OURS cannot be a soulless nation where human life has no value and people are brutally massacred at the drop of a penny. We have said this before and we will continue repeating this message until someone finally listens. We will repeat it until the police finally begin to apprehend the cold-hearted criminals and until the government comes up with clear programmes to deal with the scourge of killings which are fast turning us into the murder capital of the world. If need be we will shout from the mountain tops in Mokhotlong and in the valleys of Roma and other low-lying parts of our beautiful but blood-soaked kingdom.

We are well-known for our beautiful dams and flowing rivers which supply South Africa (and very soon Botswana) with water. But the blood of women folk, our men, our youth is also flowing. And it is a relentless flow which can only be stopped if we all put our heads together to end the senseless killings that continue to plague our nation.

Every week there is a report of a brutal killing. We recently reported on the deaths of a 69 year-old man, Nkopane Mokhesi, and his four grandchildren whose their lives were abruptly ended by trigger-happy killers on the night of 24 October 2019 in Ha Molungoa.

Before that we had reported on the murder of well-known former policeman, Makoae Moshoeshoe, who was gunned down in cold blood by an unknown gunman.

In this edition, we report that the family of the slain Mr Mokhesi has fled its Ha Molungoa, Maseru home to seek refuge elsewhere in fear of the unknown killers who could still be in the area and plotting their next round of heartless killings.

What worries us is that while cold-blooded indiscriminate killings have become the order of the day in Lesotho most of these murders remain unresolved.

We have bemoaned the killings of police officers and civilians in equal measure. We have implored our nation to do some serious soul-searching after each cold-blooded murder.

Will the violence ever end? Will this country ever know real peace and respect for its womenfolk, children and other ordinary people if the very people entrusted with their protection have no clues as to the identity of the criminals?

It has been a year and four months since the murders of the five Rothe women in July 2018.  Like many others, the case remains unresolved and more people have been killed since then. That the killings of innocent men, women and children continue with each passing week could be due to the killers believing they will never be brought to account.

The gruesome Ha Molungoa killings are the latest in the long series of violence and killings of men, women and children which continue to taint the history of this country.

We do not have the statistics of how many people, including police officers, are murdered annually in Lesotho, save to say that one life lost is one life too many.

Newly appointed Social Development Minister, Motlohi Maliehe, is worried by the murders and has called for the death sentence for perpetrators.

Mr Maliehe says murderers should immediately be executed than sent to prison where taxpayers’ money was wasted on their welfare. While we are not advocates of the death penalty we share his outrage over the wanton killings.

We continue to lose so many of our people to senseless crime. The situation cannot be allowed to go on any day longer. Something must give. If there is no behavioural change we at least expect the police to apprehend the criminals. The government too, must come up with a clear plan of action to tackle the scourge. Populist calls to mob justice by ministers will not suffice to deal with the problem.

The post Police must act to stop senseless killings appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Moorosi Tsiane

HIGH-Altitude Summer Marathon (HASM) defending champion Teboho Noosi has downplayed his ambitions to defend the title at this year’s edition of the race in Mokhotlong on Sunday.

The 16^th edition of the race will this year have four categories having added the street mile category. Other categories of the race are the five-kilometer, the 21.1-kilometre half marathon and the 42.2km race.

Winners of the main race will pocket M120 000 while the first and second runners-up will pocket M80 000 and M40 000 respectively.

The winners of the five-kilometre race will each get M5 000 while first and second runners-up will pocket M4 000 and M3 400 respectively. In half-marathon the winners will get M20 000 while the second and third placed runner will pocket M12 000 and M8 000 respectively.

Noosi, who finished 11^th in the Soweto Marathon on 3 November this year, said he is targeting a win like all the other athletes although his preparations were poor.

“Everyone goes into a race to win it and I believe that will still be the case this year,” Noosi said.

“I also will be racing to win although the High-Altitude was never on my priorities this year. Instead, I have been focusing on other races outside the country.

“I can’t really say that I had good preparations especially because I had just participated in the Soweto Marathon earlier this month. However, we will see what happens.”

Noosi said he encountered some challenges during his preparations when trying to prepare for the marathon.

“When I ran in the race last year, I had just returned from the Soweto Marathon but this year I wasn’t focused on the High-Altitude…

“Often, when one goes into a competition, they can tell if they are going to win. This time I can feel I am not going to win but we will see how it goes because ultimately, winning or losing is determined by the preparation of other athletes.”

He said he also decided to focus on foreign races because locally there are few races.

“The High-Altitude is the biggest race in the country and it comes in December, so it becomes a challenge for people like myself who take this as a career. You cannot wait for one race the whole year,” Noosi said.

Meanwhile, Lesotho Amateur Athletics Association (LAAA) spokesperson Sejanamane Maphathe says preparations were on track for the High-Altitude with 600 athletes registered.

“Preparations for the race are on right track. The deadline for registration was on Sunday and we have 600 runners registered so far.

“Our target was to get as many athletes as possible however, we didn’t do too well because we failed to attend the exhibition that we normally attend in South Africa. That negatively affected our registrations but we are still satisfied with the numbers that we have.

“We are giving out race packs on Saturday and also a one-mile race for children aged 10 to 15 years,” Maphathe said.

He also said that the majority of local top runners have registered except last year’s female winner Mamoroallo Tjoka, who is still serving her suspension.

“Most of them have registered and we are still expecting a tough battle. One of the top runners who is not competing this year is Tjoka because she is still on suspension,” Maphathe said.

The post All set for High-Altitude Summer Marathon appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Moorosi Tsiane

TSEPANG Sefali came from bench to score a brace that helped Bantu ease to a 3-0 over LMPS in an Econet Premier League match at Setsoto Stadium yesterday.

The win extended Bantu’s lead by eight points ahead of second-placed Matlama who have 19 points. They now have 27 points from nine matches.

LMPS sat back from the first whistle and that gave Bantu room to dominate possession although their seemingly solid defence kept the log leaders at bay.

LMPS came close to scoring 16 minutes into the match through a Roboama Koloti’ header but Tšoanelo Koetle cleared from the goal line.

Bantu’s first attempt came on 24 minutes through a Neo Mokhachane shot inside the 18-yard box but LMPS goalkeeper Sekhoane Moerane easily dealt with the threat.

Bantu’s patience nearly paid off on the half hour mark following a neat exchange of passes between Hlompho Kalake and Lehlohonolo Fothoane who found Mokhachane unmarked inside the penalty area. However, Fothoane squandered the chance.

Lazola Tjokotjokwana came close again at the stroke of half-time but his header missed the target.

Kalake finally opened the scoring in the additional time after receiving Itumeleng Falene’s cross unmarked inside the six-yard box and slotted in while LMPS tried to play an off-side trap.

The match had to be stopped for a few minutes as LMPS players demanded that the goal be ruled off.

Bantu made a double change soon after the break bringing in Sefali and Bokang Sello for Mokhachane and Retselisitsoe Khoete.

LMPS made their own changes on 75 minutes with Kokoana Motlatsi and Tšoarelo Mokoaleli coming in for Tšepo Seturumane and Monyatheli Ntobo.

Frustration got the better of the visitors as they kept conceding fouls.

LMPS made their last change introducing Tanki Makhele for Koloti on 79 minutes.

Although Tjokotjokwana was wasteful, he came to the party on the 80^th minute catching the LMPS defence napping. He made a beautifully weighted pass to Sefali just outside the penalty for the latter to curl into the far corner.

Two minutes later, Bantu made their last change pulling out Tjokotjokwana for Litšepe Marabe.

A few minutes later, LMPS were once again caught on counter and Sefali extended for Bantu placing into the far corner after receiving a defence splitting pass from Lazola.

Bantu coach Bob Mafoso said he was happy with the result.

“It was always going to be tough to play with a team that is sitting back and trying to catch us on the break,” Mafoso said.

“In the first half we struggled to break their wall although we dominated possession. However, in the second stanza we corrected that and I am happy with the performance because I think our substitutes gave us what we wanted.”

On the other hand, LMPS coach Teele Ntšonyana immediately left the field after the final whistle and could not be reached for comment.

The post Sefali sinks LMPS appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Moorosi Tsiane

SWALLOWS’ struggles continued on Sunday after the side drew nil-all with Econet Premier League newcomers Lifofane at Pitso Ground in Butha-Buthe.

The Moeketsi Mohapi coached outfit remains at the bottom of the 14-team Econet Premier League table with five points from nine matches having won one, drawn two and lost six.

Lifofane grabbed the lead in the first stanza with Letsoko Leboela scoring straight from the corner kick.

Swallows leveled the scores through Nkopane Khali in the second half but that was not enough to see them out of the relegation zone.

