Ntsebeng Motsoeli

NEEDY Lesotho nationals based in South Africa will have to wait longer before they can access a once-off payment from the government to cushion them from the effects of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The government announced in March 2020 that it had set aside M4 million to help Basotho in South Africa. Each family would receive a meagre M350 once-off payment which could be used to purchase food.

However, according to Social Development ministry officials, they will have to wait until after the completion of the vetting of applications before they can receive the once-off payments.

There are an estimated 400 000 Basotho nationals in South Africa.

Social Development Minister ‘Matebatso Doti is on record saying the government will assist at least 12 000 Basotho who are facing starvation in the neighbouring country after they lost their jobs during the lockdown.

Ms Doti acknowledged that the assistance was not enough to cushion the recipients but added that “this was all the government could afford because it was short of resources”.

The Social Development ministry’s legal officer, Linkeng Khubetsoana, told the Lesotho Times this week that only 1 800 out of the 12 000 Basotho had been cleared by the ministry to receive assistance.

He however, said they would only receive the aid when the vetting exercise was complete. He said the government had a contract with South African retail giant Shoprite to process the vouchers to enable Lesotho nationals to receive the food assistance. He did not say when the vetting exercise would be completed.

“Shoprite said they can only start processing the vouchers once all the names of the beneficiaries have been submitted,” Mr Khubetsoana said.

“This means that the vouchers are not readily available for the 1 800 people whose names have been processed. They will have to wait until all the names have been processed because Shoprite says it would be very costly for them to give vouchers to recipients at different intervals. They want to do it all at once,” Ms Khubetsoana said.

The post SA-based Basotho to wait longer for Covid-19 relief appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Pascalinah Kabi | Mohalenyane Phakela

PRIME Minister Moeketsi Majoro has blasted government secretary Moahloli Mphaka for allegedly “unilaterally” and “fraudulently” renewing the contracts of principal secretaries, ‘Mabotle Damane and ‘Maseithati Mabeleng, earlier this year.

Dr Majoro said Mr Mphaka had no legal authority to renew principal secretaries’ contracts.  That power was vested in him as prime minister and he acted in consultation with the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Dr Majoro makes the allegations against Mr Mphaka in a replying affidavit filed last week to oppose Ms Damane and Mabeleng’s High Court application to stop the premier from removing them from office.

His claims are supported by the PSC chairperson, Moshoeshoe Sehlooho, who also deposited an affidavit in which he accused Mr Mphaka of “consistently arrogating to himself” powers he did not have to advise the PSC to renew the PSs’ contracts.

Mr Sehlooho says the PSC only agreed to renew Mr Mphaka’s own contract after receiving a request from then Prime Minister Thomas Thabane. He said the PSC refused to renew the PSs’ contracts because the request had not come from the prime minister but from Mr Mphaka whom he said did not have the power to make such requests.

Mr Mphaka yesterday insisted that the PSs’ contracts were renewed by Mr Thabane.

“The matter is now before the courts of law,” Mr Mphaka told the Lesotho Times yesterday.

“The courts will interpret who is wrong or right in this matter. But I wish to indicate that the contracts of principal secretaries were renewed by the prime minister (Mr Thabane) in terms of the law and Majoro was not the prime minister at the time.”

Last month, Ms Damane (Communications, Science and Technology ministry) and Ms Mabeleng (Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation) refused to vacate their offices to make way for Mr Tšeliso Lesenya and Advocate Mole Khumalo who had been appointed by Dr Majoro to replace them respectively.

The duo was sent on forced leave with effect from 10 July 2020 but they refused to go away quietly and they petitioned the High Court to nullify Dr Majoro’s decision to send them on forced leave. They also want the premier to be stopped from firing them from their jobs.

Dr Majoro, Mr Mphaka and the Attorney General Haae Phoofolo are first to third respondents respectively.

Ms Damane and Ms Mabeleng are among eight PSs whose contracts were renewed in April 2020 allegedly by then Prime Minister Thabane after they wrote to him expressing their wishes to have them renewed.

The six other PSs whose contracts were allegedly renewed by Mr Thabane are Mothabathe Hlalele (Public Works), Nthoateng Lebona (Finance), Motena Tšolo (Development Planning), Malefetsane Nchaka (Water), Tšeliso Lesenya (Communications, Sciene and Technology) and Khothatso Tšooana (Health).

Apparently, Dr Majoro does not want to retain Ms Damane and Ms Mabeleng in his new government which replaced the Thabane regime on 20 May 2020.

But the duo seems determined not to go without a fight.

In her founding affidavit filed in support of her application, Ms Mabeleng said she was initially appointed principal secretary on 7 July 2017.

She said her appointment was for an initial three years and she was obliged to indicate her intention to have the contract renewed five months before it expired if she wanted it extended. She said she expressed her desire to have her contract renewed by writing to Mr Mphaka in January this year.

She said on 21 April 2020, Mr Mphaka wrote to inform her that her contract would be renewed for another three years with effect from 6 July 2020, a date on which it was due to expire.

“On 12 May 2020 the (then) Minister of Finance (Dr Majoro) wrote me a letter in terms of which he designated me as the chief accounting officer in the Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation.

“On 10 July 2020 I received a letter from the second respondent (Mr Mphaka) where he informed me that the first respondent (Dr Majoro) had directed him to request me to “proceed on leave with immediate effect”.

She says she then wrote to Mr Mphaka informing him that Dr Majoro does not have the powers to order her to go on forced leave with immediate effect.

Ms Mabeleng said she further informed Mr Mphaka that in terms of section 12 (c) of the Public Service Act, only the government secretary could decide on her application for leave.

In her supporting affidavit, Ms Damane says on 10 July 2020 she received a letter from Mr Mphaka informing her that Dr Majoro had directed him to order her to go on leave with immediate effect.

She further says she immediately wrote to Mr Mphaka informing him that Dr Majoro did not have the powers to order her to go on forced leave.

“The second respondent (Mr Mphaka) told us in no uncertain terms that the first respondent (Dr Majoro) does not want to work with us, which we interpreted to mean he is dismissing us by requiring us to proceed on leave with immediate effect,” Ms Damane says.

It is not clear why Dr Majoro wants to get rid of the duo but his affidavit seems to suggest they had committed wrongdoing while in office.

In his replying affidavit, Dr Majoro says he evicted Ms Damane and Mabeleng from office because their contracts expired on 6 July 2020. He says their contracts had been illegally renewed by Mr Mphaka who does not possess the powers to do so.

“I categorically aver that the purported renewal of the contract of the deponent (Ms Mabeleng) by the government secretary is a pro non scripto (something that should be taken as though it never existed) and hence illegal,” Dr Majoro said in his affidavit.

“The government secretary does not have the power to renew contracts of principal secretaries. That power vests in the office of the prime minister acting with the concurrence of the Public Service Commission.”

Dr Majoro says Ms Mabeleng’s contract expired on 6 July 2020 and she cannot insist that her contract was renewed by Mr Mphaka who had no powers to do so.

He argues that his 12 May 2020 letter designating Ms Mabeleng as the chief accounting officer of the forestry ministry cannot be used to justify the argument that the contracts of Ms Mabeleng and Ms Damane were renewed.

He says his letters to Ms Damane and Mabeleng were issued for the purpose of administering public funds and cannot be linked to the renewal of the duo’s contracts. He confirms ordering Mr Mphaka to place the duo on forced leave.

“I confirm that I directed the second respondent (Mr Mphaka) to place the deponent on forced leave. I equally confirm that this was done without according the deponent (Ms Mabeleng) a hearing. I affirm that the right to due process would only be tenable if the deponent was legally in occupation of the relevant office.

“I aver that as the appointing authority of the principal secretaries with the concurrence of the Public Service Commission, it was and is, well within my powers to direct the government secretary to place the applicants on forced leave given the irregularities which I unravelled when probing the issues around their continued occupation of office.

“Forced leave…was an emergency measure which I had to undertake in order to protect the dignity and integrity of the esteemed offices which were occupied by the applicants given the compromised role that was played by the government secretary…

“I therefore aver that the forced leave was necessary given the illegal transactions which animated the applicants’ (Ms Damane and Ms Mabeleng)’s continued occupation of office as principal secretaries…

“There is a sound basis for acting as I did and such a decision cannot be faulted. There is no justifiable ground for applicants to be granted any of the reliefs that they seek. The entire reliefs that they seek are premised on the regularity or legality of the renewal of their contracts which is hotly contested and marred with grave irregularities,” Dr Majoro states.

