The Minister of Trade and Industry, Honourable Joshua Setipa will be formally introduced to the Staff of the Lesotho National Development Corporation at an event to be held in the main LNDC Boardroom at 1400Hrs on Thursday the 9^th April, 2014. The Minister will also outline his vision for the next five years.

Honourable Joshua Setipa is the former LNDC CEO. Prior to the LNDC post, he served as a Senior Advisor to the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from 2005 to December 2011.

His core competencies are in the areas of economic development, regional and global trade and economic issues as well as resource mobilization for capacity building.

He has over 15 years of experience gained at the national, regional and international levels in developmental issues. He is well experienced in regional economic development issues in Southern Africa, with particular focus on economic sector reform and export diversification issues.

His experience includes working on multilateral trade issues and impact on African economic integration and economic development. He has strengthened and managed WTO relationships with global institutions including the World Bank, IMF, UN Specialized Agencies and regional institutions including African Union, African Development Bank and Regional Economic Communities.

Honourable Setipa has formulated successful strategies that mobilized commitments to double global aid for trade commitments by 2010 to $6 billion. He has also worked as an overseer of all WTO capacity building programmes totalling over $30 million per year.

The Minister holds an MBA from the University of Bradford in the UK, as well as a Graduate Diploma in International Trade and International affairs from ANU in Canberra. He completed his BA in Political Science at NUL in Roma, Lesotho.

He returns to LNDC at a Ministerial post after serving as the CEO for a period of two years. Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) is the main parastatal of the Government of Lesotho charged with the implementation of the country’s industrial development policies. The mandate of the Corporation is to “initiate, promote and facilitate the development of manufacturing and processing industries, mining and commerce in a manner calculated to raise the level of income and employment in Lesotho.”