IGF 2025 - Day 3 - Workshop Room 2 - Open Forum #54 Advancing Lesotho’s Digital Transformation Policies

>> LETSATSI LEKHOOA: Okay. Thank you so much. My name is from Letsatsi Lekhooa, Nation of Lesotho. Thank for coming and we are going to have some speakers online and in person, as you can see, we have the minister of ICT and honorable Ms. Nthati Moorosi and have the honorable Mr. Lekhotsa Mafethe as moderator as our speaker on site, and going to have Dr. Tahieho on line and PS principal secretary Mr. Kanono Ramashamole.

Session today is advancing Lesotho's digital transformation through policies and practices. Going to do it here just to share. 

>> KANONO RAMASHAMOLE: Progress done as a country and challenges that are opportunities and also, we want to collaborate with you in terms of digitize and how to upgrade our understanding in the digital platforms.

And also, we just want to introduce you to national digital priorities and present the country's policy and action for the digital transformation strategy and with the recent initiatives ICT ministry and showcase implementation example that we have done.

Also encourage dialogue across sectors to bring together the government, academia, and development partners and civil society to reflect on the progress. Also want to explore institutional roles in digital ecosystem and also want to align with the global agenda like WSIS, and also how we can work together as the IGF also.

Thank you can so much. Welcome Honourable Moorosi, invitation to give you key place. Thank you. Honourable Ms. Nthati Moorosi, moderator for this session.

 

>> HONOURABLE NTHATI MOOROSI: Great to be here. Welcome you all Lesotho session of Intergovernment Governance 2025. Invited you to be here today to share our Lesotho journey, help us reflect on it. Share experiences, best practices form partnerships that create meaningful and lasting impact for our people, Lesotho as they are known.

Our mission is clear. We want to build connected, secure, inclusive, and resilient Lesotho by 2030. Toward this mission, our national digital transformation strategy is the compass towards closing the digital divide, fostering innovation, and creating society where every citizen can fully participate in the digital age.

Ultimately, the kingdom of Lesotho will see the increased economy growth implemented, improved public service and enhanced social inclusion. Areas for digital transformation are payments, digital identity, connecting all government offices including those in the rural and remote areas as well as health centers and schools.

The government of Lesotho started with digital payments of the grants. Recently today, 60% of the elderly received monthly payments through the mobile platform. Aim is to transition all social assistance payments from cash to digital platforms, money platforms as soon as possible for the convenience of recipients.

Our elderly, often people with disabilities, indeed everybody, everyone should not have to travel long distance to receive social grants or pensions. In addition to the inconvenience, that administrators associated with cash payments are significant. Costs for 2024, Ministry of Social Development reported that the monthly expenses for managing social grants exceeded total amount in grants. This underscores need for digital payment channels, which are more efficient, cost effective and, indeed, secure.

In the education sector, we aim to ensure that all our schools are meaningfully connected by 2030. However, achieving connectivity goal requires access to electricity. We must urgently address the electricity access gap to ensure that the remaining schools are all connected.

Situation is similar for health sector. We also aim to connect all of them across country by 2030 still. While this is an ambitious goal for the government, we believe it is achievable through the right partnership and collaboration. Universal access to our foundation with goal of achieving 100% broadband coverage and at least 75 percent electricity access expanded infrastructure to reach even the most remote areas.

Initiatives like smart village and improved off‑grid solutions should help us achieve our goals. Society first spotlight provider recently StarLink, and with that, we hope to address connectivity challenges that are compounded by the fact that Lesotho is among 10 countries and there was difficult to achieve 100% coverage through the traditional transfer base system for locations remote and challenge satellites will provide much needed coverage, thereby leaving no area in the country behind.

While access is critical, it is not enough. We are waiting to secure digital rights through legislation on cybersecurity data protection, electronic transactions.

Satellite security bill currently being redrafted following feedback we received from several stakeholders and relevant parliamentary portfolio committee. Developing national cybersecurity strategy to create safe and trust the digital environment for all of our Lesotho nation.

Already digital literacy is key for inclusion. Today, just 30% of our people have basic ICT skills, which are changing that by investing in digital education e‑teacher training and industry partnerships.