The draw however, saw Bafokeng Mohapi’s charges keep their place in the top-four of the league.

In other matches on Sunday, Sefotha-fotha drew 1-1 with LCS at PTC Ground. The draw saw Molebatsi Mothobi’s charges move a step up to 12^th with six points. On the other hand, LCS ascended to third with 15 points.

The match between LDF and Kick4Life was postponed after LDF players were hospitalised with suspected food poisoning.

On Saturday Bantu cemented their place at the summit of the league with 22 points after a hard fought 0-1 win over Lijabatho in Morija. Litšepe Marabe was the hero for Bob Mafoso’s side helping them win their seventh.

Lijabatho are 10^th with eight points from nine matches.

Matlama were too hot to handle for Likhopo on Saturday thumping them 1-4 at LCS Ground. Mokoena Khoanyane scored a brace for Tse Putsoa with the other goals coming from Ngaka Kobo and Phafa Tšosane. Morena Mohlominyane scored the consolation goal for the Red Army.

The win kept the Sea Point outfit in second place on the log trailing five points behind leaders Bantu.

Lioli also edged LMPS 1-2 and leapt from sixth to fourth with 14 points. Tsietsi Motšeare and Swirtbirth Kum were on target for Tse Nala with Morena Mohlominyane scoring Likhopo’s lone goal.

Linare drew 1-1 with Liphakoe in Maputsoe. Jerry Kamela scored for Linare while Liphakoe’s goal came from Moeketsi Sephiri. Liphakoe remained second from the bottom with five points while Linare remained ninth with nine points.

The post Swallows’ struggles continue appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Moorosi Tsiane

THE national under-20 soccer team, Makoanyane XI, has upped its preparations for the upcoming COSAFA Cup in Lusaka, Zambia from 4 to 14 December 2019.

Bob Mafoso’s charges will have a five-day long camp in South Africa where they will play two intensive friendlies matches with Wits University on Saturday and the Orlando Pirates Multichoice team on Monday.

Mafoso said his charges depart the country tomorrow morning for Johannesburg where they will play their first friendly on Saturday evening.

He said the two friendlies are the last phase of their preparations before departing to Lusaka next Wednesday.

“The team has been working hard in training and this week we were joined by the CF Rydo’s duo of Katleho and Kananelo Rapuleng who have been missing due to school commitments,” Mafoso said.

“We are leaving on Friday morning and we are hoping to be in Johannesburg by lunch time. We will then play Wits University on Saturday before playing Orlando Pirates Multichoice team on Monday.”

Mafoso said they are playing the two teams because they want the two sides to stretch their players to gauge their preparations.

“South African teams in this age-group are speedy, so playing against them will take us out of our comfort zone because they are going to stretch us. We are also facing speedy teams in the tournament, so the friendlies will help us a lot.

“A fortnight ago, we were in Botswana for two friendlies with their under-20 team. We played our normal possession game winning one and drawing the other match. So, we now want to see how we react when playing a team that forces us to play behind the ball and try to catch them on the break. We are just working on a few remaining aspects of the game that we want to iron out.

“This will also help us play slightly with higher speed and if we can contain these two teams, that means we would be ready for the tournament. We are also in the same group with South Africa and their team is mostly made up of players from the same sides. The friendlies will give us a taste of what to expect,” he said.

Mafoso said in as much as friendlies are not all about winning, the tournament is now close and they must work on their winning mentality.

The former Rovers midfielder said for now he was impressed with his players’ commitment to the cause.

“The players understand each other and its evident that they have been training together. Of course, we still must improve but we are close considering that we still have a long way before the tournament starts. By the time it starts, we will be ready,” Mafoso concluded.

Makoanyane XI leave without attacking midfielder Relebohile Thulo who has school commitments while striker Tšeliso Botsane will join them later this week as he has been sitting for his final examinations.

Makoanyane XI Full squad:

Goalkeeper: Motlatsi Sebapala and Jessy Matsie

Defenders: Molikeng Makhebesela, Tebello Mosoeu, Tieho Ntulo, Mellere Samuel Lebetsa, Retšelisitsoe Lekhula, Tuntu Moroahae, Itumeleng Leche.

Midfielders: Tsele Rankhasa,   Katiso Selili, Katiso Tsepe, Relebohile Thulo, Tsokolo Nyatamana, Katleho Rapuleng, Kananelo Rapuleng, Mohami Percy Mohami.

Forwards: Tšeliso Botsane, Bonang Mohapi, Katleho Sefuthi.

The post Makoanyane XI scale up COSAFA preps appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Moorosi Tsiane

IT is almost three decades after world football icon Edson Arantes do Nascimento aka Pele predicted that an African country would win the soccer World Cup by the year 2000.

Almost 20 years after Pele’s proclamation, an African country is yet to reach either the semis or finals of the world premier football showcase. Still, FIFA president Giovanni Vincenzo “Gianni” Infantino, just like Pele, believes Africa has all it takes to win the World Cup.  For that to happen, African countries must start changing the narrative that European soccer is more superior compared to their domestic leagues.

Infantino said this during his brief visit to Lesotho this week as part of his African tour. He was accompanied by FIFA vice president and CAF president Ahmad Ahmad, secretary general Fatma Samoura, deputy secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, acting head of member associations division Veron Mosengo-Omba, chief executive officer of the FIFA foundation and FIFA legend Youri Djorkaeff, head of communication Onofre Costa, president’s office manager Federico Raviglione, FIFA regional development manager David Fani and FIFA legend and special advisor to CAF president Samuel Eto’o.

Infantino and his delegation met with His Majesty King Letsie III, Prime Minister Thomas Thabane and Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation minister Mahali Phamotse before engaging with the Lesotho Football Association president Salemane Phafane.

The FIFA president is obliged to visit at least 30 countries annually; especially the smaller federations. Among some of the projects that he discussed during the tour are the developments at Bambatha Tsita, Mohale’s Hoek DIFA (district football association) Ground and Mapustoe DIFA Ground where artificial turfs are due to be installed.

The entourage arrived in Maseru on Tuesday afternoon before taking off to Mozambique in the evening of the same day. Although Infantino was expected to visit Malawi, the trip to that country has been postponed and the FIFA boss will now visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this week.

Infantino said there was need to ensure that African competitions were popularised in tandem with the recent drive to sell TV rights for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers across the world. He said it was a milestone that the recent round of qualifiers was being watched across the world giving exposure to African talent.

“Most importantly, we must ensure that we get African investors in African football and also get foreign investment for African football,” Infantino said.

“It’s time we ensure the future of Africa becomes brighter. Those who know me well know that I prefer to speak with facts rather than with words. So, what will take Africa to win the world cup is to ensure that the incredible talent, passion they have is channeled through a little bit of structural organisation and that is what we are trying to do.

“We have put people in place like Advocate Phafane to ensure that we take the right steps and we want to replicate this all over the continent…”

The Swiss-Italian said they were also investing in youth competitions and development.

“We will invest in youth competitions for both boys and girls. We are also looking to increase the number of teams in competitions as well as increasing participants to ensure everyone have a chance to participate.

“We have already increased the number of teams in the World Cup from 32 to 48 and Africa will now have nine and half teams. At first there were only five teams out of 54 and that meant nothing because if you are not one of the big ones then your chances were very slim or you have no chance at all. This is why we have doubled the numbers.

“With such measures being taken, I can say we are not far away from having an African team winning the World Cup.”

He said plans were already in the pipeline to assist LeFA with the construction of new facilities.

“Very soon we will present the projects (football pitches) to LeFA… FIFA has commercialised the rights for World Cup qualifiers meaning that every match a country plays, they have a chance to be watched worldwide. You played here in September and the whole world got a chance to watch that match.

“We must present Africa to the world and ensure that we present the right Africa. We must ensure that each country has at least one state of the art international (standard) football stadium that you can all be proud of,” Infantino said.

The post Africa must change perceptions-FIFA boss appeared first on Lesotho Times.

IN January 2018, the Lesotho Times reported that the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) was investigating allegations of corruption in awarding of the M140 million senate building tender. This publication also reported that the Public Works Principal Secretary, Mothabathe Hlalele (MH), would be questioned over the corruption allegations.

The DCEO subsequently completed its investigations and told this publication that Mr Hlalele would be hauled before the courts to face charges of corruption and abuse of power. However, the acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Hlalefang Motinyane, later said that there was no evidence of corruption against Mr Hlalele in connection to the awarding of the tender.

But Mr Hlalele remains a controversial character with many still accusing him of wielding undue influence in the awarding of tenders.

The Lesotho Times’ (LT) Editor, Herbert Moyo, recently spoke to Mr Hlalele about the controversies surrounding the senate building tender, the royal palace construction, the M380 million Mpilo Boulevard tender and other issues concerning the Public Works ministry’s operations. Below are excerpts of the interview.

