Cape Town — Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili of Lesotho has described the postponement of last Sunday's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Uganda and Lesotho as a "wake-up call" for the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Mosisili was speaking at a news conference at Tuynhuys, the Cape Town office of South African President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday, where he and Mbeki had earlier had talks.

Responding to a light-hearted comment about the postponement of the soccer match, Mosisili answered on a serious note. He said he understood the game had been postponed because Tanzanian match officials had not received the necessary permission to travel through South Africa, which surrounds Lesotho.

"It is high time that that SADC integrated in such a way that this movement of our citizens can indeed be facilitated, that a national of one of the member states of the community is not prevented from coming across the border of another for lack of certain visas or documents," he said.

Ahead of the news conference, the Lesotho and South African governments signed a bilateral agreement to facilitate movement across the border between the two countries.

Other items discussed during Mosisili's visit included how Lesotho could attract soccer teams to train in the country during the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa, and the improvement of road links, including completing construction of   a high-quality road to South Africa through the mountainous east of the country.

The two governments also signed agreements on prison administration and the control of cross-border wild fires.