Ensuring all Lesotho especially women, youth and underserved populations, are equipped to thrive, we are equally focusing on fostering e‑commerce. Top priorities creating environment where young people, seize the opportunities of by digital community, equipping them with the tools and resources to succeed.

Lesotho youth can tap into diverse remote work opportunities across freelancing digital marketing, online tutoring, and other e‑commerce activities. IT, customer support, creative industries, provided they have access to reliable internet, digital device relevant training, affordable data, and fostering ability to engage with local markets and global markets drive economy and parliament. Mislink currently drives Parliament. Map all the addresses digitally to ensure that all citizens are found on the digital map and that is one of the key requirements for digital identity and key enabler for e‑commerce.

It is important for me to mention that we recognize that transformation cannot happen in isolation, hence hosting of session today, which is reflection of our whole of society approach, government, private sector, civil society, and all of you goal partners working together with us.

To those of you here today with us, we extend the hand of collaboration. Help us to turn the strategy into impact. We seek partnerships to build the infrastructure that would close digital divide and unlock opportunities for every Lesotho. Mountainous villages to the capital, classrooms, and marketplaces, with your expertise, your investment, your shared commitment, we can strengthen connectivity foster cybersecurity, foster skills, and grow innovation ecosystem that business benefits all. Let us walk forward together. Digitally empowered Lesotho where no one is left behind. Thank you very much. 

[applause]

>> LETSATSI LEKHOOA: Thank you so much. We thank you so much for the well‑resourced representation and keynote address.

And now, we are going to Mr. Kanono Ramashamole to focus on the ICT policies that we are on and what we want to achieve in the future. So Mr. Kanono, the stage is yours. Thank you.

>> KANONO RAMASHAMOLE: Thank you very much. Let me start by recognizing the present honourable ministers and distinguished guests. That have joined this session.

From the ministers, let me start by just making a few comments on minister's remarks. She talked about the need to drive detailed public plus chat approach towards digital transformation. She also mentioned the issue of e‑commerce. We all know Lesotho has big challenge with youth unemployment we believe Lesotho transformation will provide some solutions to this challenge.

You asked me to elaborate on the policies that we are putting in place, but let me just start with our digital transformation strategy.

Our digital transformation strategy is five pillars. So first piece, enabling environment where we define the policies and legislations regulations that are required to provide digital transformation. Second one is digital government where taken the decisions to drive it through DPI and approach.

I just walked out of another session on DPI where we are discussing where we were as a country and challenges we are facing. Minister is right to say we are looking for partners to assist us walk this journey.

The other pillar, third one, is the digital infrastructure mentioned. To that, we recently licensed tele‑service provider to improve our connectivity in the country. We are proud to say we now have 100% coverage in the Lesotho. Challenge regarding affordability and also access to devices.

Fourth one is digital population. Now, this is where we are saying in order to make sure that we try inclusion, we have to make sure that people adequately skilled at all levels from the bottom level to basic level to advanced level in digital skills.

Last one is digital population, digital business. This is now we think we have potential to actually change the lives of our people through digital. We may know that African sometimes back and knows what now mature framework for free trade in Africa, which is Africa digital free trade area.

I think two years ago, head of state imposed protocol digital plate. We view as Lesotho that implementation of this lies solely on implementation of the DPR. We believe DPR can implement digital protocol safe and securely using DPIs. Now go straight to my second slide after just given this brief introduction. I just want to share what we have done so far as what we hope to achieve in the next three, to four years.

Let me try to move to the next slide. Okay. Here it is.

So far, we have been fortunate that our cabinet has approved the digital transformation strategy, digital organizing the way we do ICT in the country and within the government. We have completed ICT governments framework. We have also signed DPI pilot with Mosik. Very early stages.

Just a few weeks ago, we approved to take digital solution. We'll be moving to second phase of validating data and setting up hardware for sandboxes required second phase on the signing MOU approved by the covenant with ministry in India. ICT, we have also developed and validated a couple of policies on intelligence policy, data management policy, and broadband and infrastructure sharing policy.

Two weeks ago, conducted DPI awareness with Trump. These are the things we have done so far, working number of initiatives that will have accelerate our digital transformation. First one will be offering in the government internet very soon. Expecting to be put through that early next week.

We have also started using our data center, that it remains dormant for many years. Currently have two services running in the data center, like I mentioned, mostly pilot is in progress.