LT: By way of introduction can you tell us how long you have been at the Ministry of Public Works and the scope of your work? What does it involve?

MH: Back in 2003 I started working for the government in the Ministry of Employment and Labour as District Labour Officer. I worked more as a legal officer than as a District Labour Officer. In 2005 I was appointed Senior Legal Officer for the Maseru District Council until the end of 2012 when I resigned from government. I wasn’t feeling challenged so I just wanted to try something new in private business and other things. But then in 2015 I was appointed Principal Secretary for Cabinet Administration by Prime Minister Thomas Thabane. A few months later there was a change in government and I continued to work as principal secretary in the new Pakalitha Mosisili government for a year.  Then at the beginning of 2016 I parted ways with the government after they bought me out of my contract. Then in July 2017 when Dr Thabane returned to power I was appointed Principal Secretary for Public Works and this is the position I am still holding.

LS: What does your job actually entail? Please speak to the issue of tenders because this is where there is usually a lot of noise.

MH: The mandate of the Ministry of Public Works is to provide infrastructure for the whole country, be it roads or buildings. For the building infrastructure we have a department called Buildings and Design Services (BDS) and for roads infrastructure, we have the Roads Directorate to deal with roads construction and maintenance. BDS is tasked with maintenance, refurbishment and the construction of new buildings for the government, government departments and ministries. At the Ministry of Public Works we have our own expertise. We have civil engineers, quantity surveyors, architects, electricians, mechanical engineers and all sorts of disciplines which are involved in the construction industry. When a government ministry intends on undertaking a certain project, they first come to us and ask for our advice, the steps to be taken and all that. When the concept has been finalised that particular ministry will take that project proposal to the Ministry of Development and Planning for appraisal. Once the project has been appraised and approved, we quantify the project for budgeting purposes. And then now when the project is budgeted for and the money is available, we will start the processes of implementation upon instructions from the client ministry. That is where we move into the procurement. The procurement is done by Public Works. For example, if we are going to build the mining laboratory, the Ministry of Mining will pay for the notice advert in the Lesotho Times for example. So the tendering process is undertaken by the Ministry of Public Works with an evaluation team that has been appointed by the Public Works ministry.

LT: There are so many tenders out there, but there are some that immediately come to mind which the public would love to hear about, in terms of their status and the controversies surrounding them. There’s the Senate building and the Royal Palace construction. Where are you with all those?

MH: The Senate building case was in the courts of law and the case has been finalised now. The original preferred bidder, Yan Jian, is still the preferred bidder according to the court and I can’t argue with the court. I might have my own opinion, but I won’t argue with the court because once I interrogate the decision of the court it might amount to contempt of court. I have my own opinion but the court has decided the way it has decided.

I am fine with Yan Jian and in any event I never had any interest who got the tender. But I was only interested in the fairness of the process. Who gets a tender is not up to me but it’s the decision of the tender panel. By law I am chairman of the tender panel but I am not the tender panel. The tender panel is comprises of many people and any decision of the tender panel is a collective decision. If there is a disagreement among members of the tender panel, the issue is put to vote and the majority wins. But after the Senate building saga I decided not to sit in the tender panel anymore. I decided not to chair the tender panel and let them do whatever they wanted to do because I didn’t want anybody saying I have influenced anything in any way whatsoever. So the tender panel does its own business and they do it in accordance with the law regarding procurement.

So in a nutshell, the Senate building tender is at a stage where we can now go ahead with the implementation of the project. Last Tuesday I communicated with Clerk of the Senate to say we should go ahead with the implementation of the project. But unfortunately it won’t be in this financial year because the project was not allocated any funds because of the saga surrounding it and all the court cases. So it will have to be taken for appraisal by the appraisal committee of the Ministry of Development Planning so that it is included in the budget of the next financial year. The project can only start being implemented next financial year when funds are available for its implementation.

As for the Royal Palace, I came into this office when the Royal Palace construction was in a comatose state. You wouldn’t know whether it was alive or it was dead because of so many things that surrounded it. There was change in the architect (after the first architect South African company, Palace Architects, withdrew) which really delayed the whole project for so many years and that changed the costs in a way that is substantial. The second architect (Makeka Design Lab headed by Mokena Makeka) also unceremoniously decided to ditch that project. I am still going to take him (Mr Makeka) to task for that because he cost us time and money. There is also information that Mr Makeka is still withholding which we, as the government, paid for. But up to now he still hasn’t released that information which is needed for the interior décor of the Royal Palace. Subsequently we engaged another interior décor after Makeka ditched us. The new architect Solebi and Blacksmith Joint Venture has been in constant communication with Their Majesties to see how everything should be done because we have to get their input and do everything they say.

I am satisfied with the progress made as far as the Royal Palace is concerned although we have had some problems with late payments due to the financial system we have installed. Sometimes it delays payments and those delays subsequently cause delays in the construction programmes of the contractor. It also causes us to incur additional expenses but unfortunately there is nothing we can do about that. But the Royal Palace is now at a stage where the building is complete and we are now dealing with decoration part of the building. We are now waiting some furnishings for the interior décor which will only arrive around April or May 2020 and by June I believe that everything will be perfectly done and finished. I believe that by July there will be a huge ceremony where there will be the handing over of the Royal Palace.

LT: You say that you are still going to take the Makeka’s to task, what does that mean? What exactly are you planning to do?

MH: They are withholding information and that is unethical because that information does not belong to them. It belongs to us because we paid them to deliver that information. It was part of the contract. And now, if for one reason or another we have a misunderstanding I don’t believe they are entitled either legally or professionally to withhold information which is not theirs but ours. We will write to the association for architects in South Africa where Mr Makeka is a member to say that we are not satisfied with one of your members.

We haven’t decided to go to court because we haven’t reached that stage. If they oblige and release the information then we have no reason to go to court. But if they will persist with the withholding of information we are definitely going to court and demand the information because it belongs to us, not to them.

LT: We have had the Queen II demolition project becoming an issue and some people from the Ministry of Health are suggesting that within the Public Works ministry there are people interested in the tender.

MH: I have heard that crazy story before so many times. I have become used to it and I can now recite it by heart. Whenever the Queen II issue is raised I already know what is going to be asked and what is going to be insinuated. I believe it is a part of my life that I have accepted to live with. I can tell you that this is the hottest seat anyone can ever sit in because this is where all the major government projects are concentrated. Whatever you do, you will never be right in the eyes of all people. I was recently interviewed on radio and there was a caller who said I was interested in who gets Queen II demolition tender and I lost it. I asked the presenter to ask that caller to substantiate his claim. If he says he is sure that I am interested, why can’t he go to the authorities? You have the police’s fraud department. You don’t have to seek my permission to go there to whistle blow about me. You just go there and tell them, ‘I think that man is committing fraud, go and investigate him’.

With regards to Queen II demolition, it was the first time that we experimented with a new policy to force companies to have joint ventures or consortiums when we tender for projects. It was the first project where we had three separate lots. Lot one was about the demolition itself, lot two was about taking out the roofing, window and door frames and everything else related and lot three was about removing the rubble. For each lot, we wanted a consortium or venture of not less than three companies and for that matter indigenous Basotho companies. So even if a company is locally registered, but is not owned by 100 percent by indigenous Basotho, it was precluded from tendering for that project. After the processes were undertaken, advertisement was done, submissions were made, evaluations were done and the tender panel did its part by awarding the project to three different joint ventures made up of three different Basotho companies each. This meant that a total of nine companies were got the tender. But for one reason or another, there was this misunderstanding by the Ministry of Health that the project was expensive whereas it wasn’t too much. They said they had M16 million whereas the entire project required M29 million. And so they said it was impossible to go ahead with the project. I advised them to seek more funds from the Finance ministry and I heard that Finance refused, saying there were no more funds to be reallocated to that project. I then got an instruction from the Principal Secretary of Health to negotiate with the contractors for a reduced price and we did that.

But even after that, the Health ministry was still not satisfied and then they reached an agreement with the Ministry of Defence that the army will demolish Queen II instead. We don’t have any problem with that. We are totally in support of that as Queen II can be demolished so that the new Maseru hospital can be built. So we are in support of the army demolishing Queen II and we are ready to assist whenever we are needed. We are going to do the supervision and we will also help with the logistical arrangements for the army to get into that project site and demolish Queen II. At the moment we are busy with that and we are part of a committee made up of different ministries to achieve that. If everything goes according to plan, by the 15^th of November 2019 the site will be ready for the demolition process to begin. At the moment Queen II is still occupied by the Ministry of Health so they are busy with the procurement of the park homes so that they can move the hospital, staff and equipment to a temporary location at the BEDCO premises.