PSC chairperson Mr Sehlooho also deposited an affidavit in support of Dr Majoro saying Mr Mphaka wrote to him sometime in March 2020 requesting the renewal of his (Mr Mphaka’s) contract along with those of the eight PSs including Ms Damane and Ms Mabeleng.

“The court shall observe that the first glaring anomaly had to do with the fact that the author of the document (Mr Mphaka) was conflicted. Secondly, the court shall observe that the office of the government secretary does not have any role to play in the renewal of contracts of principal secretaries. The mandate and power lay between the prime minister and the Public Service Commission.

“Thirdly, the dates of engagements and expiry of the contracts were not shown in the correspondence and hence limited in terms of critical information for the commission to make an informed decision. Fourthly and perhaps significantly, the right authority to author such a letter is the prime minister, not the government secretary especially given the fact that he was and is conflicted in the given circumstances,” Mr Sehlooho states in his affidavit.

He says that he personally called Mr Mphaka to a meeting to inform him that the prime minister (Mr Thabane at the time) and not the government secretary was the only one who could write to the PSC on the renewal of the government secretary and PSs’ contracts.

He says after the meeting, he subsequently received a letter from Mr Thabane but “it was authored specifically in motivation of the contract of the government secretary to the exclusion of all others”.

“The principal secretaries were not included… Following the transmission of the relevant letter (to the PSC from Mr Thabane) the PSC concurred with the proposal for renewal of the contract in favour of the government secretary.”

He said he received another memo on 21 April 2020 requesting the renewal of the eight PSs’ contracts but again the memo was authored by Mr Mphaka instead of the prime minister.

He said the PSC did not approve the request because Mr Mphaka “consistently arrogated to himself the powers that he did not have”.

If Mr Sehlooho’s submission is correct, this would mean that the eight PSs’ contracts which were said to have been renewed by Mr Thabane are all invalid but Dr Majoro is only intent on getting rid of Ms Damane and Ms Mabeleng as he has reassigned the other six.

Dr Majoro’s sharp tounged rebuke of thee GS in the affidavit will likely cast the spotlight on his working relationship with Mr Mphaka, who was known to be very close to Mr Thabane and his controversial wife ‘Maesaiah.  The GS’s post is a key pillar of the entire administrative apparatus of government. A close working relationship between a prime minister and a GS is thus seen as essential.

The post Majoro blasts Mphaka over “fraudulent” PSs’ contract renewals appeared first on Lesotho Times.

• wasteful NECC gobbles M161 million in just four months
• with a whooping M10 million spent on food for officials

Pascalinah Kabi

THE National Emergency Command Centre (NECC) had already gobbled M161 million out of the M698 million budget set aside by the government to fight the deadly Coronavirus (Covid-19) by the time it was disbanded in June 2020, the Lesotho Times has established.

A sizeable chunk of that money was not spent on core activities aimed at fighting the pandemic, which had infected 726 people and killed 21 by yesterday, but on luxuries like food and other items bought at highly inflated prices.

The story of Lesotho’s NECC seems to mirror that of South Africa’s Covid-19 procurement scandal, wherein dubious and incompetent entities with connections to politicians and influential people, have been corruptly awarded projects worth millions at the expense of experienced companies with proven track-records.

The scandal dubbed COVIDGATE by some South African media is now the subject of investigations by that country’s crime busting unit – the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).  It has already sucked in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko and ruling ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule whose two sons have been awarded lucrative Covid projects.

In Lesotho’s case, the extravagant NECC spent more than M10 782 618 on food for its staffers drawn from different ministries at a time health staff were going with no personal protective equipment (PPE) and there was almost no visible campaign effort to educate Basotho on the ravages of the virus. Other money was spent on purchasing office equipment and other related items at grossly inflated prices.  A sign of reckless, if not corrupt extravagance, was the purchase of just four 9 kg gas cylinders and four heaters at a highly inflated cost of M184 550 yet these items would at most have cost less than M5000. All these expenses are contained in a payment request submitted by the NECC to the Ministry of Finance.  The Lesotho Times was given a copy of the request this week.

The NECC was set up in March 2020 by then Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to spearhead the government’s response to Covid-19. It was established as an inter-ministerial committee comprising of the ministries of Health; Tourism, Environment and Culture; Communications, Science and Technology; Social Development and Water.

It was chaired by communications minister Thesele Maseribane. It was disbanded in June 2020 by new Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro who had succeeded Mr Thabane the previous month.

It has since been restructured and renamed the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC), in terms of the Disaster Management Act (DMA), and reporting directly to Dr Majoro.

Dr Majoro appointed Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) Commissioner General Thabo Khasipe as the chief executive officer of NACOSEC. Mr Khasipe’s appointment was widely commended as he is known as an astute, hands on professional who will most likely deliver on NACOSEC’s mandate in place of dithering politicians.

The disbandment of the NECC followed widespread condemnation that it was an extravagant institution, not focused on the core mandate of fighting Coronavirus but, providing a leeway for corrupt politicians and officials “to eat”.

A leaked April 2020 NECC document showed that instead of focusing on the core work of fighting Covid-19, the NECC was more concerned with the well-being of its officials with scarce funds earmarked for such superfluous aims as morning tea, lunch and dinner for personnel.

According to the document, tea, lunch and dines were budgeted at M180 each for the 70 persons at the NECC. Other extravagant and inflated expenses included that of a non-contact thermometer budgeted at a staggering M500 000 yet the most expensive one costs no more than M7000.

Although the NECC’s former chairperson, Chief ‘Maseribane, tried to explain at the time that the leaked document represented only an estimate not final budget, it had already sat the cat among the pigeons. Chief Maseribane could not adequately explain why even an estimate budget, which should mirror a final budget, could so extravagantly inflate the price of such a simple item.  The “thermometer episode” illustrated that the NECC was unfit for purpose resulting in its inevitable demise.

What was not known until now is that before it was disbanded in June 2020 and before all the controversy about its inflated and inexplicable costings, the NECC had already spent big.  The government is now saddled with the NECC’s M161 million expenditure matrix.

And despite Chief Maseribane’s earlier attempts at exhorting the NECC’s frugality, new information obtained by the Lesotho Times this week paints a completely different picture. It confirms the NECC as a profligate entity on an unguarded spending spree before it was disbanded by Dr Majoro.

According to the confidential payment schedule submitted to treasury, the NECC’s bill to suppliers total M161 228 638.

Of this amount, food suppliers are owed M10 782 618, as per the total tabulation by the NECC itself, while M1 382 940 is requested for fuel and transport supplies.

Water tanks for 769 schools cost M13 053 843; stationary for the NECC cost M76 279; name tags and stickers for the NECC cost M25 940; health suppliers and quarantine facilities cost M132 119 218 and M863 574 was allegedly spent on the construction of a Covid-19 testing laboratory facility.

Other expenses are for office equipment (M2 224 619), four 9 kg gas cylinders and four heaters (M184 550) as well as batteries for loud speakers used to spread Covid-19 awareness in the districts (M412 245).

The prices appear grossly inflated because the retail price for a 9 kg gas cylinder is M195.  A gas heater costs anything from M800 to M3500 depending on the specs.  This means that four 9 kg gas cylinders could have been purchased at 780. The heaters could not have cost more than M1000 each. The most expensive industrial heaters could have cost a maximum 14 000 for the four. How the NECC could thus spend a whooping M184 550 on such simple items is totally incomprehensible.

“Even if they were purchasing heaters for the heating system of an Airbus A380, they surely could not have cost so much…It seems like looting writ large,” said an official who requested anonymity.

Finance Minister Thabo Sophonea would neither confirm nor deny that his ministry had been asked to pay the NECC’s suppliers. He would also not say how much the NECC owed its suppliers to date.

“These are the issues to be dealt with by the prime minister’s office. They should be dealt with by the DMA which is the department in charge of the Covid-19 response,” Mr Sophonea told the Lesotho Times this week.

The DMA’s acting chief executive officer ‘Mabatlokoa Molai told the Lesotho Times that processes to pay the NECC’s suppliers had begun though she said she did not have specific figures requested for payment. Ms Molai said the suppliers would only be paid if they produced proof that they had indeed provided goods and services to the NECC.

“Yes, the accounts department is paying suppliers as we speak. Suppliers are only paid if they produce proof that they carried out the work. The payments are being done from the M700 million that was budgeted for Covid-19,” Ms Molai said.

