Chairperson of the Parliamentary Economic Cluster Mr. Sello Hakane says the massive job losses in the textile factory industry is a temporary setback and it will come to an end very soon, as the Government is doing all it can to create jobs for Basotho.

Hakane said the Government had already secured new purchase orders worth millions and that it is just a matter of time before they arrive in the country, he added by saying the Government has changed plans where it has resolved to control the orders to be made locally and not in Taiwan as it has been the case for the past 30 years.

He noted that a few Basotho who have interest in the textile factory manufacturing sector will also be roped in to empower them.

Speaking in the wake of the Economic Cluster having undertaken a study tour at Ha Tikoe industrial area, Mr. Hakane said the purpose of the tour was to follow up on the new factory shelves being under construction to see the progress made.

He said as the committee tasked to oversee government Ministries of Trade and Industry, Finance and Development Planning as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, they wanted to ensure that the funds allocated for the construction of the textile factories have been utilised.

He explained that for the Ha Tikoe industrial area a sum of M469 Million had been put aside for the construction of the new factories and that the project which started in 2019 was underway.

Mr. Hakane stated that these new factory shelves were supposed to be completed in October this year but that there has been an extension until May next year due to delays in water connections and access roads in the area.

He explained that the official handover of the factories will be made to the Lesotho National Development Centre (LNDC) in December while the minor touch ups will still be made until May this year.

The textile factories have been retrenching many Basotho lately, after the COVID 19 pandemic due to limited orders from outside the country.

A few remaining ones have also resolved to work on what they describe as short time or lay off in which the workers work on shifts or stay at home to wait for the orders availability.