business

Aug. 26, 2020

NEO SENOKO

3 min read

STD Lesotho Bank spends over M1.5 m to fight COVID-19

STD Lesotho Bank spends over M1.5 m to fight COVID-19

Standard Lesotho Bank's acting head of marketing Manyathela Kheleli

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MASERU - Standard Lesotho Bank has spent over M1.5 million in the 2020 financial year in an effort to assist in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has already killed 31 people in Lesotho, with 1 051 positive cases reported, from which 526 people have recovered.

“The bank has committed over M1.5 million in the 2020 financial year to Covid-19 related initiatives, where in June, the bank handed over a state of the art Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with ventilators to Maluti Adventist Hospital valued at M1.2 million,” Acting Head of Marketing Manyathela Kheleli said last week.

In a continued effort to further fight the pandemic, the blue bank has again launched the rollout of about 30 tippy tanks to facilitate the washing of hands at crowded areas in the country.

The regular washing of hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and running water remains one of the most important precautions recommended by health authorities to minimize the spread of the disease.

The implementing partners of this initiative are Lesotho Red Cross Society (LRCS), who were sponsored with M217,000 to undertake the project. Other partners, Stanlib Lesotho contributed M100,000 while Petroleum Fund assisted LRCS with fuel to the value of M30,000 to carry out the project.

Mokhotlong district will be the main beneficiary of this project, where a total of six tanks will be built at various places in the mountain district.

Other districts will get a minimum of three tippy tanks that will be built at crowded areas such as taxi ranks, chief’s compounds, schools and government offices that offer services to the public in large numbers.

“As a responsible corporate citizen, Standard Lesotho Bank is equally concerned with the spread of Covid-19 in the country. As such, the bank has committed itself to partner with the government to manage the pandemic.

“As a financial services provider, we fully understand the adage that says ‘Health is the best wealth,’ therefore we remain committed to improving the health of our people so that they can fully function to generate wealth that can make the country grow,” Kheleli added.

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He emphasized that the end result of a healthy nation is that they benefit downstream as the bank. This sponsorship, he said, is also another way of how the bank expresses its gratitude to Basotho for their support in the last 25 years.

The Deputy Minister of Water, Lepota Sekola, said on behalf of the government that beneficiaries, particularly taxi owners should play their role and support the bank by ensuring that they all open accounts and transact with Standard Lesotho Bank as a token of appreciation and cooperation.

“Standard Lesotho Bank has extended a hand to help government where it could not afford. You can also show support by opening accounts and transacting with the bank as a token of appreciation and cooperation,” Sekola said.

The event took place at the newly built taxi rank in Mokhotlong last week. Following the launch in Mokhotlong, it is expected that the remaining districts will have fully installed tippy tank systems by end of August.

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