Asked about the seemingly extravagant items like the hefty M10 million payout to food suppliers when frontline health workers were ever grumbling about not having personal protective equipment (PPE), Ms Molai said “people who were dedicated there (at the NECC) from March could not do their work on empty stomachs”.

“I don’t know the total amount of money spent on food. Our finance director Sehlomeng would be in a better position to give you the figures. Please call her,” Ms Molai said.

Ms Sehlomeng’s phone rang unanswered when this publication called her on Tuesday and yesterday.

However, the payment request shows that 17 catering companies supplied food and drinks for NECC staffers, security officers and two unnamed officers who distributed PPE in Semonkong, Mafeteng and Butha-Buthe.

Eleven of these companies do not even appear on the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s online companies’ registry.

The eleven are Blessing Catering, Dickies Catering, Malentsoe’s Catering, Farm Cut Catering, Blue Birds Catering, Arizona Food and Beverage Catering, Mount Crest Guest House, Majara’s Catering, Litebza’s Catering, Aloes Lancers Gap as well as Anwary Rite Value Distribution and Wholesales.

On 9 July 2020, Blessing Catering billed the NECC M150 500 for “lunch for 215 LMPS members while on Covid-19 duty from 6 July to 12 July 2020”.

On 15 June 2020, Dickies Catering billed the NECC M13 400 for “lunch packs for NECC staff on duty in the field”.

Dickies Catering supplied “82 packs plus 52 lunch packs from 27 April to 3 May 2020 to officers delivering PPE to districts and security officers” (sic).

On 6 July 2020, the NECC was billed another M10 000 by Dickies Catering for “100 extra lunch (packs) for NECC staff on duty from 27 April to 1 May 2020”.

Dickies Catering sent another M21 000 bill for the supply of “lunch and soft drinks for 21 officers” on 5 June 2020.

Malentsoe’s Catering charged the NECC M2200 on 5 June 2020 for “lunch for NECC staff in Semonkong, Mafeteng and Butha-Buthe”.

On 6 July 2020, Farm Cut Catering charged the NECC M56 000 for “dinner for 80 LMPS members on Covid-19 duty from 29 June to 5 July 2020”.

On 6 July 2020, Blue Birds Catering submitted a M105 000 bill for “lunch for 150 command centre personnel on duty from 29 June 2020”.

Two days later, Arizona Food and Beverage Catering billed the NECC M64 000 for “lunch for 100 command centre personnel on duty from 6 to 10 July 2020 and lunch for 70 people on 11 and 12 July 2020”.

Mount Crest Guest House sent a M2320 bill for “accommodation and meals for two officers distributing PPE in Mokhotlong on 9 and 10 July 2020”.

On 9 July 2020, Majara’s Catering submitted a M56 000 bill for “dinner for 80 LMPS members on Covid-19 duty from 6 July to 12 July”.

Litebza’s Catering submitted five bills to the NECC on 5 June 2020. Dinner for LMPS officers from 13 to 19 July 2020 was charged at M56 000; lunch for LMPS officers from 20 to 26 July 2020 cost M182 000 and dinner for LMPS officers from 20 to 26 July cost M56 000.

The payment request also shows a M5, 5 million bill owed to unnamed caterers who provided food to the command centre and another M276 500 for food supplied to the LMPS on the NECC’s behalf.

Aloes Lancers Gap billed the NECC M85 860 for meals and accommodation, among a host of other food related costs.

Anwary Rite Value Distribution and Wholesales allegedly supplied the NECC with tinned fish and beef; milk and peanuts for the LMPS officers, army officers and DMA staff on 26 May 2020. It has billed the NECC M3 145 180 for the supplies.

Anwary was also contracted to supply the NECC with seven laptops and two desk top computers on 16 April 2020 and these were billed at M114 341.

The company also supplied the NECC with “17 fogging machines for the Lesotho Correctional Service” at a cost of M335 782. Fogging machines are used to disinfect premises.

On 26 May 2020, Anwary billed the NECC M42 731 for 1200 batteries for loud speakers to be used in the districts. It was billed another M42 731 for an unspecified number of batteries for the loud speakers.

On 6 July, the company supplied the NECC with a printer and shredder for M28 999, 99. It sent another M63 579, 18 bill for a “Lexmark tonner for the Mohale’s Hoek District Command Centre”. It also billed the NECC M6 649, 75 for stationary.

Different companies have billed the NECC M13 million for the supply of 769 water tanks. The tanks have a capacity of 10 000 litres each.

Bid Z Industries billed the NECC M4, 6 million for 258 tanks for schools in Mafeteng, Quthing and Mohale’s Hoek.  AA Building Material and Furniture charged M3, 3 million for 270 tanks for schools in Mokhotlong, Qacha’s Nek, Maseru and Thaba-Tseka.

Mathabo Trading charged M5 million for 241 tanks for schools in Butha-Buthe, Berea and Leribe.

Phone calls by this publication to different hardware stores this week revealed that on average a 10 000 litre water tank costs M12 000.

However, the NECC bought a single tank for M17 859 from Bid Z Industries, another tank for M12 545 from AA Building Material and another for M20 990 from Mathabo Trading.

A Ministry of Education and Training official, Mary Mokemane, said “80 percent” of the 786 water tanks had been distributed to different schools across the country.

“Schools in dire need of water were asked to register with the district education offices to benefit from this (water tanks) project. I am told that 80 percent of those tanks have already been delivered to those schools,” Ms Mokemane said.

There is now also the revelation that a company linked to an infamously corrupt Chinese national, Jan Xie, also called John, was being paid about M53 000 per day in rentals for the NECC’s use of the Manthabiseng Convention Centre, a government facility whose management was outsourced to the company in question, J & M Properties.  How the NECC could have agreed to such a huge rental package, over which the government is now being sued, is also another incomprehensible strand in the whole saga. But at least Xie has publicly confessed he has a number of politicians in his pocket and regularly bribes them to get his way.

The revelations of the NECC’s extravagance come barely two weeks after the auditor general’s office said it had begun auditing the government’s Covid-19 budget.

In a letter to the principal secretary for cabinet administration, Kabelo Lehora, last week, Monica Besetsa, from the auditor general’s office said the “comprehensive audit” was aimed at establishing whether all the information provided by NECC tallied with its activities and financial transactions.

‘Matšepo Mohau, the information officer in the office of the auditor general, later confirmed to this publication that they had begun auditing the Covid-19 budget. She however, said the audit was a confidential matter for the time being.

While the NECC officials ensured they were adequately supplied with food at their operational venue at Manthabiseng Convention Centre or wherever they travelled, hospitals and other health facilities experienced shortages of basic PPE, not to mention intensive care unit (ICU) beds for Covid-19 patients.

Health professionals were to later embark on a two week long strike to protest the government’s failure to award them risk allowances and the PPE to shield them from the deadly virus. The strike began on 13 July 2020 and only ended on 25 July after the government agreed to give the health workers allowances ranging from M2000 to M3500 per worker per month. The government has also started distributing PPE to the health workers.

It is only now that the health sector’s problems are receiving urgent attention after the appointment of Mr Khasipe as chief executive officer of NACOSEC.

The post COVIDGATE!!! appeared first on Lesotho Times.

WE are glad that the government has finally decided to investigate the troubling issue of police brutality.

This was revealed last week by Deputy Prime Minister Mathibeli Mokhothu who said the cabinet was considering setting up a commission of inquiry to investigate widespread allegations of police brutality.

Mr Mokhothu said the cabinet had already ordered ministers in charge of the security agencies to investigate the allegations and their findings will determine if a commission of inquiry is necessary.

The two ministers who have been tasked with probing the issue and reporting to cabinet are ‘Mamoipone Senauoane (Police and Public Safety) and Prince Maliehe (Defence and National Security).

While it is heartening to hear the deputy prime minister speak of bringing rogue police officers to justice, we will not pop the champagne just yet.

We will only bring out the glasses for a toast when we see the actual results of the government’s probe.

Seeing is believing and like the Biblical Thomas, we will only believe and give due credit when we see the results.

No one can fault us for being sceptical because we have travelled this road before. Last year we prematurely congratulated the previous government when then Prime Minister Thomas Thabane announced that he had tasked then Police and Public Safety Minister ‘Mampho Mokhele and Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli to probe allegations of police brutality and furnish him with a report.

We also rejoiced when the then government told Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders that at least 30 rogue police officers, accused of brutality including killing and injuring suspects in police custody, would soon face criminal charges.

“The government of Lesotho has taken practical steps in a quest to address the general concern by members of the public regarding police brutality.

