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MCST LAUNCHES LESOTHO NEEDS ASSESSMENT TECHNOLOGY

The Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology through the Department of Science on Friday launched Lesotho needs Assessment Technology.
The technology needs assessment is one of the key programmes of the United Nations Technology Bank that assists least developed countries to identify technologies required to meet national development aspirations.
Speaking at the event, the Director of Science, Mr. Lefa Thamae said the ministry has conducted research to study what Basotho need to be helped with in order to enhance economic growth.
He noted that the ministry has two projects in the pipeline that will be invented this month thus diversification of technology and producing dairy products on a large scale, saying the government has allocated money to the Ministry of Agriculture for this project to be a success.
He said the United Nations and other relevant stakeholders are willing to help Lesotho in case the government runs out of money.
Giving his presentation, the Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Lesotho, Prof. Olusola Isaac Fajana said the rapid development in information and communication technology has greatly influenced the process of education in the past few years.
He said it would be enormous not to acknowledge the role technology has played and continues to play in the provision of higher education and the advent of COVID-19.
when talking of the research function, he said the development to smooth out the process of investigations started in the last part of the 60s when academic researchers began utilizing programming such as SPSS to do complex analyses as opposed to writing them out by hand.
He said the teaching function revealed that the period of the 21st century is generally viewed as the time of technology, which assumes a significant function in our everyday life, saying it is conceivable just through technology that distances are no more obstructions and the educational process can be bought to the student’s doorstep.
The UN Representative to Lesotho, Ms Amanda Khozi Mukwashi congratulated the MCST for successfully completing the Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) report through the support of the United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries.
“On behalf of the UN system in Lesotho, I would like to affirm the continued commitment of the UN system through the cooperation framework to supporting the Kingdom of Lesotho in its mission to strengthen science, technology and innovation and in achieving the targets set in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” she said.
She said Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) is important not only for Lesotho but for all countries, even more so for developing countries, saying for countries to be able to identify critical areas where STI can be more effective to achieve their national development aspirations, the TNA exercise becomes crucial.
She noted that it helps the countries not only identify their needs, but also reflect on their development progress, and collectively agree on entry points, noting that the unique nature of STI is that it cuts across all sectors, therefore, creating opportunities for enhanced stakeholders’ collaboration.
Ms. Mukwashi said she is pleased to see that the MCST has convened a stakeholder’s workshop over the past two days, to allow further reflection on the TNA findings and collectively agree on projects to implement. She said the report recommendations also reaffirm the importance of coordination, collaboration, and partnership in general for Lesotho to achieve its development milestones, especially around STI policy implementation.
she added that access to affordable internet was identified as a cross-cutting technological system for the various priority sectors listed in the report as it is an enabler for sustainable development and supports the growth of ICTs and the digital economy.
The launch comes after the two-day workshop on Lesotho Needs Assessment Technology.
 
By Staff Reporter: ‘Maphoka Likotsi
 

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