Bereng Mpaki
THE increasing number of KFC Lesotho outlets in the Mountain Kingdom will spur job creation and increase support for the vulnerable members of the communities the fast foods franchise serves.
This was said by businesswoman Lerato Majara who holds the franchise to all KFC Lesotho shops in an interview with the Lesotho Times this week in Maputsoe during the opening of a new KFC shop in the district.
The Maputsoe shop increases KFC’s footprint in the country to seven shops- four in Maseru, one in Butha Buthe and another which was opened early this month in Mafeteng.
Each shop employs a minimum of 30 people recruited from the area of service, a development that means at least 210 jobs have been created so far. KFC Lesotho also feeds vulnerable 250 school children in five schools in Butha Buthe.
“As we grow as a brand we are able to create more jobs that are crucial in our country today,” Ms Majara said, adding, “It is our aim to penetrate most parts of the country and this means more jobs will be created”.
“We recently introduced a corporate social responsibility project in Butha Buthe where we feed schoolchildren. It is a good project because in order for children to perform optimally in school they have to be well fed. So we believe that by providing that meal while they are in school, they we will be able to focus on their learning.”
She said they had chosen to support children because this would lay a good foundation for early childhood development.
Ms Majara said they would expand such initiatives to all the areas where they had a presence in the country.
She said KFC had changed their strategy to opening smaller and more sustainable shops which were more suited to the different parts of the country.
Ms Majara has been part of the KFC family for thirty years and she attributed her success and longevity to continuously upholding the standards of the franchise.
“You have to consistently keep up with good standards and everything else because the franchiser always checks up on you to ensure that you uphold the good name of their brand,” she said.
She said it was high time more Basotho got empowered and shared the responsibility of running the franchise.
“I am going to gradually pull out of the business to allow fresh blood to takeover. I am fortunate enough to have two daughters who have shown interest in the business and have studied towards programmes that are going to support the business,” she said.
Meanwhile, Leribe District Administrator Mokhabelane Morahanye welcomed the shop opening, saying the 35 new jobs would go a long way in reducing the level of crime in the district.
“The people of Leribe will no longer have to travel across the border to Ficksburg (South Africa) to get KFC,” Mr Morahanye said.
‘Matšepiso Likhojane, the first customer to buy in the Maputsoe shop, was presented with a complementary 21-piece bucket hamper, while 50 subsequent buyers each received a Streetwise Two meal pack.