“These include interdiction of 30 police officers who will appear for criminal prosecution and/or disciplinary hearings. There are also 11 criminal cases pending before the courts of law while ten have been recommended for inquest,” the Thabane government said in its August 2019 report to SADC leaders.

A year has passed since the then government made that undertaking but we have not heard of any progress on the trial of the rogue police officers.

It appears no inquiry ever took place hence the latest remarks by Mr Mokhothu that they will only set up a commission of inquiry if Ms Senauoane and Mr Maliehe’s reports show that it is required.

Police brutality is an acceptable cancer in any democratic dispensation.  We need a competent and highly disciplined force that enjoys the confidence of the nation as well as our development partners.

Despite a seemingly bright start in fighting crime after his August 2018 appointment by then Prime Minister Thabane, Commissioner Molibeli appears to have gone off the rails.

Some of the worst cases of brutality against citizens have been recorded under his watch.

Even the junior police officers are complaining about Commissioner Molibeli and his management team’s failure to rein in on rogue officers. The Lesotho Mounted Police Service Staff Association (LEPOSA) has even petitioned Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro to act against the police boss.

Thus far, Dr Majoro has maintained a stoic silence. We appeal to him to act. He must say something and do something to reassure the nation that the government does not condone the violation of citizens’ rights by the very state institutions that are supposed to be upholding those same rights.

The prime minister must speak and act, not only to reassure the nation but our international development partners who have expressed their displeasure over the systematic violations of human rights by the police.

Last year the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) produced a report expressing concern over the “persistent allegations of police brutality” in Lesotho. Its plea to the government to capacitate the relevant institutions to enable them to investigate allegations of human rights violations has so far fallen on deaf ears.

The United States government has also warned that it could freeze development assistance to Lesotho if the government did not rein in rogue police officers.

We certainly don’t need to first lose out on crucial development assistance for the government to act.

We therefore call on the new coalition to move beyond words and make good on its promise to deal with the scourge of police brutality.

It must do so without further delay for the sake of Basotho who have suffered enough at the hands of rogue officers.

The post Walk to the talk on police brutality appeared first on Lesotho Times.

By Mamello Morrison 

5 August 2020

Dear Dr Majoro

Let me take this opportunity to address this humble letter to you on this fifth day of an important month in the struggle to accord respect to women and recognise their worth as human beings, created in the image of God, and as leaders in their own right.

Not only is this an important month in the recognition of the rights of women but it is also the first month in the calendar of Basotho where we call upon the Almighty God to grant us plenty as we begin the sowing season. We sow in the fields and in our lives.

I have learnt with great shock that you Prime Minister, supported by the Deputy Prime Minister have called the National AIDS Commission board to inform them that you have disbanded the board with immediate effect. A statement that in our language would ring something like…. Hang-Hang which was the hallmark of military rule!

Prime Minister, let me bring to your attention a few salient features of proper human-conduct especially as you sit on that high pedestal where members of the majority party in parliament have catapulted you.

1. First is the fact that those commissioners were engaged in a national endeavour of great importance. They did not volunteer their service but were appointed by the government of the day, through a letter and a contract-giving them the respect they deserve as human beings. How do you then just dismiss them without a formal letter, especially since their contracts were due to end in November this year?
2. Despite the hardships they laboured under, they did some work for the nation. How do you disband them without as much of a courtesy to invite them to give you a report even if you know you will not read it? Their work was for the nation and they owe this nation a report- an opportunity you denied them. Is that a regular manner of executing public responsibilities?
3. You are reported to have told them that they were “irregularly” appointed which begs the question who appointed them irregularly? Were they not appointed by the same democratically-elected government of which your deputy was a member? Did the DPM not personally submit the name of the youth representative or both of you were in such an undignified hurry to get rid of them that you even forgot to recall these simple realities?
4. Chairing the same board is no less a dignitary than the President of the LECSA Seboka. I do not even wish to question your Christian allegiance, but I only wish to ponder whether such an important national figure is one who would be subjected to such ignominy, with clear consciences of course.!

Prime Minister, when you were elevated to this high position, much as I had no knowledge of your skills or prowess, your education was enough to give me comfort that the nation will see a mark of that academic achievement in your daily discourse on national matters.

I do not know whether this is the right time to express disappointment or take it that you have had a long review of this anomaly and therefore the wisdom of our ancestors will prevail upon you.

Sir I beg you to do the right thing- which I need not spell out for you-for doing that would be an insult to your intelligence and integrity as a public figure.

Rest assured that indeed the time to be indifferent observers is over- some of us cannot, with clear consciences remain true to our constitutional obligations and watch this sad catalogue of errors become a permanent feature of our governance system.

We shall continue to remind you of the luminary wisdom of the founding father of Lesotho politics that “Babusi ba busoe ke babusuoa” (leaders should be governed by the governed) which you took the liberty to quote not so long ago.

Please accept, prime minister assurance of my highest considerations.

Mamello Morrison

Ms Morrison is a member of the opposition Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). She served as Senior Private Secretary to then Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili during the seven parties’ coalition from 2015 to 2017.

The post Open letter to the Right Honourable Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Who exactly does the crooked Yan Xie — aka John — think he is? And why do Basotho continue letting him get away with murder. Xie is a bad apple who gives all Chinese nationals a bad name. They should ban him from all Chinese restaurants and from the Avani Lesotho casino (thank God it remains closed).

Since coming to Lesotho and buying his citizenship certificate, he has been corruptly stealing money from the government of Lesotho and engaging in all kinds of criminality with gay abandon. He has no sense of shame nor restraint.

Xie never brought any investment here.  He did not even establish a Chinese restaurant, the first investment choice for his fellow nationals — before they worm their way into the Lesotho treasury.

He only established his glorified Spaza Shop — Jackpot Supermarket — after he had wormed his way into state lucre and started thieving from poor Basotho.

Even his friend — ex premier Ntate Motsoahae is on record saying — “I first knew John when he came to Lesotho sometime back and when he was very poor then”.

He has become so rich that he no longer joins his fellow countrymen in their other passionate “investment” project; gambling at the casino.

So how does a Chinese man who came here virtually penniless and without even a decent under-garment become so rich so quickly? We all know the story of John. Corruption and more corruption have been his very essence.

The lowest point for me was when John — most probably drunk on his filthy lucre — boasted that he had been paying our politicians from the Ntate Mosisili era up to the Motsoahae coalitions to get his way.

In an interview published by Amabhungane in 2018, Xie essentially openly boasted about how he keeps Lesotho politicians in his pocket.

He boasted about how he had bankrolled Ntate Motsoahae’s 2017 Princess Diana/Prince Charles like wedding to Lady Dee. He boasted about how he had bankrolled another wedding of Thato Nkhahle (nee Mosisili), the daughter of Ntate Mosisili when he was still Prime Minister. He also boasted about how he had funded the birthday party of Ntate Metsing

Upon his second reincarnation as Prime Minister Ntate Motsoahae had appointed Xie to the incongruously titled position of “Head of Special Projects and the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy and Trade Adviser on the China-Asia Trade Network”.

Scrutator has never stopped wandering what Xie did to Ntate Motsoahae for the old codger ABC to devise such a grandiose and extravagant title for him. Bankrolling a wedding — no matter how opulent — is surely no reason for Ntate Motsoahae to have gone that far. Xie should surely have bewitched our Ntate Motsoahae. After all they are known for trusting juju in China. But again, it could be that Ntate Motsoahae was just contended with the crumbs for Xie. After all, he was never known for any avarice. Until Lady Dee hit the seen.

As a career criminal, Xie had never worked in any trade related endeavours. He was not known at both the World Trade Centre and UNTDC. So, what interest of Lesotho was he going to advance and with exactly who in Asia? Who was ever going to take him seriously as a representative of His Majesty’s government? Zilch. And what Lesotho agenda is relevant to the China-Asia trade network after all? Only Ntate Motsoahae knows.

In that 2018 interview, Xie boasted that apart from bankrolling prime ministers, ministers, principal secretaries and MPs, he had funded just about every other political party or politician in Lesotho. It is not often that a crooked businessman comes out to claim that they are bankrolling politicians and even name them.

That would sound their death-knell.

Even though the relationship between a politician and corruption is akin to that of conjoined twins in Lesotho, no politician would want it publicly known that they are being bribed.  But there was Xie.

Naming politicians that he had paid without a care. I thought that would be the end of him.  I thought Lesotho politicians would be ashamed.  I thought they would revoke his fake citizenship and deport him back to Huan so he can be the first victim of Covid.  It was not to be.

