WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/78
11December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5240)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
LESOTHO
Statement byTheHonourable LiraA.Motete
Minister ofTrade andIndustry
Letmefirsttakethisopportunity tocongratulate you,Mr.Chairman, onyourappointment
asChairman oftoday'splenary session, which youhaveconducted withutmost ability andcompetence.
Onbehalf oftheGovernment andthepeople oftheKingdom ofLesotho, Iwishtoexpress
oursincere gratitude totheGovernment andpeople ofSingapore fortheirwarm hospitality andexcellent
settingoffacilitiesfortheFirstMinisterialMeetingConferenceoftheWorldTradeOrganization(WTO).
Itisindeed agreat honour tobehere.
Lesotho isalsoindebted totheDirector-General oftheWTO, theGovernments ofNorway,
theRepublic ofKorea, theCzech Republic andtheRepublic ofSingapore andallother partners and
organizationssuchasUNCTAD,whosupported,inparticular,theleastdevelopedcountriesinpreparing
forthisConference aswellasourpresence hereinSingapore. Thisisoneofthetestaments of
commitment toensuring thattheleastempowered Members oftheWTO arebrought intothemain
stream ofthemultilateral trading system. Itisthisspirit ofshared responsibility thatwillenable the
leastdeveloped countries torealize thefruits ofinterdependence andinternational connection ofthe
countries oftheworld.
TheUruguay Round conclusions havesome oftheprincipal tenets astheneworder ofimproved
multilateral trade rules, improved market access, transparency oftrade policies among Members and
binding settlement oftrade disputes. These guiding principles ofWTO presented optimism and
confidence afteracloud ofscepticism thatprevailed prior totheMarrakesh Ministerial Meeting of
theUruguay Round. Suchscepticism wasaresult ofthedisparity indevelopment levels between the
developed, developing andleastdeveloped countries. When theconclusions oftheUruguay Round
thatweremade inthespirit ofcompromise tookintoaccount thespecial problems faced bytheleast
developed countries suchasprevailing structural rigidities andunderdeveloped export capacities, trust
prevailed inourworking.
However,thecommitmentsmadebytheindustrializedpartnersincludingmorefavourablemarket
access andincreasing official development aidflowtotheleastdeveloped countries withthepurpose
ofdeveloping theirhuman resources, health andphysical infrastructure inorder tocreate aconducive
investment environment havenotbeenfullyrealized. Theefforts oftheleastdeveloped countries to
restructuretheireconomiesthroughsoundmacroeconomicpoliciesandstructuraladjustmentprogrammes
inorder todevelop competitive urgehave notbeen equally matched bysupport measures from
cooperating partners.
./.WT/MIN(96)/ST/78
Page2
Itisourconsidered viewthatwhile wearegrasping themastering ofthenewWTO mechanism,
instruments andcommitments aswellasapplying ourminds totheunfinished business orbuilt-in agenda
ofWTO, issues onwhich consensus hasnotyetbeenreached should besubjected tofurther analysis
anddialogue before theycanbebrought toformal negotiations fora. Wereferinthiscasetotheissues
ofextending thecoverage ofWTO intoareas ofcompetition policy, investment andsocial dimension.
Weareaware thatthere isnorealconsensus onwhether ornottheWTO should initiate any
discussions oncompetition laws. Wealsorecognize thatnotmany SADC andother African countries,
Lesotho included, havedomestic lawsoncompetition. However, theneedforsuchlawsisbecoming
increasingly important asaresult oftradeliberalization andinvestment regimes accompanied byrapid
privatization ofstateowned enterprises. There isneedtherefore tohaveinternational obligations to
shareandexchangeinformationonanti-competitionpracticesbyinternationalfirms,andclearmultilateral
rulestodealwithanti-competition practices. But,aprocess ofconsultation onelements andprinciples
ofconsideration mustfirstbeagreed uponandtherealities ofnational economic development should
betaken intoaccount.
WeinLesotho recognize thatoneofthemostimportant ingredients ofdevelopment ofLesotho 's
economy isanexport-led strategy. Thedevelopment ofourmanufacturing sector intobeing
internationally competitive notonlyinterms ofgenerating export earnings butalsoincurbing the
alarming unemployment situation isthekeytooursuccess. Inthiscontext, more preferential access
tothemarkets ofourtrading partners isofcritical importance. Itisinthesame veinthatthethreats
pertaining totheerosion ofthepreferential margins inourtraditional markets areofgreat worry to
us.
Theissue ofbringing thedisciplines ofinvestment intothemultilateral regime requires a
comprehensive understanding, andthatshould beenhanced through dialogue among partners before
resorting toformal negotiations, lestwefindourselves jumping ontoanexpress trainaimlessly without
asense ofdestination.
Withregard tofairlabour rights, Lesotho hasatripartite arrangement thatinvolves theLabour
Unions, theAssociation ofEmployers andGovernment toaddress labour matters. Wehaveanew
labour codefairtoallkeyplayers. However, wefeelthattheissue oflabour standards canbestbe
handled bytheInternational Labour Organization.