LT: So what happens to the companies which had won the tenders? Are there any legal implications?

MH: There are legal implications because we have contractual obligations. We had already negotiated with them, made offers and they accepted. This means we have valid contracts which are binding but I will negotiate with them because I wouldn’t want to see a situation where anybody goes to court to stop us from demolishing and building the new hospital although legally they have the right to do that. I will persuade them not to take that route. Maybe we can negotiate a settlement whereby we can give them some compensation.

LT: There’s this issue of Mpilo Boulevard tender of M380 million that came up very recently at the Public Accounts Committee. The Minister of Small Businesses, Chalane Phori, says he is entitled to benefit when tenders are awarded because he is a member of the ABC which is in government right now. From your legal background, don’t you think there should be a separation? Other countries say that when you are a public servant you not supposed to compete for tenders which are given by the same government you are part of.

MH: These things differ from one system to another. In our system the law does not preclude a public servant from tendering for any projects that are being offered by the government but the law says that you have to clearly show your interest. For example, even as a principal secretary I can own a company. I am not precluded by law from owning a company. But if I am going to bid for a tender then I should not be part of the adjudication process. I have to clearly show my interest and say that I have an interest in company A and I am not going to be involved in any way with the adjudication process.

LT: Even if there are no laws, surely there is something ethically or morally wrong about bidding for government tenders when you are a senior member of that government?

MH: You can say that it is morally wrong, but legally is it wrong as far as our system is concerned? The answer is no. The law does preclude it because if we say it is illegal, we have to say the law does not permit it. But the law does permits it. Of course I cannot tender with Public Works ministry because I’m its Chief Accounting Officer. How am I going to do it? Am I going to be the player and referee at the same time? I can’t. Ethically it would be wrong even if there wouldn’t be anything preventing me from doing so legally. But I wouldn’t do it for ethical reasons.

As for the Mpilo tender, remember we are talking about the Minister of Small Businesses. He is not the Minister of Local Government so he can bid for the tender.

LT: But he (Mr Phori) says he is an ABC member and he says he is supposed to benefit for that reason. He also says the Local government principal secretary and the Maseru Town Clerk are his friends. Isn’t there something wrong with that?

MH: I don’t know why he said that and I won’t dwell on that. I want to talk about the principle here. The principle is that this man (Mr Phori) is a minister but he is not the Minister of Local Government. He is the Minister of Small Businesses and he is also a business man. Remember he was a renowned businessman before he was appointed minister. You know that very well. I think that some of his businesses even advertise with your newspaper. He is a contractor. It is a well-known fact. He doesn’t head the Ministry of Local Government but he heads the Ministry of Small Businesses. So, what is wrong with him tendering where Local Government is having a project, so long as it is not going to be influenced by the fact that he is a minister? So long as it is not going to be influenced by the fact that he is an ABC member? That is why I said I don’t want to dwell on the fact that he talked about the ABC but I want to deal on the principle. I don’t see anything wrong with the fact that the Minister of Small Business tendered for a project under the Local Government ministry.

LT: What’s the way forward in terms of the vision of your ministry? What projects can be expected?

MH: The biggest project that we are about to undertake the airport refurbishment project. That is a huge project and phase one is going to cost us M1, 6 billion. We are upgrading the airport. Among other things, we will upgrade Kofi Anan Road from Pioneer Mall circle all the way to the airport and we will put up streetlights. We will also widen the road in some areas. It is a huge project and about M400 million will be set aside for the Kofi Anan Road upgrade. We will also going to upgrade the airport runway and extend it by a kilometre. We will refurbish the terminal building. We will also re-do the perimeter fencing and also now put intrusion detection systems to stop people from destroying the fence to get their livestock into the airport area for grazing purposes.

So we are going to put an intrusion detection system around the perimeter of the airport which is 32 kilometres all round. We are also going to upgrade the perimeter road around the airport and also re-do the access roads and the taxi way. We will also install new aeronautical equipment at the airport and everything will be brand new.

The project will start next year. We are now in constant negotiations with the European Investment Bank and they have agreed in principle to give us the M1, 6 billion. Fifty percent of that will be a grant and the other half a loan with acceptable repayment terms in accordance with IMF regulations.

Phase two of the project will see the private sector coming in to invest in high-income housing apartments, boutiques, hotels, guest houses and other amenities close to and around the airport area.

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Bereng Mpaki

THE Lesotho PostBank (LPB) yesterday donated 475 branded blankets worth M75 000 to the Rata Oa Heno Development Day Care Centre, a support group for the elderly.

The blankets were given to the Masianokeng-based group as part of LPB’s social responsibility drive.

The group was formed 20 years ago with the intention to support the elderly members of the community after observing their plight in raising grand children orphaned mainly by HIV and AIDS.

The group currently has membership in Masianokeng and surrounding like Ha-Bosofo, Ha-Abia, Ha-Paki, Ha-Lenono, Pomela, Machekoaneng and Makhoakhoeng among others.

For his part, LPB managing director Molefi Leqhaoe said giving back to the community was one of the key aspects of their operations.

“As the only Basotho owned bank that is serving the interests of the people, we regard giving back to the community highly because it is one of the most important aspects of our existence,” Mr Leqhaoe said.

“We thank our clients for helping us get where we are today because it would not be possible without them.”

He said LPB helped the bank agreed to help the group because they believed in helping one another to survive.

“We are therefore here to encourage you to continue to grow the group and continue assisting one another. We would be happy however, if you can encourage your children to bank with us so that we can be able to continue helping your group.

“We need Basotho to support this bank which is their hope for affordable and accessible services at any time,” Mr Leqhaoe said.

Upon receiving the blankets, ‘Maphoka Silase, the acting chairperson of the support group, said the blankets would keep the beneficiaries warm.

“The blankets are going to keeping us warm and we are grateful to Lesotho PostBank for this gesture,” Ms Silase said.

She said their friendship with LPB would be mutual as they have become ambassadors of the bank’s good work.

Makeletso Thabane (80) from Makhoakhoeng said being a member of the group has given her a new lease on life.

“My life has changed for the better ever since we formed this group. We share experiences and advices and we usually receive donations that make real differences in our lives,” Ms Thabane said.

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Bereng Mpaki

THE Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have signed a deal that will soon see an improvement in the processing of cross-border value added tax (VAT) refunds.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) on processing and administering the VAT refund system was signed by LRA Commissioner-General Thabo Khasipe and SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter in Kampala, Uganda, during the 4^th African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) earlier this month.

LRA public relations manager, Pheello Mphana, told the Lesotho Times that the main purpose of the MOU was to set up procedural aspects relating to refunds of VAT on imported or exported goods between Lesotho and South Africa.

He said the issues covered by the agreement included the refund procedures, lists of ports designated either as commercial or noncommercial, detailed description of ‘tax invoices’, obligations of the two revenue administrations and requirements for structured meetings.

“The operationalisation of the MOU will allow the LRA and SARS to set up strategies that deal with non-compliance and VAT fraud schemes and set up mechanisms for VAT refunds in relation to services and e-commerce…,” said Mr Mphana.

He said the MOU formed part of a bilateral requirement under a pact between Lesotho and South Africa signed on 9 March 2014 called the Agreement on Mutual Assistance and Cooperation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion (the VAT Agreement).

The MOU is a result of negotiations necessitated by what Mr Mphana described as practical challenges being experienced by the two revenue administrations in relation to the VAT refund system.

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Nthatuoa Koeshe

THE fourth edition of the Letsema creatives platform recently brought together food and fashion at a colourful event at Café What in Maseru.

This year’s edition brought together fashion students from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology and culinary arts students from Dona@Balos to showcase their craft.

Founder of the platform, Palesa Mercedes Recalde, told the Weekender that they decided to bring together a fusion of food and fashion due to the similarity of their work processes.

“We focused on these two industries because of their similarities in terms of work process,” Palesa said.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

“I chose the two institutions as a way of helping their students expand their experiences and create a space where they can freely express their creativity.

“We selected the participating with the assistance of the Limkokwing head of the fashion and Chef Veronica from Dona@Balos.”

Prior to this year’s event, she has held two events of the same nature in Maseru in 2017 and one in Los Angeles in the United States in 2018.

She said Letsema was conceived as a way of bringing together creatives to learn from each other, build each other, help each other and share their talents.

Palesa said plans were underway to hold two similar events next year, one being in Maseru and another in Cape Town.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Last month, Palesa held a panel discussion to gather opinions from different market players on how to perfect the event.

The initiative, she said, opened up participants minds with regards to the fusion.

“During the panel, we watched three videos from culinary and fashion industry experts and that opened our discussion with the local panelists.”