That did not happen.  In fact, our politicians embraced him more. His role in government was even more intensified.  Xie then proceeded to expense his state capture project at the expense of Basotho.

Said Ntate Teboho Sekata of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) then, “there are signs that John is controlling the government”. Of course, he was. He was the real prime minister.

As a major shareholder in Lesotho’s only abattoir, Xie had engineered the ban on red meat imports from South Africa so his project could enjoy a monopoly.  He then engineered the state’s controversial policy on wool and mohair, so that another Chinese crook could benefit.  He was aptly assisted by Chalane Charlatan Phori.

He then got the Motsoahae coalition to replace the South African-based experienced broker BKB with a Chinese scam operation called Ningbo ETDZ Holdings.

Xie had also boasted in that 2018 interview about how Ntate Motsoahae had lived in his Hillsview Mansion upon his return from his two-year Tlali Kamoli induced sojourn to Ficksburg.  Machesetsa Mofomobe spoke in the same interview and confirmed that BNP politicians had been bankrolled by Xie in their individual capacities. He was at pains to explain the BNP had not been funded as a party– as if there was any difference.

But for me the most insulting aspect of Xie’s 2018 interview was his claim that as advisor to Ntate Motsoahae, he had brought major projects “which are all pending approval by the Cabinet”.

Key among these projects was Xie’s plan to export 30 000 Basotho women to China to work as domestic workers.

“Each would earn R 6, 000 a month, three-times more than what they are currently earning in the textile factories,” Xie boasted.

“China currently employs 300 000 domestics from the Philippines, and we only need Lesotho to provide 10 percent of that,” he boasted further.

“The government is just too slow. Everything takes too long for the ministers to approve. Lesotho is behind in so many things because ministers don’t make decisions,” Xie said, lamenting the delays in identifying his 30 000 women exports to China.

Xie boasted again, “I told the government secretary (Mphaka) to keep their salary. What can it do for me? It’s a small amount for me,” he said,

Of course, what would the 38 000 paid to senior government officials do to Xie, when he had essentially been given the keys to the treasury.

If anyone wants confirmation that Xie is a complete scumbag, then please google and read that interview.

So here is a man who has been stealing left right and centre, now belittling the M38 000 wages paid to the very people that have been facilitating his looting?  He does not see himself as being worthy of such a paltry salary? In other words, he is telling our PSs and ministers that they are fools.

“Look, the wage you offered me is a pittance. Earn it yourself and facilitate for me to earn a zillionth times that because you are too stupid and I am too clever”; This seems to have been the essence of Xie’s message to our officials.

Here is a man who thinks so low of our women that he thinks they are better off being exported to China to earn M6 000.  So, a Mosotho is worth travelling to China to earn only M 6000 yet Xie travels to settle in Lesotho and steal hundreds of millions?   What a travesty.  At such a wage, it means the women would never afford a ticket to come back to Lesotho. Which means they would have to be enslaved there forever as sexual servants; perhaps Xie’s true aim.

The fact that we have hosted this scumbag for so long and even awarded him citizenship should shame us all.

But why have I made Xie a topic of discussion this week. I am miffed by reports that he has been stealing more of our money by charging the now disbanded and corrupt National Emergency Command Centre (NECC) M53 000 in rentals a day for its use of the “Manthabiseng Convention Centre, itself a government property corruptly outsourced to Xie’s company for management.

This is yet another stinking deal facilitated for Xie by our corrupt politicians. I would wish to know the “genius” of the NECC who thought it prudent that Basotho taxpayers should doll such a humungous amount of money to Xie to rent our government’s own property.  For M53 000, the NECC could have rented an entire floor at the LNDC centre. But no. That would not have been good for Xie’s pockets.

So here is a man with the power to ban red meat imports into Lesotho, effectively hiking prices and profits for his own beef monopoly abattoir. Here is a man who has the power to let our government consign our wool and mohair farmers to a life of penury while reaping rewards for his fellow Chinese’s crooked wool centre.

Here is a man who essentially puts an elected prime minister in his back pocket. Xie makes Atul Gupta’s capture of Jacob Zuma and the South African state look like a Sunday afternoon picnic of mogodu and samp.

The sad thing is that in his native China, Xie would have been hanged for his corruption. But in Lesotho he is not only encouraged. He is mollycoddled. I for one don’t believe that Xie is in Australia as has been reported by media houses. He is right here trying to bait our new Prime Minister Majoro. Let’s hope he will not succeed with Ntate Majoro. In fact, he should not succeed and he won’t succeed.

And for those Basotho in J and M Properties and other shameless Basotho who have facilitated Xie’s looting, I repeat; shame on you. You are an embarrassment not only to this nation, but to humanity. What the hell do you think you are doing suing our government on behalf of a celebrated crook to claim M53 000 daily rentals from the Lesotho government for its own property.

You are an embarrassment. And when the time finally arrives for Xie to either be hanged or sent back to Huan, you should be hanged or deported with him. Once there, get your Chinese citizenship as Xie did here. Let’s see whether you will then be able to get away with the murder that you have facilitated for Xie here.

Ache!!!

The post Yan Xie — Lesotho’s very own crooked Gupta appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Moorosi Tsiane

THE Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) will have to wait for the finalisation of Matlama’s appeal case before setting the dates on which the soccer transfer window will open.

LeFA secretary general Mokhosi Mohapi said this in an interview with the Lesotho Times on Tuesday.

The winter transfer window normally starts from June until August but this year it was disrupted by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic which saw soccer and other sporting activities being halted in March.

LeFA resolved to end the season on 31 July 2020 with leagues ending in their current states.

Bantu were to be crowned champions but Matlama protested before the Disputes and Protests Committee (DISPROCO) challenging LeFA’s decision and they lost the case. They have however, appealed the ruling.

Different teams have already started signing players for the new season but will not be able to register them.

“The transfer dates haven’t been decided as yet because of Matlama’s pending appeal which will be heard on Friday (tomorrow),” Mohapi said.

He said the other challenge that they are facing is in relation to the fact that soccer activities are still barred by the country’s Covid-19 regulations.

“We must adhere to the regulations. The window will only open when soccer activities have been allowed to resume.”

Mohapi said they have unsuccessfully tried to engage the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) to discuss the resumption of soccer activities.

“We have asked several times for a chance to negotiate with NACOSEC but unfortunately, we have been ignored. So, there is still a long way until we can allow soccer activities to resume. FIFA has strictly advised all associations to adhere to their respective countries’ Covid-19 regulations and that is what we are doing.”

Meanwhile, a fortnight ago, seven sporting codes (athletics, golf, off road, cycling, equestrian (horse riding), paralympic-athletics, and online chess) were given the green to resume activities. They were allowed because their activities do not require the sharing of equipment.

The post Soccer transfer dates yet to be decided appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Leemisa Thuseho | Moorosi Tsiane

THE 2020 African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 games Local Organising Committee (LOC) secretariat has dragged Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation minister Likeleli Tampane for terminating their contracts last week.

The 36 members of the secretariat were handed their contract termination letters last week.

The contracts were terminated soon after Tampane told the committee that she was cancelling the AUSC Games that were penned in for December next year.

Tampane cited the lack of funds and the prevailing Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic as the reasons for cancelling the games.

According to one of the contract termination letters seen by the Lesotho Times, the secretariat was fired in accordance with section 66 (1) and (C) of the Labour Code Order 1992.

“Following the cancellation of the AUSC Region 5 Youth games by the Minister of Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation, please be informed that your employment contract is terminated with immediate effect,” the letter reads.

“This is (being) done in accordance with Section 66 (1) and (C) of the Labour Code Order 1992.

“You will be duly paid your pro-rata gratuity as required by the law. You will also be paid cash in lieu of notice for the month of September 2020.”

The contracts were effective from April 2018 and were expected to run until end of March next year.

One of the fired members of the secretariat said they want answers with regards to the reasons for which they were fired as the letters were “unclear”.

“We are just seeking clarity why our contracts were terminated because the letters are not clear. We were just told it was with immediate effect.

“So, we have already filed a case at the Labour Court and now our lawyers will be dealing with everything from now on. We won’t get into details because we don’t want to jeopardise our case,” said the member who preferred anonymity for fear of reprisal.

LOC chairperson Fusi Notoane confirmed that they were seeking recourse from the courts.

“After the minister told us about her decision to cancel the games, the LOC members’ contracts were terminated and they decided to approach the courts,” Notoane said.