We are also working on the digital literacy programs through our service fund, giving these skills to the teachers and teachers will teach the children, children will teach the parents. And we are also contacting contracting for consultant to help us with the entity architecture and intraoperability. In order to implement EMRTS, not only in the society use, but across the border, we need data exchange platform and framework, data robust. Hope in the third quarter of this year, will expand connectivity to the councils and DA's office.

Remember I said we still have that challenge of accessibility of digital connection even though we are 100% own source and tools be our platform for people don't have devices to be able to access internet and, ultimately, the government e‑services, working government e‑services platform. Start building services.

Also working with the ministry of education on GIGA project. Moving ahead as planned. We'll be doing GIGA mapping and financing. This will also be complemented by our efforts through the fund. We hope that by end of financial year, we'll have cybersecurity bills approved by the Parliament, then able to move to development of our national cybersecurity strategy.

We are also waking with the Ministry of Home Affairs, review current protection of Personal Data Act of working with African union and GIZ to ensure that we have very solid data governance policy, number of initiatives they want to start as early as possible.

If you can see on my slide, which have the development of government digital group prints, we are fortunate that this initiative has actually moved because with the help of European Union, we'll able to start working on this initiative. I think six weeks, with the government of Estonia, EU is making argument for our team to have in Estonia in six weeks.

We are also on the infrastructure working on the explanation of our fiber infrastructure as the minister said. Plan to accelerate the connectivity to the health committee and other government offices.

If you see on the slide here towards, especially if we can look for DFI for cross‑border, we are talking with countries in the region. Southern region preferably start testing cross‑border the ID verification and data exchange. We believe this initiative will enable the two governments to implement some decisions that were made to Jordan B and C.

Minister mentioned national address system, we also moving this one up in 2026, probably start working each toward end of this year or in the next year. Office of city implementing of the digital agency, we are concludes contract with the consultant because this is the agency that will now be forecast on digital transformation.

At the moment, we are doing all of these efforts within the municipal industry, which is difficult for us because of the ministry we deal with, a lot of issues, so we think this agency that is forecasted digital transformation will move at a faster pace than what we are currently doing.

Then we'll be also looking at the satellite application. We have MOUs with other countries we want to pursue in terms of satellite and applications. As you can see, there's a lot late this minute. As I said, we need a lot of partners to work on this with us. Thank you.

>> LETSATSI LEKHOOA: Thank you so much. This is really exciting to see that government doing well and we are hoping to work with other countries and with other partners and do IGF.

Said our theme is on multistakeholder engagement, trying to find ways to work together as the country because we can work together. And once we are working in silo is not going to achieve more. When we are working together, achieve more.

Minister said, most of the time, focusing on digitization in the communities. Minister, minister offices also. But now, we are going to focus on digitization Parliament, our parliamentarian to be digitized and be skilled in digitization. Honourable Mr. Lekhotsa Mafethe, would you share the process of digital transformation of parliament of Lesotho. Thank you.

>> HONOURABLE MR. LEKHOTSA MAFETHE: Thank you to you Mr. Mr. Letsatsi Lekhooa. Hi everybody. Honourable ministry, thank you for letting me be a part of panel today. my name is Honorable Lekhotsa Mafetha, member of parliament from the Lesotho ministry assembly and member of APNIC. So today, through you, Mr. Moderator, by the way, I think everyone should take note that this society right now busy trying to engage as much as possible to ensure that what we have current policies and what we try to create, we bridge such boundaries where we are now start engaging with youth as opposed to not engage with youth. Now youth quite a lot part of this to the ministry, but up to you for such an engagement.

First topic is Digital Parliament process. Objective is to digitize Lesotho National Assembly to make it paperless, placing papers bills put forth by members of the National Assembly through communities, bill brought from government ministries, private members' bills and those by public participation, and to give the public access to the same bills digitally.

There is abilities and possibilities to the digitization of parliament. Quite notably, currently provide access to MP's to participate either in the physical form in the digital assembly or with any mobile device from anywhere in the world.

Ministry of Communications is also committed to initiate livestreaming link for Parliament proceedings to be made available through its sessions through dedicated web page and other social media tools like YouTube, Facebook, and others that might be recording and archiving sessions through digital library.

