Another firm expands, thanks to #ReBulaLifeme campaign

MOSA MAOENG

LERIBE – The Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) through its #ReBulaLifeme campaign extended yet another factory Reflex Footwear in Maputsoe at an event last week Friday. Reflex Footwear is the only shoe factory in the country producing school shoes and slippers since 2000.

Reflex Footwear director Dion Dolphort thanked the LNDC for helping refurbish the factory noting that since 2022 when a hailstorm left the factory in total despair with the roof collapsing, they have had difficulty with repair works.

He said that there were no serious injuries from the incident. The factory has been restored to a modern and multi-purpose factory. Dolphort said this year marks exactly 25 years since they came to Lesotho and added they are committed to go for a further 25 years in appreciation of the economic freedom in the country for investors.

The factory’s human resource manager, Simon Ramphoma, highlighted that it was not easy getting the LNDC to refurbish the factory but at the end of the day, they were assisted.

He said during the refurbishing of the factory, they were allocated a building to use to continue with work until the building was finished. He said they now occupy three factories and are the only factory in the country that manufactures shoes. He noted, “Our plan is to hire more Basotho to reduce the unemployment rate and most Basotho seeking job resort to the textile industry.”

Ramphoma said since they are the only firm in the country that manufactures shoes, they wish ton expand and produce more.

The three factory wings have 800 Basotho hired to produce 10 500 school shoes, 6 000 slippers and sometimes 9 000 depending of the order of the buyer exporting to South Africa.

Ramphoma noted that they have to work hard and efficiently to beat competition in South Africa with companies producing the same and need to produce more.

He, however, mentioned that the company’s head of quality is working really hard in that department to ensure quality. He asked for further assistance from government to make it possible for a fourth factory to enable employment of more Basotho.

With the intention to increase production lines they wish to employ a 150 plus factory workers.

LNDC interim CEO, Molise Ramaili, noted that the factory’s director did a great job by continuing to work even after a terrifying incident faced by the country.

He said they worked hand in hand with the director the hard time adding that Reflex Footwear is helping diversify the production landscape by introducing shoe making since for a long time the country was known to produce on clothes

Ramaili noted that “this will in many ways enable for more investors to come and invest in the country.”

Trade minister, Mokhethi Shelile, highlighted that the LNDC’s #ReBulalifeme campaign’s mandate is to reduce the high unemployment rate especially in the textile industry.

He urged all workers to “continue doing a good work by working hard so as to produce more. By producing more, more Basotho will be employed.”

“To unions, it is important to focus more on your work and with workers in all other issues and make sure their rights are protected,” he said.

Shelile cautioned that when unions fail their mandate investors bail out due to the confusion.

On the other hand, Member of Parliament (MP) for Moselinyane, Tommy Tayob, who was present at the Friday hand over, appreciated the factory director’s dedication to hiring Basotho saying he has thus assisted the government by reducing the growing high unemployment rate.

Tayob indicated that it is important that as factories are being expanded and mentioned that while also “seeking high production from workers, a good salary is at the top most to doing a good job.”

Another factory New Epoch Knitting expanded its business creating job opportunity for over 250 factory workers recently under the same LNDC campaign.

According to the LNDC, over 2 000 jobs have been restored in the textile industry in excess of the 3 000 lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic hit, it took many businesses down, and the most impacted were the textile industries, with factories closing down and thousands of Basotho losing their jobs.

Some of the factories that closed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic include Glory International Garments, Tikoe Industrial, and C&Y Garments, a subsidiary of Nien Hsing Textiles Group, to name a few.

Glory International closed in March 2020, while C&Y closed shop in December 2021.

Both factories sent 3 000 and 2 600 workers home respectively.