He said they have already informed the Region 5 regional organising committee (ROC) about the developments and were now awaiting a response.

Although the minister has announced the cancelation of the games, this publication is informed that her decision is yet to be formally communicated to the AUSC Region 5.

A Region 5 ministers’ troika meeting on 31 July 2020 resolved to postpone the games to December 2021. The games had been initially been set to be held this December but the ministers resolved to move them because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The meeting was chaired by Tampane.

The fired members’ lawyer Motiea Teele could not be reached for comment yesterday as his phone was unavailable.

The games, which are meant to develop young talent in the 10 countries that are in the region including Lesotho. The other nine are Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, eSwatini, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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Moorosi Tsiane | Leemisa Thuseho

THE infighting at Lioli took a new twist yesterday with the interim committee accusing the club’s patrons, Lebohang Thotanyana and Chief Sempe Masupha of sabotaging their work.

The acting president, Lephethasang Hlajoane Lesaoana, yesterday accused Masupha of ordering the team’s sponsors, among them Alliance Insurance Company, to withhold the funds they remit to the club monthly.

This has forced the team to fail to pay its players for July 2020.

Lesaoana said this during a media briefing in Maseru yesterday.

The briefing was also attended by interim secretary Teboho Mofolo, interim president technical Moses Maliehe and committee members Mamoqebelo Semethe, Tsepo Shoai and Thamae Matjeke.

Lesaoana accused Masupha (chief patron) and former president Thotanyana of interfering with the team’s daily business.

Masupha recently wrote to both Alliance Insurance Company (sponsors) and Ramatheola Supermarket (tenants) asking them to stop disbursing funds to the committee as it was illegitimately in the office. In the letter seen by the Lesotho Times, Masupha said the committee was supposed to have issued a notice of its annual general meeting (AGM) last month and eventually convene the meeting this month as stipulated by the club’s constitution.

Lesaoana yesterday said both Alliance and Ramatheola have not released any funds and this has resulted in the team failing to pay players.

“It is wrong for the chief patron to interfere in the team’s affairs and make such decisions which affect the team negatively,” Lesaoana said.

“We have a letter which he wrote to our sponsors and tenants directing them to stop giving us money allegedly because we are here illegally.

“Patrons can only act on behalf of the team when they are assigned by the board through the president and this was never the case. It must be clear that our chief patron is not the owner of this team, he is just an ambassador and he can’t make such decisions although we respect him as our principal chief.”

He said they met with the patrons and the Berea District Football Association (DIFA) last Sunday and resolved that the chief patron should withdraw his letters but he was yet to do so.

The Lesaoana led committee was co-opted in January this year following the resignation of Lioli’s executive committee members. Executive members, Tšeliso Tekateka and two vice presidents; Lehlohonolo Thotanyana and Tšeliso Mou left just a few months after their appointment while Itumeleng Mpokathe followed suit a few weeks later.

Lesaoana, Maliehe, Teboho Mofolo and Tšepo Shoai were all co-opted to fill in the vacancies.

Lesaoana also rubbished claims that his committee was in the office illegally and were avoiding an elective AGM so that they may remain in the office. The committee has been accused of using the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for which they cannot hold the AGM.

“The expectation was that we would hold the AGM this month as per our constitution… We sought a permit to hold an AGM last month but unfortunately, our application was denied by the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“However, last weekend the chief patron promised to negotiate for us with NACOSEC so that we get a permit to hold the AGM before this month end. Should we get the permit, then we don’t have any problems but it is the AGM that will determine whether or not we should hold elections. If it decides against elections, then we will remain in the office until 2022.”

Lesaoana accused Thotanyana of frustrating the interim committee to make way for his re-election.

“We suspect this is all Thotanyana’s doing because he wants to get back into the team’s leadership, which we don’t have a problem with.”

He also accused Thotanyana of feeding DIFA Berea with defamatory information alleging that Lesaoana’s committee was misusing funds.

Masupha could not be reached for comment yesterday while Thotanyana said we should contact him tomorrow (Friday) to comment on the allegations levelled against him.

For his part, Maliehe accused the patrons of frustrating the committee’s efforts to sign new players.

“Our failure to receive money from Alliance deterred us from signing players like John Mofokeng and Monaheng Velaphe from Lifofane because we needed money to seal the deal but our funds were frozen…”

Maliehe challenged Alliance to honour their contractual obligation with the club.

“Alliance must honour its contractual obligations. We have asked for the copy of the contract between Lioli and Alliance but we have been waiting in vain,” Maliehe said.

Alliance marketing manager Limakatso Mokobocho confirmed that they had stopped giving the team money. She said they were still trying to get clarity on what was happening at the club.

“We have stopped giving them money and that was because it came to our attention that there were some squabbles in the team and we needed to establish which committee was legitimate.

“We are aware that there were some uncertainties within the team because even when we wanted to meet them, we struggled,” said Mokobocho.

She however, could neither deny nor confirm receiving a letter from Masupha.

The post Lioli fights intensify appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Bataung Moeketsi

SEVERAL local upcoming artistes have collaborated on a 16-track mixtape dubbed The Street Vol. 1 which was released on 7 August 2020.

The project has 19 artistes including King Kris LSO, Andy, Johnny Sniper, Jim Math, StoNer, Johnson K, LetshohlaJr, Nizzy King, Kat and Lonester.

Porsche Ala Presto, AY-D, Tiel Ra, DESIRE, GoodWill, Dabbi Sad, Macc Warlet, Shank, and Nickson are also on the project.

LesMusic is solely hosting the project on its website from which listeners can download it for free. LesMusic public relations officer, Litšitso Sibolla, curated the mixtape and selected the songs that made the cut out of 140 records that were submitted for the project.

King Kris LSO and graphics company Gfted Castle Graphics were also involved in the selection process. Gfted Castle Graphics offered its graphic design services towards the mixtape.

King Kris LSO recently told the Xpress People he had been entertaining the idea of creating such a platform for upcoming artistes from as early as 2018.

He however, waited until he had a large enough following before executing his vision of unearthing Lesotho’s hidden talents.

“My vision has always been one of a healthy industry, an industry of successful artistes who work together and create great music together, and an industry that could penetrate the global market together,” King Kris LSO said.

“What I had realised being an independent upcoming artiste myself, was that local musicians are mostly filled with envy.”

He said the tracks were chosen based on quality, the artistes’ delivery and flow patterns among others.

According to the rapper, the reception of the mixtape has been exceptional since its release as it has achieved its mandate of placing a spotlight on the hip-hop industry.

King Kris LSO said plans are already underway for the second instalment of the mixtape series.

“The next volume will be aimed at promoting not only local artistes but also upcoming producers. We hope to incorporate videographers, content creators and event organisers in the mix.”

For his part, Sibolla said their role in the mixtape is from a promotional perspective since LesMusic also promotes projects via social media.

“LesMusic is focused on revolutionising the country’s music industry and this project, which features a bunch of artistes, promotes unity because when people work together, they can easily build an industry.

“The artistes involved also promote the project as a team and therefore, it means the fans of one artiste will discover other new artistes on the mixtape. We hope that similar collaborative endeavours will create a buzz in the music industry and the talent it has to offer,” Sibolla said.

LesMusic was founded in 2015 and started by building its website and handling administrative issues. It officially launched its website in 2019.

Sibolla said they are currently working on a feature that will allow listeners to purchase music off the website, which will in turn ensure that artistes get paid for streams and downloads.

They are currently working on the legal technicalities pertaining to the sale of music on the website.

The post Artistes in on joint mixtape appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Bataung Moeketsi

LESOTHO-based Congolese artiste, Yemba Shungu, has released the video for his latest single titled I Hope.

The video features his fellow Jenuine Hype record label vocalist Ray Mote and was released last Wednesday.

Produced by Phil Vigilante, the visuals depict a story of a young man who meets and approaches a woman who is reluctant to entertain him. She however, gives in on realising that they have met before and they begin their relationship.

On the song’s chorus, Shungu sings about a former lover whose dreams he hopes have come true along with everything else she has worked towards despite the fact that they were no longer in a relationship.

The rapper interchanges between melodic singing aided by autotune and raps over Iryson and Redash’s catchy Afro beats.

Shungu told the Weekender on Monday that he wrote the track in 2018 but had no plans of releasing it as he believed his audience would not like it.

“I accidentally sent the song to a friend of mine, Rose, who sent a text back saying she had it on repeat and that she liked it,” Shungu said.