Among the panelists were Maseru Fashion Week Founder Keketso Nthongoa, Kevin Mokotso; 90s Baby Store owner, Nkitsing Kabi, the founder of Kasi Yum, a children’s feeding programme in Khubetsoana.

She said they discussed some of the similarities of their industries and the similarities of the challenges faced by the creatives in both industries.

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Nthatuoa Koeshe

CAFÉ What will on 15 December screen a new locally produced short film titled Moth.

Shot in Morija, the film features Mpho Manare, Thoko Phooko, Natan Makhalanyane and Nthabiseng Mohanela, who are all members of local fashion collective, The Fabric Era.

The film was written and directed by Tshepiso Mahase under her production company 11th District. Moth will be released online next January.

Tshepiso told the Weekender this week that the five-minute film explores the theme of unity. It tells the story of three men who unite into an unknown journey.

She said she chose a short film because the form has “the power to tell relatable stories”.

“They offer a chance to get straight to the point without being overbearing and I think sometimes that’s what we need,” Tshepiso said.

She said short films were engaging to the audience in a unique way.

Tshepiso said they would release the film online to enhance the interaction with the audiences.

“With platforms like Vimeo and YouTube, the access is direct. Social media also makes it easier for audiences to access your work.”

Fabric Era member, Makhalanyane, told the Weekender that they found it easy to work on the film because it complements their drive to form strategic partnerships with other players in the creative industry.

He said while the film was not entirely about fashion, it integrates fashion and storytelling.

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• as climate change threatens water project

Pascalinah Kabi

LESOTHO has resumed transferring water to South Africa amid concerns about the adverse effects of climate change in the Katse and Mohale dams.

The LHDA stopped pumping water to South Africa and generating electricity for domestic consumption at ‘Muela Hydropower Station on 1 October 2019 to make way for maintenance works.

LHDA divisional manager (development and operations), Reentseng Molapo, this week told the media that the two-months maintenance project had been completed successfully.

The maintenance works were jointly done by the LHDA and its other partner implementing agency, the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA).

The maintenance works had completely cut off water transfer to South Africa and power generation within Lesotho.

About 50 percent of Lesotho’s power consumption is produced locally at ‘Muela Hydropower Station, which produces about 72 megawatts (MW), with the remainder imported from South Africa and Mozambique. South Africa accounts for 30 percent of Lesotho’s power imports with Mozambique contributing 20 percent.

And Mr Molapo this week said the authority would on Sunday resume both transfers of water to South Africa and power generation for Lesotho. He however said they were operating from a critical baseline due to the current climatic conditions that had severely affected water levels at Mohale and Katse dams.  The two dams were at very low levels and it was hoped significant rains would be received soon.

Water levels had only slightly increased in the Katse Dam because of the current water transfer from Mohale to the Katse Reservoir and the little rains received recently.

“We are still concerned that there is no rain and we are praying to have some rain in the near future…,” said Mr Molapo.

“As we speak, Katse has risen from about 10 percent prior to the transfer (from Mohale)… and it is now around 16 percent. Hopefully, it will be around 18-20 percent when we start to deliver water through to South Africa on Sunday.”

Mohale was only about 23 percent full. Mr Molapo said these conditions were very unfavourable and they would only be happy if both dams were at least 60 or 70 percent full.

“We are operating at levels where we are all anxious, praying and waiting for the rain to come….,” he said.

He said they were monitoring the daily water levels in the dams and reporting them to their principals for appropriate decision making.  Despite the critical circumstances prevailing, they could not abruptly stop transfers because people still needed water.

A similar outage for maintenance had been done in 2012.  It was during that year that the Authority had planned to redo similar maintenance work this year.

He said the maintenance work involved the replacement of the bypass guard valve at the ‘Muela Hydropower Station and the replacement of the Ngoajane Flow Measuring Equipment, among other things.  They had also undertaken normal routine works at the ‘Muela Hydropower Station. All activities had been successfully completed as planned.

“All the works that were intended to be undertaken were all finished on 15 November 2019. We started filling the transfer tunnel from Katse intake all the way to ‘Muela Hydropower station last week.

“Yesterday we started to raise the ‘Muela Dam to get it ready to fill the delivery tunnel and we are going to undertake that until Saturday. We will start generation of power and water transfer on 1 December as planned,” Mr Molapo said.

He said Lesotho had met its obligation of water transfer of 700m cubic metres to South Africa as planned in the previous year.  Normally the targeted volumes of water transfers in previous years was 780m cubic meters annually. But because of the increasing adverse climate conditions that have seen many drought seasons, the figure had been revised to 700m cubic meters.

This year, the Authority had already increased the monthly volumes of transfers between January and September to cater for the two-month shut down period.  Even though Lesotho would not get any monthly royalties for the two months that it had not delivered water, the increased volumes before the shutdown should compensate for any shortfalls.

The post Lesotho resumes water transfers to SA appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Staff Writer

TO MARK the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) today, the GSMA, building on UNICEF’s child rights expertise, has launched the mPower Youth initiative to showcase how mobile technology can be a catalyst for advancing the rights of children. The initiative is supported by a number of mobile operators globally, including Vodafone.

As we celebrate the convention on the rights of the child, mobile phones and money transfer services are saving the lives of children and their mothers threatened by HIV infection in Lesotho.

Mobile operator Vodafone is working with money transfer service M-Pesa to put women and children in touch with medical advice and then pay for their travel to health clinics.

The scheme is using mobile phones and SMS messages to catch HIV infection early and get treatment started as soon as possible.

Over 139 000 people in Lesotho have now been tested for HIV through this programme, called Text to Treatment. Over 600 HIV-positive children and pregnant women have received life-saving care and treatment thanks to Text to Treatment.

“Mobile operators around the world, including Vodafone, are showing that mobile technology has tremendous power to enable the fundamental rights of a child,” Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA said.

“Thirty years ago, when the convention was first adopted, there were 7 million mobile users globally, today there are 5.2 billion. The mobile industry continues to build on its commitment to protection and internet safety, and we have a significant role to play in ensuring that every child has a voice, and can participate and thrive in their communities.”

Wivina Belmonte, principal advisor, private sector engagement, UNICEF said: “In today’s world, children are born into situations we could not have imagined thirty years ago”.

“The Convention on the Rights of the Child is as relevant in this world as it was three decades ago. We need to ensure that children are safe when exploring new technology. And we must see that the freedoms and opportunities technology can deliver are available to every child. UNICEF calls on the mobile industry to demonstrate how technology can be used to reduce inequality and unleash the potential of all girls and boys,” Ms Belmonte said.

Vodafone is a member of the worldwide mobile phone industry body, the GSMA. Text to Treatment is one example of a wide range of industry-supported initiatives that encourage the protection of children’s rights globally.

The post SMSs save live in Lesotho appeared first on Lesotho Times.

’Marafaele Mohloboli

OPPOSITION leaders say they will today challenge Speaker of Parliament Sephiri Motanyane’s decision to discard the motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.

The no confidence motion was originally filed in June 2019 by Motebang Koma, the ABC’s Koro-Koro constituency legislator and it was seconded by opposition Democratic Congress (DC) deputy leader, Motlalentoa Letsosa.

Mr Koma proposed that the ABC’s Mosalemane constituency legislator, Samuel Rapapa, takes over as caretaker prime minister and effectively warm the seat for Prof Mahao. Prof Mahao is not a legislator and could therefore not be nominated to replace Dr Thabane despite his election as the latter’s deputy at the party’s contentious February 2019 elective conference.

After protracted delays, Mr Motanyane last week threw out the no confidence motion saying it had no basis in law and parliamentary practice.

And yesterday leader of the Movement for Economic Change (MEC), Selibe Mochoboroane, said they were ready to challenge the Speaker’s ruling in parliament today.

“We are going to challenge the Speaker’s ruling because he has chosen to misdirect himself despite the Attorney General’s (Advocate Haae Phoofolo) legal opinion, which he has even decided to keep to himself instead of reading to the House,” Mr Mochoboroane said.

“Despite the legal opinion being in the public domain, he has made it his property and we are going to challenge his decision. According to Section 83 (5) the Attorney General, a legislator may move such a motion and it is in this vein that we are going to challenge him on Thursday (today).”

He said they would first explore a solution in parliament before approaching the courts.

“The courts will be our last resort when all has failed.”

National Independent Party (NIP) leader Kimetso Mathaba shared the same sentiments saying they would not stand back and watch the motion of no confidence being thrown out.

“We are going to do all we can to challenge the Speaker’s decision on the no confidence motion. We are not going to just stand back and watch the Speaker when he decides to misdirect himself,” Mr Mathaba said.

