’Mantoetse Maama

MASERU — Standard Lesotho Bank opened a new branch at the Maseru Mall on Friday. The new branch, which will have full banking services including vehicle, asset and home loans, is expected to relieve other five branches around Maseru especially during month-end when long queues are seen at the banks.

The new branch will be closer to factory workers from Thetsane Industrial Area who make meandering lines to the ATMs every month-end. There will be five ATMs at the new branch. Speaking at the opening ceremony Standard Lesotho Bank CEO, Mpho Vumbukani, said the bank is responding to the national call by the government to promote financial access to the public.

“We will be providing full bank services so that clients won’t need to move around when they need banking services as there are shops around here. “It also provides convenient services such as vehicle, asset and home loans,” Vumbukani said. Vumbukani said they have improved their services in such a way that it does not take long for them to approve loans for their clients like in the past.

Currently the bank just takes one day for a loan to be approved, Vumbukani said. He said the bank has also responded to clients’ pleas to locate an ATM machine in Morija, about 45 kilometres from Maseru. Customers from Morija used to come to Maseru just to withdraw money. Speaking at the same occasion, Deputy Finance Minister ’Matsepo Ramakoae, thanked Vumbukani for locating an ATM at Morija as people living in that area were complaining that they had to travel to Maseru when they needed to access their money.

She pointed out that Thaba-Tseka people were also complaining that the number of ATMs in their area is not enough. The Thaba-Tseka communities, according to Ramakoae, form winding queues every month-end to have access to the ATMs. “People in Thaba-Tseka district have more money than us in the lowlands and for that reason they need their banking services to be accessed and for that matter the bank should consider making services easily available,” Ramakoae said.