“I decided to drop a snippet on my WhatsApp and most of my contacts asked for the full track so I had to release it. The beat was remade by upcoming producers, Iryson and Redash, after I told them I needed a rich African sound and they nailed it.”

I Hope will appear on Shungu’s debut extended play titled African Son which will only have six songs. Although the exact release date has not been set, fans can look forward to a September 2020 release.

“It’s my first project, so listeners can expect a personal approach towards the music as I want them to get to know me more.

“I’m also trying to get my first artiste, Ray Mote’s name out there hence I chose I Hope as a lead single.”

Shungu started recording music in 2011 but only gained popularity on the Lesotho music scene after he was discovered by Kommanda Obbs in 2012 and signing to Tšepe Records under the rap group D2AMAJOE in 2013.

In 2013, he also won the coveted Vodacom Superstars competition under the duo Foreign Currency alongside T.I.E.H.O.

“After going solo in late 2016, I started my own independent record label popularly known as Jenuine Hype through which I released my first official single Hele, one of the biggest local songs of 2017.

“In 2019 I released the Ke Fashion Nthoena video which was shot by and had a cameo of Don Dada Africa. I believe the song greatly influenced Lesotho’s current music scene as most local hip-hop artistes are embracing Sesotho culture now.”

Since bursting on to the scene, the 26-year-old has been known for singing in English, Sesotho and French and his dynamic raps.

Shungu said fans should be on the lookout for more visuals and he is also planning to do more television and radio interviews this year.

He intends to continue collaborating work with local and South African artistes and says he has already bagged a big-name feature which may appear on his upcoming EP.

“When it’s all said and done, I want to be known for the artistes I have brought in the game, the hearts I have touched and the impact I am soon to make on the world,” Shungu said.

The post Yemba Shungu drops fresh music video appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Bereng Mpaki

PICK n Pay yesterday opened its brand-new branch at the Masianokeng Lifestyle Centre amid high expectations from buyers who flocked forming a long winding queue to take advantage of its opening sale which runs until 23 August 2020.

The store is one of the first to open at the M54 million worth facility. This is Pick n Pay’s second store after the Pioneer Mall branch which opened in 2009.

One of the store’s directors, Samuel Mphana said the store had employed the majority of its 90 employees from the surrounding areas.

Mr Mphana, who is also part of Lesego Holdings, the consortium which developed the centre, said the store would maintain the high-quality service that the franchise is known for.

“The people from this area will be expecting good quality service from the store and that is what we plan to deliver,” Mr Mphana said.

“The majority of the 90 employees of the store have been recruited from the area, which means the community is already benefiting from the project.”

Managing director of the store, Kojang Malahleha, said the store would thrive on becoming a one-stop-shop to enhance customer convenience.

“This store is going to have Pick n Pay Money, which is a financial service for money transfers, water and electricity unit sales and other services. We are bringing services which have previously never been part of the Pick n Pay brand in the country,” Ms Malahleha said.

She said they were happy to create jobs amid the economic downturn and uncertainty brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Malahleha said the store opening was particularly significant for her as she has grown from being a Pick n Pay an employee to becoming a shareholder in the business.

“It has been a lifelong dream for me to run my own store and not just working as an employee. So, today’s opening of the store is therefore a huge moment for me.

“Today’s date is also significant for me because on this day five years ago I was fighting for my life battling breast cancer. So, being here today is a huge blessing on its own.”

Rethabile Pule, the store’s finance director and shareholder, said he was thrilled to realise his dream of growing within the Pick n Pay brand.

“This has been a long-term dream for me as a long serving employee of the company. It has always been my dream to be part of the growth of the Pick n Pay brand, and I am happy that today we are opening a store in which I have shares.”

Mr Pule joined the Pick n Pay supermarket at the Pioneer Mall branch in January 2011 as a finance manager, and was promoted to finance director in 2017.

He said international travel restrictions imposed by different countries to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed opening of the store.

“Most of our suppliers from South Africa were unable to cross the border into Lesotho due to restrictions on international travel as they were not regarded as essential service providers. We therefore, had to wait until they could be issued with permits to cross the border, and that delayed our opening.”

For his part, area chief Frank Mapetla said he was hopeful the opening of the store would positively impact on the people’s lives.

“I am happy for this development in our community and I anticipate that the shop will change people’s lives positively,” Chief Mapetla said.

The post Pick n Pay brings Masianokeng to life appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Nthatuoa Koeshe

TAELI Mofelehetsi, a diploma in Accounting and Business Studies student at the Institute of Development Management (IDM) says online shopping could soon be the next big thing in Lesotho.

Mr Mofelehetsi runs Qiloane e-Store, a platform meant to provide e-commerce services for different entities and products. Qiloane e-Store was launched in April this year starting off with vegetables before adding meat, cosmetics and household cleaning products.

Mr Mofelehetsi told the Lesotho Times on Monday that thrives on marketing and selling local produce in Lesotho and globally.

“We are currently working on getting more products on board and also expanding to other districts,” Mr Mofelehetsi said.

He said the initiative was meant to promote online shopping which is currently in line with the National COVID-19 Secretariat NACOSEC regulations which promote social distancing and cashless transactions.

The store lists products on its website and clients can easily navigate around and add products they want to purchase into their basket and proceed to checkout before adding their details and placing an order.

“We deliver the goods to the client’s destination choice of the client within 24 hours and transactions are done before the delivery and are cashless.

“At Qiloane e-Store we exclusively market and sell local produce because we understand that by promoting and selling local produce, we’ll be growing our economy and simultaneously creating jobs.”

He said increasing demand for local produce is bound to force producers to increase their production and thereby create jobs along the value chain.

“This will create jobs and increase our buying power. It will also increase market demand and a fast and large circulation of taxable currency contributing to the growth of the economy.”

He said while his vision was to promote local produce globally with the intention of exporting it, the platform also offers business development consultancy services.

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Bereng Mpaki

THE Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) on Thursday unveiled new financial instruments aimed at supporting local businesses to alleviate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The instruments were launched during a dialogue between the government and the private sector to find ways of collaborating between the two parties in creating jobs. The dialogue was chaired by Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro.

Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) chief executive officer Mohato Seleke said the financing instruments were offered under the LNDC’s development finance unit.

He said one of the instruments, the Covid-19 Response Partial Credit Guarantee scheme (Covid-19 Response PCG), is a stimulus package tailored to cater for businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

To access the funding, businesses that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic must apply for loans at their respective banks. The government will guarantee 75 percent. The remaining 25 percent loan security is shared equitably between the client and the bank.

“The three products are the restructured Partial Credit Guarantee scheme (Covid-19 Response PCG), the Quasi Equity and the Project Preparation Facility, with a total value of M410 million,” Mr Seleke said.

Of the M410 million, M350 million has been pledged by the government for the Covid-19 PCG, with the balance being financed by the LNDC.

He said the PCG scheme started as a pilot in 2011 and has leveraged M34 million worth of lending to small and medium enterprises since its inception.

“The scheme is now restructured, simplified and scaled up to respond to effects of Covid-19 on the economy and to improve its impact and reach. It expands guarantee cover from the previous 50 percent to 75 percent of the loan; waives all fees; covers all sectors and business activities…”

The maximum amount to be guaranteed by the government is now a maximum of M8 million up from the previous M5 million set in 2011. The minimum loan supported is M200 000.

Theko Bereng, the general manager of the LNDC development finance unit, said the instrument is accessed only through applying for a loan directly to participating commercial banks, namely Lesotho PostBank, Standard Lesotho Bank, First National Bank Lesotho and Nedbank Lesotho, which in turn approach the LNDC on behalf of their clients.

On quasi equity, Mr Seleke said applicants would not need to go via the bank to access it but instead directly approach the LNDC. He said half of the funds under this instrument would go towards agriculture and agro processing projects.

“The Quasi Equity instrument will provide innovative finance to fast growing local companies which promise high development effects, mostly in agriculture and manufacturing. The product will be offered as a standardised profit-sharing arrangement with up to two years of moratorium.

“The Project Preparation Fund is designed following a trust fund model where the government and the LNDC contribute funding along with external partners, and the LNDC acts as the administrator. A broad range of feasibility studies and other related activities will be supported to prepare private sector projects to bankability, mostly those that go through the Lesotho Economic Labs programme. Applications for both the quasi equity and project preparation funding can be done on the LNDC website. No hard copy applications will be accepted.”

Mr Seleke said the development finance unit was established to address the financing part of the LNDC’s mandate, which it has overlooked for many years.