Mr Mathaba, however, said preference should be given to the constitutional amendment to strip the prime minister of his arbitrary powers to dissolve parliament each time the premier feels his power is threatened.

The amendment was proposed by Popular Front for Democracy leader Advocate Lekhetho Rakuoane and Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) leader Mothetjoa Metsing last month.

After the motion was moved in parliament last month, the second plenary of the Multi-Stakeholder National Dialogue Programme yesterday endorsed the amendment which will be further deliberated on once the National Reforms Authority (NRA) is in place. The NRA is expected to be established on 6 December 2019.

The National Reforms Authority will have a secretariat headed by a chief executive officer (CEO). The CEO will also be the chief accounting officer responsible for day to day administration of the authority.

The authority will operate independently of any person or authority to ensure transparency, rule of law and involvement of the entire nation in the reforms process.

It is envisaged that the Authority’s tenure will be for a year and during that time its secretariat will prepare quarterly progress reports and ultimately a final report for submission to the government, the official leader of the opposition in parliament and the SADC facilitator (South African President Cyril Ramaphosa).

And Mr Mathaba said they would rather prioritise the processes leading to the amendment before pushing for the motion of no confidence against Dr Thabane.

“We are however, of the feeling that preference should be given to the amendment as it will help us avoid taking the costly route of calling fresh elections. On the other hand, the Attorney General’s legal opinion has been issued but he has just chosen to ignore it and we are forced to challenge that decision. If he (Mr Motanyane) refuses to listen, we shall resort to the courts and ultimately take the painful route of going to the polls,” Mr Mathaba said.

Adv Rakuoane said Mr Motanyane’s actions were illegal. He said they would deliberate as the opposition collective to come up with a solid plan.

“We will come up with a plan once we sit and deliberate. Maybe, if challenging the Speaker fails, we might just wait for the budget presentation next year to push the motion,” Adv Rakuoane said.

The spokesman for Prof Mahao’s faction of the ABC, Montoeli Masoetsa, said the no confidence motion was not a priority.

“The no confidence motion is not a priority as we speak. We want to see the amendment of the constitution given first preference.

“We do agree with the DC that the courts of law shall be approached in the end should all other alternatives fail but not now, we will focus on changing the constitution to strip the PM of arbitrary powers,” Mr Masoetsa said.

The post Opposition vows to challenge Speaker  appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Ntsebeng Motsoeli

DEMOCRATIC Congress (DC) leader, Mathibeli Mokhothu, has threatened to sue Speaker of Parliament, Sephiri Motanyane, if he does not reverse his decision to throw out the no confidence motion against Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.

Addressing scores of DC supporters in Qacha’s Nek this week Mr Mokhothu said his party would first exhaust all available internal parliamentary remedies before approaching the courts.

Mr Motanyane last week threw out a no confidence motion against Dr Thabane saying it had no basis in law and parliamentary practice.

Although Speaker Motinyane’s ruling is an obvious blow, at least for now, to the opposition and the Nqosa Mahao-led faction of the All Basotho Convention (ABC), who have united in seeking the premier’s ouster, they nevertheless see it as a minor and temporary setback. Their immediate concern is to first push through an amendment to the constitution barring the prime minister from dissolving parliament if he loses a no confidence motion.  Once that is done, they then plan to focus on the no confidence motion itself, knowing that if it succeeds, the prime minister would have no powers to scuttle it by dissolving parliament.

Mr Motanyane threw out the motion last week on the grounds that it did not have “any basis in both the constitution and in the practice of parliament”. This despite a legal opinion from Attorney General Haae Phoofolo’s advising the Speaker that the no confidence motion had essentially been properly filed.  The Mahao faction had been within their rights to file the motion as any MP was entitled to file any motion of their choice without any let or hindrance. That was in fact the very essence of democracy, Advocate Phoofolo had advised.

The no confidence motion was originally filed in June 2019 by Motebang Koma, the ABC’s Koro-Koro constituency legislator and it was seconded by opposition Democratic Congress (DC) deputy leader, Motlalentoa Letsosa.

Mr Koma proposed that the ABC’s Mosalemane constituency legislator, Samuel Rapapa, takes over as caretaker prime minister and effectively warm the seat for Prof Mahao. Prof Mahao is not a legislator and could therefore not be nominated to replace Dr Thabane despite his election as the latter’s deputy at the party’s contentious February 2019 elective conference.

Much to the chagrin of the pro-Mahao legislators and their opposition allies, parliament had then been indefinitely adjourned since June, without a vote on the motion. This after Mr Motanyane, ruled that the motion did not meet “procedural and constitutional requirements” for it to be accepted. He said the motion ought to have been filed by the opposition and not by Mr Koma, an ABC legislator. He also said the motion was flawed in that it proposed Mr Rapapa as the caretaker prime minister instead of an opposition leader.

In the legal opinion that he prepared for Mr Motanyane in August, Adv Phoofolo said denying any legislator the right to file a motion against the executive was “undemocratic and inimical to the right to participate in the public affairs of the country and the function of parliament to exercise control over the executive”.

Shortly after receiving Adv Phoofolo’s opinion, Mr Motanyane said Mr Koma was free to proceed with his motion if he so wished.

But in a new turn of events last week, Mr Motanyane threw out the motion, citing his original arguments that Mr Koma’s motion could not be tabled and debated in parliament because it had not been filed by a member of the opposition as per parliamentary conventions.

He said although he had sought and obtained Adv Phoofolo’s opinion on the issue, the opinion was not binding and he was free to rule as he saw fit on the admissibility of the motion.

“This is the decision of the chair,” he said, adding, “my considered ruling is that it (no confidence motion) is not admissible”.

“I repeat, my ruling is that this motion, as it is, is inadmissible…This motion is not acceptable because it does not have a basis both in the constitution and in the practice of parliament,” Mr Motanyane said.

He also said his decision was based on the writings of a 19th century British parliamentary affairs expert, Erskine May, who said that no confidence motions were filed by the opposition “expressing lack of confidence in the government or criticising its general conduct”.

And addressing his supporters this week, Mr Mokhothu said they would exhaust all internal avenues before seeking the intervention of the courts to get Mr Motanyane to pass the motion.

“We are determined to fight Ntate Motanyane with the parliament standing orders. We have already advised him that his decision can be challenged with standing order 49. They tried to convince my deputy Ntate Motlalentoa Letsosa that the speaker’s decision was final and could not be challenged. That is not true. Not in Lesotho. The speaker’s decision can be challenged by legislators with a motion and we have already done that. We will surely get to vote on it.

“He is pushing us to seek the intervention of the courts which they have polarised and destroyed… Nevertheless, we will still seek their intervention to cancel his decision because we have a strong feeling that it is baseless. If the courts rule for us, we will carry on with the motion and we will definitely win.

“But we would have first exhausted all the possible internal remedies as provided by the parliament standing orders and the constitution.”

Mr Mokhothu said Mr Motanyane’s argument that only opposition MPs, particularly him (Mr Mokhothu) as the opposition leader, were eligible for filing a no confidence motion against the prime minister was illogical.

“They are just trying to drive a wedge between us (opposition) and the Professor Mahao faction. The motion is eligible according to the Attorney General’s legal opinion,” he said.

He said the government was nearing its death and Mr Motanyane was merely flexing his muscles to save it.

“The Speaker of Parliament sat on the motion of no confidence for about eight months. Such has never been heard of in the world. It is a bad stain in a democratic dispensation. Parliament gives birth to the government and on the same stride, the same parliament has the right to eliminate the government.

“In 2017, when they filed a motion of no confident against us, we did not resist. The then speaker of parliament Ntlhoi Motsamai was not hesitant to pass their no confidence motion. They would not even give us the chance to pass the budget speech, we attended to their motion… Now they are holding the Speaker of Parliament hostage barring him from addressing the motion of no confidence,” Mr Mokhothu said.

Mr Mokhothu said the government had lost numbers and some of its members had already acknowledged that. The Thabane coalition was barely clinging on to dear life.

“The government cannot stand without the DC. This is why they stole some of our MPs. And unfortunately, our MPs bought into the lure and took the offer. But I bet they miss us. They took four of our MPS to make 70 sits. But we knew then that they would not last,” Mr Mokhothu said referring to the defection of legislators Pontso Sekatle and Semano Sekatle to ABC and Tlohelang Aumane and Mothepu Mahapa to Monyane Moleleki’s Alliance of Democrats (AD) all from DC.

The post Mokhothu vows to sue Speaker over no confidence motion appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Mohalenyane Phakela

LESOTHO Defence Force’s (LDF) Major Pitso Ramoepana has been given temporary relief after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) dropped charges against him in a case in which he is accused of murdering former army commander, Lieutenant General Khoantle Motṧomotṧo.

