Rethabile Pitso
Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) Public Relations Manager Masilo Phakoe says a database facility aimed to foster partnerships between Lesotho and South African suppliers will be fully accessed on the company’s website next month.
Mr Phakoe said the authority is currently working on the database link which prematurely debuted on the website this week, towards being fully accessible as soon as possible.
He said the database has been established with the aim to offer local and South African people seeking opportunities in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) a platform to partner with relevant professionals
Following completion, the database will provide space for both companies and individual professionals to upload their curriculum vitae’s showing their areas of expertise under a section named “suppliers” on the following link: www.lhda.org.ls.
“We recently put up a suppliers section on our website which will enable visitors to upload their professional skills with the aim to foster partnerships for business in the LHWP. Upon putting it up, we realised that there are a few people were already trying to access it but were hindered to fully complete their profiles.
We guarantee that by January when it becomes fully accessible, those people who have attempted to will be able to edit their profiles completely.
This is an important database which we have created with the aim to help local and South African individuals and companies to find each other towards partnering for job opportunities in the LHWP.
It comes as a response to the bigger mandate which the two countries have entered into. The Phase II agreement has made a requirement that for any Advanced Infrastructure job tendered for, there must be a 50-50 chance of opportunities shared between Basotho and South Africans. Meaning that for such a job, the monetary value must benefit Basotho and South Africans equally”, he said.
Mr Phakoe further encouraged Basotho to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the creation of the network facility.
“One of the lessons learned during the construction of Phase 1 was that people did not know how to find one another. In addition, many Basotho were deceived that the project only considered technical and engineering personnel for all positions.
They were not aware that there were other much needed fields including feasibility studies, communication, electrical and other fields which are available on the website.
Basotho now have the opportunity to show their availability and interest to work with others by broadcasting their professions and skills here. The information provided on the website will be available publicly to anybody using the website.
We are hoping through the website that women and black people will be afforded a chance to increase their chances of advancing themselves. The project’s policy encourages equal chances of partnership, women empowerment and the opportunity for black people to develop themselves so Basotho should use this chance to their advantage”, he said.
Mr Phakoe warned however that the submitting a profile does not automatically guarantee one a job at any of the works; current or future at LHWP.
“People who submit their profiles must not automatically think they could be guaranteed a spot at any tender or job that comes out but is merely for partnership opportunities that are provided through an accessible medium.
The facility will be readily available and accessible on a legit platform. By doing so, we have attempted to cut off the middle man who is tasked with bringing potential partners together. Here we offer a direct contact between two potential partners on a safe and legit network space,” he said.
