By Tṧeliso Tṧosane
Standard Lesotho Bank partnered with the ministry of ministry of forestry, range and soil conservation in the planting of trees at Ha Ntsane in the Thaba Bosiu area on Monday this week.
The exercise was part of the bank’s continued support for the country toward the reforestation of the country.
The event coincided with the global celebration of the International Day of Forests, which was declared by the resolution of the United Nations in 2012. With the support of the bank, Limomonane Foundation and other corporate sponsors including Vodacom, and Metropolitan, the target is to plant 100,000 trees on this day, where 10,000 trees will be planted in every district.
The global theme for this year’s commemoration is ‘Forests and Sustainable Production and Consumption’, which advocates for global citizens to manage forests in a sustainable manner. The involvement of Standard Lesotho Bank in this initiative is part of the implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed between the bank and the ministry last year, where the Bank has committed to support initiatives to participate in the reforestation of Lesotho and to promote food security through the planting of forest trees as well as fruit trees.
Standard Lesotho Bank has committed an annual budget of M200,000 towards this initiative for a period of three years.
About 43 villages have been identified for the planting of trees this year in all the districts of the country, where the Bank staff, together with government officials and the public planted trees.
The bank’s acting head of marketing, Manyathela Kheleli indicated that tree planting forms part of the bank’s Social, Economic and Environmental (SEE) strategic imperative, where the Bank promotes initiatives geared towards the management and control of greenhouse gases and the sustainability of the green environment.
The event was attended by senior government officials, the Principal Chief of Thaba Bosiu, Chief Khoabane Theko and the military, led by Lieutenant General, Mojalefa Letsoela, school children and members of the community.