This after South African Advocate Shaun Abrahams, the chief prosecutor in the murder case, advised the DPP, Hlalefang Motinyane, to drop the charges and request the AG’s office to instead institute an inquest into the murder.

He said the reason for dropping the charges was the absence of compelling evidence to link Major Ramoepana to Lt-Gen Motṧomotṧo’s murder.

The murder charges may nonetheless be reinstated after the inquest, depending on its outcome, with the possibility of the charging of more people for acting in common purpose with the late Lieutenant Colonel Tefo Hashatsi as well as Colonel Bulane Sechele in the 5 September 2017 killing of Lt-Gen Motṧomotṧo. Lt-Col Hashatsi and Col Sechele also died during the shootout at the former army boss’s offices at Ratjomose barracks.

However, Major Ramoepana’s lawyer, Advocate Karabo Mohau King’s Counsel (KC), objected to the temporary withdrawal of the charges, insisting that his client should be allowed to plead and get the charges dropped completely.

Justice Onkemetse Tshosa will on December 4 2019 rule on whether he allows the state to withdraw the murder charges in favour of the inquest or order Major Ramoepana’s full acquittal.

Major Ramoepana’s trial had been billed to start on Monday but failed after Adv Abrahams informed the court of the decision to drop the charges.

Adv Abrahams told the court he had advised the DPP to withdraw charges to pave way for the inquest. He said the DPP had powers to drop charges in line with Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.

“The prosecution has identified 37 witnesses and the last one was consulted on Friday (23 November 2019) after which I discovered that there was inadequate evidence to suggest that Mr Ramoepana acted in common purpose with Mr Hashatsi and Mr Sechele regarding the murder of Lt-Gen Motṧomotṧo.

“I subsequently advised the DPP to decline prosecuting Mr Ramoepana in connection with the murder… Therefore, the crown has withdrawn murder charges against Mr Ramoepana,” Advocate Abrahams said.

He said sub-section 278(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, empowered the DPP to withdraw any charge at any time before the accused has pleaded. She further has powers to request the Attorney General to pursue an inquest.

“I further recommended that due to the nature of the particular offence and interests of justice in connection with the death of Lt-Gen Motṧomotṧo, the attorney general be requested to write to the Chief Justice to appoint a judge to preside over the inquest,” said Advocate Abrahams.

When the proceedings resumed yesterday, Adv Mohau KC argued that it had been grossly unfair for his client to be kept in custody for over two years only for the charges to be dropped when trial is due to start. Moreso because it was also possible for the charges to resurface later after the inquest. His client hence wanted the court to completely erase the murder charges.

“The basis of the withdrawal is not clear to my client because he does not understand why the crown had to wait two years and two months after his detention to drop the charges. A person cannot await trial for over two years and only be told when it is supposed to start that charges are being withdrawn.

“Pursuing an inquest simply means charges may be reinstated against the accused later on. Leaving charges hanging around his neck is only going to prolong the trauma of not knowing whether the charges will be reinstated.

“Section 12 of the constitution states that accused persons should be treated fairly. He is a human being and should be treated like one. This unhappy matter should be brought to a close by asking the accused to plead and then acquit him of the charges,” Adv Mohau said.

He said his client had incurred large amounts of money in legal fees to fight the charges that were now being dropped.

However, Adv Abrahams argued that Major Ramoepana was not wrongfully detained as he had also been in custody in connection with two other grave matters.

Besides the Lt-Gen Motṧomotṧo murder, Major Ramoepana is also accused, alongside nine other soldiers, of allegedly strangling Lekhoele Noko, Molise Pakela and Khothatso Makibinyane at Setibing in rural Maseru on 16 May 2017 and dumping their bodies in the Mohale Dam.

He is also facing attempted murder charges regarding the 27 January 2014 simultaneous bombings of the Moshoeshoe II homes of First Lady Maesaiah Thabane and her then neighbour ‘Mamoshoeshoe Moletsane as well as the Ha-Abia residence of former police commissioner, Khothatso Tšooana.

When he initially appeared in court on Monday, a sickly Major Ramoepana trudged into the courtroom showing signs of serious pain with a bottle of water in hand. During the proceedings, he sat leaning into a desk in front of him. Similarly, on Wednesday he kept changing sitting positions regularly, often closing his eyes for long periods.

Major Ramoepana was admitted at Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital on 1 November 2019 and discharged two days later.

When he appeared in court on 4 November 2019 on charges of murdering the three Maseru civilians in May 2017, one of his lawyers, Advocate Kabelo Letuka, accused LCS officers of whisking his client back to prison before he had been formally discharged from the hospital. Justice Kabelo Lebotse, before whom Major Ramoepana appeared that day, ordered that the ailing soldier be taken back to the hospital to complete treatment.

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Pascalinah Kabi

THE government secretary, Moahloli Mphaka, yesterday dared the Selibe Mochoboroane-chaired parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to approach the courts and challenge the deployment of third secretaries in foreign missions.

Mr Mphaka said the government had made a “sober” decision to engage the current crop of third secretaries in foreign missions and whoever had problems with that decision must challenge it in court.

Mr Mphaka said this in response to allegations that he unlawfully supplied the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations principal secretary, ‘Mamonyane Bohloko, with a list of political appointees to fill the positions of third secretary that must be occupied by people with accounting backgrounds only.

Ms Bohloko and other ministry officials recently told the PAC that the third secretaries’ positions in foreign missions were filled with unqualified political appointees, contrary to the law which stipulates that the Accountant General must recommend the people who must be deployed into those positions.

“These people fall under the Accountant General. Before we started politicising the deployment of people in foreign missions, the Accountant General deployed people in foreign missions…. Only an ignorant person would not see that we have become a laughing stock internationally,” Mr Mochoboroane said.

Foreign Affairs Human Resource Manager ‘Maneo Khali said they only employed people based on a list provided by government officials.

Ms Bohloko said getting lists of people to be employed was common practice even before she became the PS.  She said she did not come up with the list herself but got it from the minister and the government secretary.

“In short, I get the list from the government… I get the list from the office of the government secretary,” Ms Bohloko said.

And this week Mr Mphaka dared both the PAC and Ms Bohloko to go to court and challenge the government’s decision to deploy the current crop of third secretaries in the foreign missions.

“My response is this, yes, it is the decision of this government to hire those people and whoever has problems with that must challenge this decision in court,” Mr Mphaka said.

He said the government would stick to its guns until the PAC and the PS have successfully challenged the deployment of third secretaries in foreign missions in court.

“If they win the case, the government will give in and those people will be fired but for that to happen, the PAC or the PS should go to court,” Mr Mphaka said.

He said all government decisions were communicated through the office of the government secretary, including the official list of civil servants deployed to foreign missions.

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Pascalinah Kabi

LESOTHO’S 14 foreign missions are in limbo, as some of the diplomats have not been paid for months while others are forced to sleep in boardrooms because of lack of funds.

This was revealed by parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson, Selibe Mochoboroane, at a recent appearance by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations principal secretary ‘Mamonyane Bohloko and her delegation.

So dire was the situation in the foreign missions that Lesotho’s ambassador to China, Lechoo Setanane, was forced to sleep in the embassy boardroom for two months when he arrived in Beijing in May this year because the embassy did not have funds to pay for his temporary accommodation while trying to secure him a permanent place, Mr Mochoboroane said.  Some staff at the foreign missions have not had their salaries for at least two months.

The PAC chairperson questioned the value of some of the diplomatic missions saying they had bled the fiscus without any commensurate returns. He suggested the downsizing of the foreign missions to only keep the relevant ones.

Ms Bohloko said while it was true that some of the missions had performed badly, they had also done good in other instances particularly when they had obtained scholarships for Basotho to advance their studies in the host nations.

Mr Mochoboroane said the country would still have attracted hundreds of scholarships from countries like China, Algeria, Cuba and India without deploying many diplomats into those countries.

Mr Mochoboroane said Lesotho had become a laughing stock in the international arena because 80 percent of its foreign missions were failing to pay rentals and salaries.

He said some foreign affairs ministries in the host nations had even summoned Lesotho’s diplomats for questioning over their failure to honour their financial obligations like rentals and salaries to local staff.

He insisted that achievements touted for these missions could be accomplished with less staff deployed. Some of the achievements were not even a result of efforts of staff at these missions but were because of visits to those countries by ministers.

The government should seriously consider which missions to keep and which ones to sacrifice to save on resources.

“Most of your missions are in serious debt.  In some cases; they owe salaries and rentals and Lesotho is now the talk of town because of its debts. Some diplomats have been called by the Foreign Affairs ministries of their host nations to explain their failure to pay rentals and salaries for their non-Basotho staff.