Provide voting button to remote by MPs from any location and to develop remote gatherings, develop a register for MPs for Parliament to attend in‑house today's session.

True testament of the digital transformation that Ministry of Communications has taken where broadcast today live in our country where there is no journalist rather than coordination national broadcasting entity including IGF secretary at the UN government. So for us, it's actually quite a pleasure to say we've done the part that is noticeable today for all to see.

On second note, the parliament legal frameworks, as Minister of Communications highlighted in one of our sessions the other day, the PS just noted policy in place and A.I. policy in place, which now it would be ideal for the ministry to bring it to parliament to discuss and bring about bill to it. That, in itself, open up a door for tech enthusiasts to start exploration of duty‑supported technology without any form of doubt.

Now, there's one challenge that we really need to go through because now think about digitization, talk about AI, control measures posted to be put in place, more especially because now, it's now in a different landscape all together, so which is our cybersecurity bill, computer crimes bill.

Through multistakeholder engages from both media facilities human rights, civil society, and got ministries, our prime minister committees realized that we need to unbound both bill and let each bill have its own policies and merits its own side, so define with ease its own merits on public consumptions without the other over‑shadowing the other. That will still be the initiative that ministry and all other stockholders I believe that so busy all preparing to engage so that we can get at least one bill in the house.

In conclusion, to my fellow MPs present in Norway for the IGF, my fellow countrymen, Africans at large and other citizens from the group as a whole, quite especially important for us to realize that human intervention AI, I believe, should coexist for generations to come. Neither can operate without the other. Not be the ideal situation where improbability is left out of the equation by both machine and men as might be the perception for many.

To you, Celine, and the UN secretary, I want to see you smile. Thank you for such an opportunity of putting us on such a big stage, able to put out what Lesotho has achieved through your help and entities that have been there and friends of our country. And to the Norwegian government, thank you for the hospitality and IGF's lights shine at night. We thank you for being here. (non‑English language)

>> LETSATSI LEKHOOA: Thank you so much. I want to note indeed good platform for you parliamentarians to show importance of being parliamentarian, and you just removed the perception about being parliamentarian and we can see well‑resourced parliament, we think, who we trust you that you will travel parliament Lesotho to better future. Thank you so much.

And now we are going to move to the roadmap where we want to go. She's a minister of ICT, one of our resources in the country in terms of the digitalization. Share about the digital transformation strategy where we want to go, agenda 2030 and we know that IGF itself is focusing on the SDGs and what we want to achieve in the next five years. We just moved from last 20 years, but now, we want to say the next five years, where are we going. Thank you.

>> HONOURABLE MS. NTHATI MOOROSI: Good afternoon everyone. Sorry. My name is as explained. Just going to run through what united system is assisting ministries generally on the digital transformation. Mr. Lekhotsa Mafethe and I will specifically be sitting with the new UNDB, focus on the what UNDP is doing. 

What is currently engaging the ministry's team mostly is the development of digital skills, assessment of youth, the women, and people living in vulnerable conditions.

The study that we concluded found that most women are not digitally skilled compared to men, so we have digital skills agenda, digital skills gap that must be addressed. Do that UNDP and government partner to go set up training centers in village,s identified 40 villages where we can pilot this approach where we place one digital champion in the village of those 40 villages and they will every since EU single day, get to work to impart skills to the community focusing on the population of interest which is woman, youth, and people with disabilities.

We have also noticed that we are doing work that we have not baseline. Instead of being pedantic and trying to start with the baseline, we started with the work, then refine a digital readiness assessment in the coming months because local capacity that we operating under, demand may be pragmatic. May not always do things by the book but work has to be done. That is what we're doing.

Had the principal secretary talk challenges to UNDP, other partners working on addressing the issue of electricity, are mini grids built in five districts to serve 10,000 handouts been accomplished. Put a dent in the access gap that we have in the Lesotho as far its registry. Currently, efforts are underway to scale up the access to electricity partners EU and other agencies, but aim is to still have the 75% of the population at least connected to electricity by 2030. Conversations with Ministry of Energy, we have agreed that 75% may be not ambitious enough and we have continual difficultly. Agreed with them that while 75% will not be removed from the books, target will be 100% on our minds.

