Lesothos regering vil puste nyt liv i landets tekstilindustri med et beløb svarende til ca. 70 mio. kr. Industrien er helt afgørende for landets økonomi, som den største arbejdsplads og eksportør, men der er nu kun 33.000 beskæftigede mod 55.500 i 2005, og værdien af tekstileksporten er dalet fra ca. 500 mio. dollars til 300 mio.
MASERU, 24 November 2011 (IRIN): The Lesotho Government plans to spend 100 million maloti (US$12.7 million) over the next two years in an effort to breathe life into the crucial textile industry.
“The objective… is to stabilize employment in the textile industry and provide capital for companies so that they can take advantage of the global [economic] recovery,” Dr Timothy Thahane, Minister of Finance and Development planning, told IRIN. “It’s harder for African countries to stay competitive, but this industry is really important to the Lesotho economy, so we have to do what we can.”
Lesotho’s textile industry grew rapidly in the 1990s and early 2000s, thanks in large part to the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), which gave 34 eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa duty-free access to US markets, and the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) credit certification scheme that allowed textile-exporting companies to earn rebates on duties they paid on imports used for production.
However, the industry has been hit hard in the past few years: the SACU scheme ended in March 2010, while the flagging US economy has reduced exports.
In 2005, the textile industry comprised 45 factories and employed around 55,000 people, making it the largest formal sector employer in the country. Exports amounted to roughly $500 million per year. Today, 23 factories employ 33,000 workers – a decline in profits and employment of 40 percent – and exports amount to an estimated $300 million.
The industry still contributes close to 20 percent of Lesotho’s annual gross domestic product, and is its largest employer in a country where the unemployment rate is around 40 percent.
“One textile worker can support four to five family members on their wage, so the impact of job losses in this sector across the entire country’s economy is critical,” said Thahane.
Minimum wages for textile workers are set at 778 maloti ($92) per month.
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