“Some have been forced to turn their office boardrooms into bedrooms and that is embarrassing. Eighty percent of Lesotho’s foreign missions are struggling to make ends meet due to mismanagement of funds,” Mr Mochoboroane said.

He said missions that had failed to meet their financial obligations for at least two months included those in Japan, Rome, London, South Africa and China.

Ms Bohloko said she was not in a position to deny Mr Mochoboroane’s submissions. She said her ministry was struggling to keep the embassies out of debt because the Ministry of Finance had cut down its budget without any justification.

“When the budget is cut, some of the activities will not happen as planned. On issues of performance, for you to have seen some ministers visiting certain countries, those trips are facilitated by foreign missions.

“While sometimes we perform well in the foreign missions, there are also instances where we perform badly… Understandably, we must tighten our belts when it comes to spending money… I would not dispute that we might have some dirt but where we are lacking, we will correct,” Ms Bohloko said.

Ms Bohloko conceded that while the government had the capacity to run all its 14 missions, there was need to downsize.

She said the country could nevertheless not close down foreign missions in countries like China and Japan because of the rewards Lesotho had reaped from those countries. She said the Finance ministry still owed her ministry M16 million meant for foreign missions.

On her part, Foreign Affairs and International Relations financial controller, ‘Mampoi Keta said some embassies found themselves without money for salaries after spending funds allocated for wages on other operations like phone bills, maintenance of vehicles and airport courtesies.

Ms Keta accused some missions of being unaccountable and flouting regulations by spending money on unbudgeted transactions.

“Under normal circumstances, foreign missions are supposed to be sending reports on every fifth day of the month but only one mission; New Delhi, complies. London used funds for salaries on other overheads,” Ms Keta said.

Meanwhile, Mr Mochoboroane said his committee was concerned about the deployment of unqualified personnel to foreign missions resulting in the erosion of accountability.

He said in some missions the position of third secretary, which is meant for people with accounting qualifications, was filled with political appointees who had no clue about accounting.

Foreign Affairs human resource manager ‘Maneo Khali seemed to concur saying the ministry only employed people based on a list provided by government officials.

“We are provided with a list. It comes from my boss (PS) with names of deployees,” Ms Khali said.  Ms Bohloko said that was common practice even before she became the PS.

“I do not come up with the lists. I get the list from the office of the minister, though as the chief accounting officer I deal directly with the office of the government secretary on the day to day running of the ministry. We consult and I have been told that the prime minister knows about the list.

“In short, I get the list from the government… I get the list from the office of the government secretary,” Ms Bohloko said.

The post Lesotho’s foreign missions in chaos appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Bereng Mpaki

SEVERAL business people are stranded after the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s online company registry system went offline last week.

The online registry system, which is implemented by the One-Stop Business Facilitation Centre (OBFC) under the Trade and Industry ministry, has been offline since 19 November 2019.

This has left many business people stranded as they cannot register new companies nor get traders’ licences to operate.

The online system was introduced in December 2014 to speed up the company registration process, as part of the country’s efforts to improve its business climate to attract investment for economic development.

The digital system was introduced through the support of a New Zealand information technology company, Foster Moore International Limited. The company supplied Lesotho with a software system called Catalyst which the government pays for annually.

Also involved in the collaborative project was the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Private Sector Foundation chief executive officer Thabo Qhesi, said the glitch had severely inconvenienced the business sector.

“This inconvenience may lead to the slowdown of new company entrants into the market, thereby delaying employment creation at least until the system is up and running again,” Mr Qhesi said.

He said government stands to lose substantial revenue that could have been collected through company registrations.  Company registration fees are pegged at M530 per registration.

For her part, Ministry of Trade and Industry spokesperson, Lihaelo Nkaota said they were doing everything in their power to ensure that the system is back online.

“We are working hard to restore the on-line company registry system. We understand the cost implications this disruption may have on the business sector that is why we are doing everything in our power to speedily address the problem,” Ms Nkaota said.

With the system off-line, she said ministry officials were also unable to access records in the system making it impossible to revert to the manual system.

Asked if the ministry was up to date with its payments to the New Zealand service provider, Ms Nkaota said they were awaiting an invoice from Foster Moore.

Since its introduction, the system has experienced multiple glitches and the business community has often found it difficult to use it.

The post System failure at Trade paralyses business appeared first on Lesotho Times.

• says leaders must reform themselves first
• laws alone cannot save Lesotho

 Ntsebeng Motsoeli/Pascalinah Kabi

KING Letsie III has warned that if local political leaders do not reform themselves first, then the on-going national reforms processes would be in vain.

The King said this to an enchanted audience in his keynote address at the end of the second plenary of the Multi-Stakeholder National Dialogue Programme in Maseru yesterday.

The ceremony marked the end of the national dialogue process and will be followed by the appointment of the National Reforms Authority on 6 December 2019. The dialogue revolved around seven thematic arrears namely; parliamentary, constitutional, economic, public service, media, judiciary and security sector reforms segments.

His Majesty said merely enacting reforms and legislation would be futile if Basotho do not start putting action into words. He said reforms must start with individuals entrusted with the responsibility to implement them to faithfully translate Basotho’s views and aspirations into reality.

He said Basotho must start putting into practice the words in the national anthem which encourage Basotho to live in peace and harmony.

“I hope and trust that the words in our national anthem sink in our hearts so that we can leave behind our norms and practices of arguing and fighting among ourselves,” the King said.

“Allow me to repeat myself and remind you that reforms alone are not the ultimate solution to the challenges that we have,” he said to a thunderous applause from the audience.

“As long as we don’t change our mindsets and habits, no matter how good legislation we enact across the globe, this will just be a futile exercise,” he said to another rapturous applause.

It was therefore crucial for everyone to start reforming individually and ask God for assistance.

His Majesty pleaded for unity among the country’s citizens in building a country that can be envied by the world.

He said there were glaring divisions among the citizens because of deeply entrenched political polarisation. He added that the country’s precarious security situation had caused some to seek refuge in neighbouring South Africa.

“The right thing to do now and in the days ahead would be for those who have been entrusted with the responsibility to implement the reforms to faithfully translate those views and aspirations into reality. Let me remind you of a popular Latin idiom which means the voice of the people is the voice of God,” His Majesty said.

On his part, Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitator to Lesotho and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Lesotho was on a path to reach the Sustainable Development Goals and that all African countries must set up their efforts to strengthen political stability.

“Now is the time for both the national reforms authority and parliament to realise the aspirations that have been so eloquently articulated through this national dialogue process.

“The kingdom is now on a positive trajectory; let us keep it up and let us not falter. Let us remain resolute. Let us ensure that the foundation laid today for peace, stability and development in the Kingdom is jealously guarded,” Mr Ramaphosa said.

European Union (EU) ambassador to Lesotho, Christian Manahl, said the country had solid democratic foundations and traditions and had considerable potential.

“But apparently, the constitutional and legal framework is not in line anymore with the political and social dynamics of the country…this framework has not ensured the stability of government, security of all citizens and the predominance of the common good over particular or personal interest,” Dr Manahl said.

He said every country or political entity must review and update its governance structures from time to time to keep in pace with the ever-changing world.

He said Lesotho had symptoms which showed that review and update of governance structures were needed.

“Too many governments have not completed their terms in the past decade. Too many people have perished in the recurrent political violence or due to the act of rogue elements in the security forces. Too many Basotho look towards the government for employment in a country which officially states in the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) that the private sector should be the engine of growth and employment creation.”

He said the continuous trekking to South Africa for opportunities by Basotho was indicative of the need to update the country’s governance structure.

“Too many people are struggling to make a living without any formal employment at all. Too many people are languishing in prisons waiting for months, even years for their trials because of lack of resource in the judiciary. Too many people are going hungry because they have already been living in precarious conditions before the drought has pushed them over the brink,” Dr Manahl said.

Dr Manahl said Lesotho had also missed several chances for political and social reconciliation because of distrust and suspicion between politicians and the people where personal ambitions often prevailed over public interest.

“Today you can make history. Change will not come overnight. It will take time and the next phase of the reforms will require a lot of effort, patience and a strong sense of cooperation and compromise,” Dr Manahl said.

Democratic Congress (DC) leader, Mathibeli Mokhothu, pledged full commitment and support to the process.

“We must remain true to the ideals of our founding father Moshoeshoe I. The problems that confront us as a nation must teach us one thing that we are in a sinking ship… It is up to us to act together for the better or we perish together,” Mr Mokhothu, who is also the official leader of the opposition, said.

On his part, SADC mediator Justice Dikgang Moseneke said: “Africa deserves better. We do not deserve to idle in poverty and backwardness. We don’t deserve governments which are less than what we should have.

“Let’s make sure that something comes out of this effort,” Justice Moseneke said.

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