Now, where the most challenge lies is with the skills, technical skills, of people who have to implement this project need boosting. Also, this needs financing. When I was talking about the training of youth and woman in the villages, the reason we are starting with 40 sites instead of entire country is because that project has to be funded and current funding confines us to that number of 40 instead of entire population, but if we are talking about entire population where 14% have what we call moderate skills, and majority have very low skills, you can understand the magnitude of the problem. But we are not deterred. We are working on this. It's our mission every single day to make it better for Lesotho.

So I will just conclude by emphasizing the areas where support is needed. Technical infrastructure needs to be improved, but talking here about access to devices, talking about data centers, talking about networks themselves, we are also talking about basis have indicated having a digitally proficient workforce within government.

If we are transforming means of government or public servant, has to be sufficient to proficient in using digital channels to do their work, to deliver services, or to access government service themselves.

We are also talking about the readiness of the entire population. If government is going to be delivering services online, it means entire population must be ready to receive those services through those channels.

So the call to action is for those willing and with means to partner with us in delivering the digital vision of Lesotho. Thank you.

>> LETSATSI LEKHOOA: Thank you so much. Really appreciate the progress that is done by the country and to the vision for the country in terms of digitization, and we hope that government of Lesotho will wed together with other organizations, other countries, because sometimes you also need to benchmark on what other countries are doing, and also to learn from other countries. So now, I think we are going to come to the end of our discussion, but now, we are going to allow questions and comments from the floor.

>> ABUCARIM: Thank you. I hope you can hear me. Thank you. Good afternoon to everybody. My name is Abucarim, professor of wireless communications from University of Nigeria.

Let me start by commending panelists from the honourable minister to everybody that spoke on those wonderful presentations.

I have about two questions. First one is we need to benchmark in what we're going to go. Need to understand some of the things you guys are doing. Serve us from other part of our frequent actually emulate. I know it's Lesotho low country. When you were talking telecom structure, never said anything about challenges in terms of having access to telecom, bringing in telecom service in landlocked country especially when it comes to fiber.

How do you get connections to the Atlantic cable? In one, GIGA project is one of the ITU initiatives. Can you share with us successes of the GIGA project. A lot of African countries to the GIGA project. Learn from these already in the GIGA project, how is this GIGA project improving life of ordinary people of Africa? Thank you so much.

>> KANONO RAMASHAMOLE: Thank you so much for those questions. Start with question on the connectivity. How do we get connectivity when we are landlocked?

>> MS. NTHATI MOOROSI: Thank you for that question. The speaker from Lesotho is actually shareholder in the WEOG submarine cable. When the cable came on few years, even though shareholder, doesn't have service lending in the country because we are landlocked and some agreements had to be established with service provider in South Africa to enable us to eventually have the service in Lesotho.

Now through by literal agreements as indicated to able to get transition through South Africa where need to get to important option so that whenever there's a problem with the telecables have connectivity to the rest of the world.

For that to happen, mostly we have set up internet exchange point in the country to ensure that at least local traffic can stay local even if we have problems what we consider critical internet infrastructure in Lesotho exchange point for that specific reason.

We are landlocked and if ever we lose connectivity on the links through the other countries, it is not up to us to speed up any kind of false on the other side the border, but we depend on our neighbors to do that at least we should be able to communicate locally even if not internationally, but satellite comes to the rescue.

As far as question of connectivity goes, hasn't been easy to remain difficult, but it's doable with collaboration with the neighbors. Tend to answer the question on the GIGA project to say that through the support of Unicef only starting to implement the GIGA project. If you look at the map of schools that are connected through the Giga project. Very few. We're very beginning owned above the Giga project. Universal Service Fund connecting schools started with 20 schools last year. Rolling out 20 schools every six months or every year depending on budget that's available. Thank you.

>> KANONO RAMASHAMOLE: Thank you so much. Celine.

>> CELINE: Thank you very much. So my name is Celine from the IGF Secretariat. Honour to be part of the panel. Second time at the IGF, also through the rest of the panel.

Also to Mr. Molupe, thank you for providing overview different strategies from the ministry and also from the Parliament and UNDP collaboration.

So it's perhaps more comment than a question. I wanted to let you know IGF Secretariat has vast pool of networks and because you are doing this call for partnerships, I really want you to know you can reach out to us depending on the kind of support that is required and we can connect you with different stakeholders part of our forum since quite some years now. Really interested in willing to work together with different ministries.

