Lijeng Ranooe
CHINESE ambassador to Lesotho, Sun Xianghua, has called for the strengthening of relations and cooperation between his country and Lesotho.
Dr Xianghua said this while officiating at a recent ceremony where the China-Lesotho People-to-people Friendship Action Fund (CLPPFAF) donated a borehole to ease the water shortages faced by St Bonfire High School in Maputsoe.
St Bonfire High School has an enrolment of 759 students and it is one of the many schools in the area that faces water shortages.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Dr Xianghua described Maputsoe as an “important economic town with many factories and a relatively larger population but unfortunately many people are suffering from the shortage of water”.
“The China-Lesotho People-to-people Friendship Action Fund has been increasingly active in helping Basotho in recent years,” Dr Xianghua said, adding, “This fund is sponsored by the Chinese business community in Lesotho”.
“The Action Fund has been giving out bursaries, foods, seed and fertiliser and bore-holes across the country.
“China has become the world’s second largest economy and it is cooperating with Africa in economic social development in an unprecedented way. In order to bring more benefits to Lesotho, all of us need to work together and bring our two countries and people even closer, so that we can respect and trust each other. We can work hand in hand just like brothers and sisters.”
For his part; Communication, Science and Technology Minister, Joang Molapo, urged the students to commit to their studies and learn various languages including Chinese.
“This gift come because of the relationship between China and Lesotho. This relationship is one that is not only at a government level but most importantly a people-to-people relationship.
“I challenge you to use your education to become world citizens. Learn and love Sesotho as a language, appreciate English but also take up the challenge of learning Mandarin and other languages for they are important to the future of this country,” Mr Molapo said.
St Boniface High School Principal, Ms Alina Mohapi, thanked the China-Lesotho People-to-people Friendship Action Fund for the donation, saying it would facilitate the smooth running of the school.