Tokelo Rasephei
THE Central Bank of Lesotho recently held a seminar in Maseru to equip human resource practitioners, public service managers and directors with information and skills in saving and investing money.
CBL Corporate Communications Manager, Moroke Moroke, said that it was important for the senior officials to be financially literate so that they would pass the knowledge to fellow employees.
He said that most public and private sector employees mismanaged their finances and it was therefore vital for the senior officials to train them on how to plan and save their money.
“Knowing how much money you have and understanding where your money is spent are the first steps towards achieving financial independence,” Mr Moroke said.
He further said that budgeting was important as it helped people to live within their means. He said the budget had to be followed in order to escape the consumption trap and resultant debt.
“Employees should escape the consumption trap and the feel good syndrome,” he said.
The Chief Executive of Standard Lesotho Bank, Mpho Vumbukani, said that financial education and literacy had been underestimated for a long time and this ended up haunting people.
He said that people tend to have poor management of personal finances and this led to indebtedness.
Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Mohlabi Tsekoa, called on the human resource practitioners to encourage employees to avoid living beyond their means by taking loans that exceeded their incomes.
“The best thing is to invest with banks and insurances as they provide assurance of good returns,” Mr Tsekoa said.
The workshop comes against the background of recent revelations by CBL Second Deputy Governor, ‘Mathabo Makenete, that an increasing number of Basotho are failing to manage their debt responsibly with some credit providers also missing the mark regarding their criteria in affordability assessments.
Ms Makenete also revealed that 40 percent of the incomes of a significant number of Basotho were being channelled towards loan repayments.
