The Minister of Communications Science and Technology, Mr Tšoinyana Rapapa on Thursday launched the High-Performance Computing (HPC) at the event held in Mohale’s Hoek.
In his launch speech, Mr. Rapapa expressed gratitude to the Republic of South Africa for the generous gift of the High-Performance Computer (HPC).
He noted that he has been briefed on the magnitude of work that this facility can perform at great speed and accuracy.
He said it will greatly benefit the country in various fields including engineering, health, mining, retail, energy production, education, media, and entertainment.
He stressed that this facility when well and effectively used can be a boon to the country’s economy.
He expressed gratitude to the Centre for High-Performance Computing (CHPC) for offering support in setting up the facility and has also offered training to Lesotho system administrators and technicians.
“This has gone a long way in making us ready to fully benefit from the HPC facility. We are looking forward to having some of the officials visit the HPC Facility in Cape Town for hands-on training,” he said, adding that It is their intention to have certified HPC administrators and technicians to manage the system on a full-time basis.
He, therefore, urged the researchers, and various ministries to fully utilise the system, saying there might be hiccups in the beginning, however, assured them that they will get there.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister-Higher Education Science and Innovation, Mr. Edward Rakate commended the government of Lesotho for pursuing this great initiative, saying this will help Basotho in the long run.
He noted that the HPC has ultra-modern systems which will enhance service delivery in the country.
High performance computing (HPC) is the ability to process data and perform complex calculations at high speeds. To put it into perspective, a laptop or desktop with a 3 GHz processor can perform around 3 billion calculations per second. While that is much faster than any human can achieve, it pales in comparison to HPC solutions that can perform quadrillions of calculations per second.
By staff Reporter: ‘Maphoka Likotsi