And also perhaps interesting for you, because you're managing DPI, colleague here will be organizing later this afternoon 4:15 to 7:15 session on DPI mapping stakeholders.

Perhaps this could be also very interesting initiative to get to know some other DPI‑related executives. This is basically just my comment. One last question perhaps to Mr. Lekhotsa Mafethe.

Initiatives going in the parliament, to what extent are you collaborating with other members of Parliament and the region? What are good practices? What can you take on from others' that practices did not work so well? What extent are you collaborating across the borders? Thank you so much.

>> KANONO RAMASHAMOLE: Thank you so much. Thank you for the comments and suggestions. Just policies, 30 seconds.

>> MR. LEKHOTSA MAFETHE: Thank you for the question. Collaboration with other members of parliament were achieving, speaking for myself right now, through APNIC, through School of Intergovernment Governance and through the IGF, we've been able to learn quite a lot and mostly in policy accommodation. Now able to get ministries in‑house and able to actually give them what the world is doing so that government ministries can push further as compared to where they were in the past.

I think, in my case, better communication, better implementation, as I said, with some changes. Today as opposed to last year, sitting such on a platform. Able to give out as much information as we were able to. Now, through such initiatives, learned a lot, been able to actually give out a lot to fellow government employees. Not been until I got here.

>> KANONO RAMASHAMOLE: Thank you so much. Togo.

>> TOGO MIA: Good afternoon. My name is Togo Mia from South Africa. Serve on South Africa's internet government and the forum as well. Multi‑stakeholder committee. Representative of civil society. We have a skilled institution of technology, skilled institution in South Africa that is predominantly working with women and girls in rural underserved, unconnected area townships and flat areas like this.

For any perspective, really curious because I know, Honourable, you mentioned that project you have with ambassadors in rural areas and the skills and teaching. I was hoping that you can highlight some more frameworks that you're using, able to bridge the connectivity gap, one especially where you feel concerned in providing them affordable access, affordable connectivity, and then also, again, connectivity in terms of skills, and also, whether are you able to open to collaboration around these particular activities and engagements. How can we as SDP and SA connect with you?

>> KANONO RAMASHAMOLE: Thank you so much.

>> MS. NTHATI MOOROSI: Already raising up your hand to collaborate with us.

>> TOGO MIA: In upscaling our women, Honourable Ms. Nthati Moorosi said eloquently biggest gap is with women, gender disparity we need to close, like to learn more from you the skills institution for women. Something we can easily emulate in South Africa as our neighbor. We can learn from you easily. Would like to share more on this, the other questions I think you want to maybe talk to. Thank you.

>> MS. NTHATI MOOROSI: Thank you I'll talk to the question of connectivity, for affordability of connectivity for youth. Youth is a large spectrum. Some of them are still in school. Some are out of school.

The ones still in school get discounted vouchers from the mobile incorporators for internet access. These agreements are done between the minister of education and service providers. What happens is every student, when they go to buy their data, there's some identification that they use so that it can be known that the category and they can get discounted time and data. But rest of the youth, we are still scratching our head, how do we say youth out of school or youth have equal access to digital connectivity.

It's not just about the data about the youth need devices. I'll give you an example. Last year when we're having local IGF organizations we had some demonstrating, and through conversations with them, how they managed to develop the system. And you look at the laptop, see that it has arrived end of life and you wish they could get another one. When are you getting new laptop? This one is no longer fit. Even this one is borrowed. Even this one. I definitely need to be productive, need a new laptop. How I get it? Do not know.

Those kind of questions we are coming to ensure that youth would otherwise be productive if have access to devices. We negotiate time for them, but how do get the devices?

The question being a big question for us because last study, 2023, household study, assessing access to devices, percent of the population, less than half population have access to laptop. That includes youth. Thank you.

>> KANONO RAMASHAMOLE: Thank you so much. Saying she can speak the whole day and think you can catch her after the session.

Okay, first of all, we need to thank the IGF for the secretariat, everyone in here. You're all champions and ready to work with you as the country Lesotho as a lot saying (non‑English language)

That says we want you to come together as a country to say let's come together and work together. Thank so much for the opportunity. Thank you so much.

[Applause]