Lijeng Ranooe
EDUCATION is crucial in eliminating poverty, securing social economic development and improving income distribution, Makhakhe Maliehe, Liberty Life Lesotho managing director has said.
Mr Maliehe was speaking at the launch of Liberty Life Lesotho’s Education Legacy Plan in Maseru yesterday.
The Education Legacy Plan is a savings product that was developed in response to insurance regulators’ and the market’s call for more accessible, innovative and differentiated solutions that facilitate financial freedom for Basotho.
The Education Legacy Plan helps individuals and families save for their children’s education from as little as M200 monthly in a cost efficient and effective way but also presents an opportunity to encourage savings even among low income earners.
Mr Maliehe said: “We all know that the quickest and most efficient way to eliminate poverty in any economy is through education”.
“Education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development. It raises people’s productivity and creativity and promotes entrepreneurship and technological advances. In addition, it plays a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution.
“That is why we have designed a simple, relevant and innovative Education Legacy Plan, an investment solution that allows our customers to save for their children’s education, while enjoying benefits that consider their financial circumstances,” Mr Maliehe said.
He said the plan gives the client an option to stop and restart their payments with no penalties or charges. The investment that the customer puts in will continue with the funds that they have already invested and they can start payments again at any time thereafter.
“Parents must consider complementing their savings plan with our comprehensive and innovative Life Plan to have peace of mind knowing that their children’s education can be taken care of when they can no longer do so due to a physical impairment or death,” Mr Maliehe said.
“We want to work closely with our sales partners and the media to drive education and encourage customers to start saving. We must emphasise to our customers that the earlier they start saving for their children’s education the smaller the impact is going to be on their budget.
“Customers need to understand that education inflation is real. Their first goal should therefore be to save so that they can make up this difference without education taking a bigger bite out of their household finances.”
He also highlighted that saving plays a crucial role in the process of economic growth and the importance of planning today for tomorrow.
“Lesotho is ready for this kind of a savings solution. We pride ourselves with the skills and experience we have in the organisation, as this allows proper design of our products,” Mr Maliehe said.
