Fumane Pule
The Lesotho Tourism Development Corporations (LTDC) Chief Executive Officer Mpaiphele Maqutu revealed that the corporation has embarked on the construction of a visitors facility at Semonkong waterfall.
The facility is expected to have 80-seater restaurant, information centre, site museum depicting Semonkong history, curio shop and craft markets, internet cafe horse stable, amphitheater, view deck and picnic site. The construction is on the Southern part of the gorge, Maqutu said.
He added, 60% of the construction works is almost complete and the project is expected to be finalized by the end of October 2019.
The CEO added that on a different project, the Corporation has handed over the Molimo-Nthuse Lodge & Pony trekking, the facility which had been lying fallow for more than ten years, to a private local operator Molengoane Lodge Pty in February 2019 with the view to revamp.
We signed a 20 year agreement with the operator, he said.
He added, The construction and renovation works have started and it is expected that the restaurant will start operating in July 2019 whilst the rest of other facilities will be up by November 2019.
Maqutu concluded that in spirit of community participation and beneficiation through tourism, the corporation has started sensitising communities living around both in Semonkong and Molimo-Nthuse areas for possible business opportunities.
The facilities are a wealth of opportunities for communities around the tourism destinations and we have embarked on advocacy sensitisation for them to look at different business ventures, Maqutu said.
