LESOTHO has lost nearly 16 000 jobs in its textile and apparel industry in the period between March 2018 and March 2024.
The galling statistics were disclosed at a workshop convened by the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) this week to sensitize manufacturers and other industry role players on the need to adhere to ethical practices to win back orders from international buyers.
The LNDC's Corporate Investment and Trade Promotion General Manager, Puseletso Makhakhe, said the textile industry was facing a lot of challenges which had led to a reduction in the sector's workforce and export markets thereby negatively impacting the country's GDP.
She said the employment trends in the sector proved it had experienced huge job losses.
"Our employment trends show that in March 2018 we had 49 945 jobs (in the textile sector) but in March 2024, we were at 34 151. The industry remains the second largest employer after the public sector. However, it had been experiencing a steady decline in recent years," Ms Makhakhe said.
She said the in the period March 2023 and March 2024 alone, the industry had experienced a 12.79 percent decrease in employment or loss of 4,740 jobs.
"Increasing lack of orders and uncertainty on orders remain the major causes of the decline in employment among other things."
She noted the huge deterioration of competitiveness for Lesotho's textile and clothing industry caused by increasing operational costs, supply chain disruptions, order declines, financial strain partly caused by delayed VAT refunds, amongst other factors.
The LNDC had also engaged a textile expert for advice on how to get things right, amongst others interventions.
Ms Makhakhe spoke at the workshop convened to sensitize role players about the Worldwide Responsible Accreditation Production (WRAP) certification required by buyers who prefer to only deal with manufacturers who comply with good social, industrial practices.
Industry players including manufacturers, trade unions, and other key stakeholders attended the two-day workshop.
The WRAP is an international certification program dedicated to promoting safe, lawful, humane, and ethical manufacturing around the world. It is one of the widely recognised industry certification projects by international buyers.
Companies and factories in the textile and apparel industry were urged to be compliant with international standards and refrain from using child labour, forced labour, harassment, and all forms of abuse and discrimination. They must also abide by legal working hours, pay staff proper compensation and benefits, and adhere to health and safety standards to get WRAP certification.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Business Development, Mokhethi Shelile, said the workshop was one of the government's attempts to improve Lesotho's competitiveness to re-claim its global market share through compliance with international export standards.
He said rife competition for export markets called for countries to embark on aggressive strategies and interventions to remain competitive and attractive to international buyers.
"This occasion marks a milestone in our continuous efforts towards enhancing our competitiveness, positioning our nation as a beacon of industry standards and ethical business practices," Mr Shelile said.
He said ethical sourcing had become an important topic in the textile and apparel industry, aiming to promote decent work conditions and sustainable manufacturing practices which exporters have to comply with.
"The government is aggressively undertaking measures to promote Lesotho as an ethical sourcing destination for international buyers to trigger their attention and interest to source from Lesotho and to restore it to its former glory as a leading exporter under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)."
Mr Shelile also said the WRAP certification initiative was a testament of the government's commitment to ethical manufacturing, social compliance, and promoting sustainable business operations.
"It underscores our dedication to creating a business environment that respects labour rights, ensures fair treatment of workers and upholds the highest standards of workplace safety and environmental stewardship."
For his part, WRAP Senior Vice President - Stakeholder Engagement, Mark Jaeger, said the workshop was meant to share information with Lesotho producers on how to access WRAP Certification for international buyers, especially from the United States.
He said the apparel market had proven to be highly competitive in recent years, with a marked reduction in orders from buyers. It was therefore important for manufacturers who want to compete at the international stage to meet buyers' expectations.
" WRAP is one of the wonderful certifications to show your buyers.....Programs like WRAP can help you establish management systems and run your factory in a globally competitive way," Mr Jaeger said.
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The secretary general of Lesotho's National Clothing Textile and Allied Workers Union (NACTWU), Sam Mokhele, said the workshop was a good initiative towards promoting safe, lawful, humane and ethical working conditions within the textile and apparel industry in Lesotho.
"As workers, we are grateful and are committed to play our role to make the initiative a success.
"We are all aware of the huge decline in employment in the industry and I must say the lack of safety and ethical working conditions in the industry has contributed a lot to the current situation.
"And if the challenge was addressed at an earlier stage, we wouldn't be in this situation. We would have kept our market and saved a lot jobs.
"As unions we have for a long time been against non-compliance in the industry and were perceived by the government and other stakeholders to be causing problems while we were merely trying to make sure the employers are compliant.
"But after this workshop, I hope we will be on the same page and tackle the challenge together," Mr Mokhele said.
