28, 2021
NEO SENOKO
2 min read
Majoro reopens borders to the world
Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro
Travelers will have to produce valid COVID-19 certificates in order to travel to their different destinations and enter the country.
Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro said on Monday night that the curfew however, will stay in place, starting from 10 pm and ending at 4am, adding that liquor stores will operate from Monday to Sunday.
Despite opening the economy, he emphasized that the fight against the pandemic is far from over.
“At the moment, cases of the pandemic have dropped and even the number of patients has also subsided. We would like to thank Basotho in the diaspora, especially in South Africa for listening to the government’s plea that they should not come home during Easter holidays,” Dr Majoro said on Monday.
This is the first time that the country fully opens borders since the beginning of the lockdown restrictions in March last year. Only people with special cases were allowed to move in and out of the country since then.
The restrictions saw a massive decline in economic activity, particularly on the side of tourism and hospitality industry as no travelers and tourists were allowed in.
Some players in the hospitality sector were as a result forced out of business, leaving many people unemployed.
Enjoy our daily newsletter from today
Access exclusive newsletters, along with previews of new media releases.
However, the Prime Minister announced for instance that accommodation venues are allowed to open with 100 percent occupancy, thus giving hope to the players in the industry.
The opening of borders also means that the industry will see an improved activity as more people are expected to visit the country again.
Tourism is considered to be a strong growth opportunity in Lesotho and one of the major economic sectors as identified in the National Strategic Development Plan II (NSDP II).
In 2018, according to the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC), tourist arrivals hit 1.2 million, a figure which represents 3.1 percent increase in 2017.
In monetary terms, this is equal to M488 million in collected revenue, however excluding domestic expenditure economic activity which had on its own resulted in the creation of around 2 700 jobs.
Tailored for you
