Nthatuoa Koeshe
MAMOTH Health Plan on Friday donated M15 000 to His Majesty King Letsie III as its gift for his 57th birthday.
His Majesty celebrated his birthday on 17 July 2020.
The money was handed over to His Majesty at the Royal Palace in Maseru on Friday.
Mamoth chief executive officer Teboho Makoetlane told the Sunday Express on the sidelines of the handover ceremony that the money would be used to fund a Mafeteng plantation project that will be managed by food processing company, Limomonane Products.
Mr Makoetlane said they had been trying to find an initiative that they could use to celebrate His Majesty’s birthday when they were approached by Limomonane Product seeking money for planting 3 000 fruit trees.
He said the fruit trees project proved to be viable because of His Majesty’s roles as African Union Nutrition champion, and the United Nations’ (UN) Food And Agriculture (FAO) Nutrition ambassador.
“Mammoth was looking for projects that we could use to celebrate His Majesty’s birthday and because we had realised that the norm every year has been that gifts go strictly to him for his benefit, we thought we should do something different which would benefit the community,” Mr Makoetlane said.
“Last year, Limomonane approached us requesting funding for a project of planting 3 000 fruit trees in Mafeteng to empower the local community to grow fruits at a commercial level. The fruits will also be supplied to Limomonane to ensure consistent supply throughout the year
“We approached His Majesty’s office and presented the idea and they were excited to work with Limomonane Products. This is why we are giving His Majesty a gift for him to give to Limomonane to support the work they are doing in Mafeteng.”
His Majesty expressed his gratitude to Mamoth and encouraged other companies to emulate the model.
“This may seem like a small gift but it’s actually big especially to me because I want to see the youth doing more to grow food and work together to fight poverty,” His Majesty said.
Limomonane Products Lipuo Nkholi said they were honored to receive support from His Majesty and a big organisation like Mamoth.
“This gives us strength to keep pushing. We are honored and we hope that this is only the beginning of a long relationship,” Ms Nkholi said.