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Djs petition PM

Business

Chris Theko

The Disk Jockey Association of Lesotho (DJALE) has appealed to the Prime Minister (PM) Dr Moeketsi Majoro to open the entertainment industry to curb the increasing rate of unemployment in the country.

DJALE is an association which is trusted for the protection of DJs’ human rights and promotion of their work.    

In a letter dated September 07th, DJALE indicated that the PM is well aware that Lesotho has a ticking time bomb in a form of unemployment as per various studies by development partners together with the Bureau of Statistics.

“We, as DJALE in the entertainment industry have taken it upon ourselves to curb the spread of unemployment by not relying on government to hand us jobs. Despite our efforts to comply with the Public Health (COVID-19) (Risk Determination and Mitigation Measures) regulations 2021 we as Dee Jays and musicians have been at the receiving end since clubs and social spaces have been closed.

“We solely depend on events and renting out sound systems for such in a bid to earn a living. To further illustrate how the regulations have had impact on us take notice of the following ills: [we are] unable to pay rent at our places of residence which puts us at odds with landlords, hunger, insurance policies have lapsed, unable to pay staffers whom we have hired, closure of bank accounts and unable to pay school fees for our children”, say the Djs in the letter.

They state as an example, that one of them, Rethabile Lekometsa or DJ Rochester, languishes in jail in Klerksdorp, South Africa and as colleagues and fellow countrymen, they are unable to help since the industry has been closed.

“We ask that entertainment spots be opened in compliance with the regulations put in place,” further said the letter.

DJALE President Malefetsane Tsoeliane – known as Davertz or Nkobonyane said since the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, the entertainment industry has been stuck whereas other industries in the country are freely carrying out their everyday duties. He indicated that now they are beginning to see the restrictions as biased. He highlighted that to accommodate all these conditions, they have had to resort to taking part-time piece-jobs since at the end of the day they still have to live.

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