Rethabile Pitso
The Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LTDC) has warned visitors to Thaba-Bosiu plateau against littering one of the country’s most illustrious heritage sites.
The call was made by LTDC Public Relations Manager, ‘Manchafalo Motsoeneng, during a cleaning campaign of the national monument on Friday last week.
The cleaning was conducted by LTDC staff in conjunction with Machabeng College students.
“The purpose of our campaign today is two-fold. Firstly, it is aimed at benefitting the students by learning about the Great Moshoeshoe I, founder of the Basotho nation, who made this mountain his fortress and secondly, it is to engage them in cleaning this place which is sometimes littered by visitors.
“We, as a corporation, are really concerned about garbage being discarded so freely by visitors to this site and we urge them to make use of refuse-bins that are on sight as they tour this monument,” Ms Motsoeneng said.
Thaba-Bosiu plateau is an important historic site for Lesotho as it served as King Moshoeshoe I’s fortress in the early 19th century. His grave and those of other great Basotho chiefs can be seen on the plateau, as well as two of the King’s dwellings.
Ms Motsoeneng has further appealed to neighbouring communities to protect the heritage site for both tourism purposes and the future generation.
“We urge members of the community to keep their livestock away from the plateau so that the animals do not damage the gravesites because they are important structures of our heritage. They need to be preserved for future generations and we cannot just stand by and let parts of our history disappear before our eyes.
“We would want individuals to take the responsibility of protecting, respecting and preserving this place in its natural state. We also want to urge the community to report any acts of vandalism to the relevant authorities,” Ms Motsoeneng said, adding the corporation was open to partnering any institution or individual to ensure the Thaba-Bosiu environment remains clean.
“We believe the youths are best-placed to spread information. They become the best stewards for promoting positive habits towards the environment, while also learning ways to rid the environment of harmful non-biodegradable products such as plastic bags.”
According to statistics at the Thaba-Bosiu Tourist Information Centre, the plateau is one of the most visited tourist-destinations in the country.