“The LNDC is mandated to raise, lend or borrow money and make credit advances to any company, firm or person engaging in any activity similar to that of the corporation. The corporation can also guarantee any payment of cash for performance of contacts by any such company.

“Essentially, the LNDC is a development finance institution but for the past 50 years, this has not been given enough attention by the corporation. However, after a new strategic plan launched in 2018, we decided to pay more attention towards helping the private sector to raise finance to develop their businesses after we noted that one of the major challenges for private sector development is access to finance,” Mr Seleke said.

For his part, Dr Majoro said the government was committed to removing obstacles inhibiting the private sector from creating jobs.

“Notwithstanding Covid-19, Lesotho still needs to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and although the government does not create jobs, …it intends to facilitate job creation through consultative and regular engagements with investors on how jobs can be created,” Dr Majoro said.

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Bereng Mpaki

THE chief executive officer of Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), Mohato Seleke says the Covid-19 pandemic has badly exposed Lesotho’s limited market destination options for its products.

Mr Seleke said this in an interview with the Lesotho Times on Monday adding that the country’s textile industry was feeling the economic impact of Covid-19 because of its overreliance on United States (US) and South African markets.

Lesotho takes advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to access the US market duty and quota free, while it uses its membership of the South African Customs Union (SACU) to export duty free to South Africa.

Mr Seleke said both the US and South African economies had been hit hard by Covid-19 resulting in job losses and the eventual reduction of disposable income. This in turn, has reduced the amount of those markets’ imports from Lesotho.

He attributed this to the redundancy obtaining in the country’s manufacturing industry.

The dynamics have resulted in job losses in Lesotho with one of the biggest employers in the textile industry, the Nien Hsing Group, which employs over 12 000 of the country’s nearly 50 000 factory workers, laying off 1 300 workers from its Glory International factory in Ha-Tikoe.

The company has told its workers that its operations were no longer profitable under the Covid-19 pandemic.

And Mr Seleke attributes this to the lack of diversity in terms of markets.

“For us to begin appreciating the impact of Covid-19 on Lesotho, we must consider the demand side of our industrial output, which goes to primary market destinations like the US and South Africa,” Mr Seleke said.

He said about 38 million Americans have lost jobs as a result of Covid-19, which has reduced in the country’s reduced buying power.

“This impact we are experiencing points to the issue of lack of diversification that I identified as a major risk area when I came into the LNDC.

“It is an unfortunate fulfilment of the prophecy I made in the past. It only tells us how urgent the issue of diversification is and policy makers should understand what this actually means. This is more urgent as it can lead to an implosion…,” Mr Seleke said.

To mitigate this challenge, the LNDC has embarked on a drive to diversify its market and products.

“The LNDC has commissioned a study with the Commonwealth Secretariat titled: ‘New Products New Market’. The study has formed the blueprint for the LNDC’s new strategic plan because it is a study about Lesotho’s trade profile.

“The study has revealed that we are producing too few products and we are exporting them to a few markets such that market shocks on either the demand or the supply side, the country will be in a tail spin.

“Covid-19 has proven to be that kind of shock because we have not diversified from an industrial and market destination point of view…

“Imagine what would happen if China was one of our market destinations, which has as big a market as US as it has recovered from Covid-19 right now. We would therefore have an alternative market destination for our products, but we are instead trapped in the US and SA markets, the worst performers in terms of Covid-19,” Mr Seleke said.

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THE Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) has launched new business financing packages to aid the growth of locally-owned private businesses in the country.

The Lesotho Times’ (LT) Business Reporter, Bereng Mpaki, this week sat down with the LNDC’s chief executive officer (CEO), Mohato Seleke, who reflected on his two years at the helm of the corporation.

He also unpacked some of their new products to help local businesses recover from the effects of Covid-19 and boost productivity.

LT: Since you took over, the talk from key players within the business sector has been that you have successfully refocused LNDC back to its core objectives and away from the negative news. How did you manage to achieve that? 

Mr Seleke: When I came in there was no strategic plan. The last strategic plan had come to an end in December 2017. Even then, it was not being implemented. There was random activity happening at the LNDC.

Secondly, there was no executive management. Eight heads of departments, some of whom had been here for more than 20 years, had been allowed to go home.

I had to put together a new team and crafted a new strategic plan for the LNDC. Fast forward to June 2018, we were able to unveil our new direction and the way we see the future as LNDC to the public.

When you go through that strategic plan, it is about economic diversification. We have to diversify Lesotho’s industrial output and also diversify Lesotho’s destination markets. This is consistent with what the government has pronounced over many decades, that diversification of the economy is key.

And in saying that, the government has also been very consistent in that they see the biggest potential in the diversification drive in four critical sectors namely, manufacturing, agriculture/agro-processing, technology and innovation as well as mining.

Lesotho has done well in the areas of textile and garments manufacturing. It has been ranked number three or four in terms of the value and volume of exports it sends to the United States (US) under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) where it competes with countries like Kenya and Ethiopia.

But what was lacking was making strides in other areas that are also part of the LNDC mandate like agriculture and agro-processing. This is the area that also holds a great potential to change the lives of many ordinary people around the country.

And that is one area that we chose to strongly put our efforts into. When the LNDC talks about agriculture we talk agri-business, big and serious investments. We are talking commercial viability.

The types of projects that we have been looking at tend to integrate a number of value stages.

As you would also recall, we have been in the process of restructuring the corporation. Part of that process was building a new development finance institution meant to build a number of financial products. Among them is what is called the project preparation facility.

But what is its purpose and barrier are we trying to address? Some entrepreneurs and politicians say you can’t get money from these banks because they charge so much interest. They are not telling the truth. Somebody who says that has not gotten closer to having a successful application at the bank. That is a very small part of the whole discussion.

What the banks consider is whether there is a strong business case there or not. The bank considers the credibility of the story you are putting before them from a commercial point of view of risk. The whole issue of interest and securities come last.

We need to be able to build strong business cases but it is very costly to develop a business plan that can transform an entire value stream and unlock significant amounts of jobs.

So, we had to come up with the project preparation facility to enable the private sector projects to move from stages of concept all the way to bankability. The facility is a kind of grant and not a loan. We can give a couple of millions for a transformational private sector project with no conditions.

The Project Preparation Fund is our fund where the government and the LNDC jointly contribute funds to assist businesses to prepare sound business projects.

LT: Who can qualify for the facility? 

Mr Seleke: All manner of projects. But it should be private sector projects. Secondly, it should be private sector projects that are within the priority sectors identified under the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP II) such as manufacturing, agriculture and agro-processing, innovation and technology and creative industries.

We narrowed it down to the 77 projects identified under the economic laboratories project of the government. These are projects at different stages of development requiring certain interventions to take them to bankability.

LT: Do you have any timelines of when you are going to start giving out this project assistance? 

Mr Seleke: I think by December we will have clarity on that depending on size of the pool of projects that we will be having. But the most important thing is that the facility will be open to the private sector. It’s a grant facility, it’s not a loan. The purpose is to find and build credible private sector-led projects that have important impact on supply chains or value chains of importance to the NSDP II.

LT: How much is this project preparation facility worth? 

Mr Seleke: We have not put a file amount as yet. But I can only say it’s a few millions that we have put into it now and we expect the government to also boost the fund because we are just furthering the objectives of the government.

LT: How have you been affected by Covid-19? We see that your cash cow, the Maluti Mountain Brewery (MMB), is not really functional now because of the laws against the sale of liquor. How has that affected you and what are the mitigation measures that you are taking to deal against Covid-19?

Mr Seleke: As the LNDC we have two revenue streams. The first one is dividend income which is the income we get when our equity portfolio declares dividends. The equity portfolio of the LNDC is made up of eight companies. These are companies where we have equity holding ranging from 11 percent all the way to 74 percent. And the MMB is one of those companies in that stable.

The second revenue stream is rental income which comes from our rental portfolio made up of three property classes. We have the industrial estates that we lease to industrialists; the Tikoe facility, the Maseru industrial facility and others. We also have the commercial property class. The LNDC is actually the biggest landlord in the country.

Rental income accounts for about 44 percent of the income and about 52 percent is dividend income from the equity portfolio. Our equity portfolio accounts for more than half of our income. Among our equity portfolios is the MMB.

The risks are very significant for us. We have been hit hard by the adverse decision that has affected MMB production. But we also recognise and understand that the government had to make tough decisions to fight Coviod-19.

LT: How are you dealing with the Covid-19 threats to the viability of businesses? 

Mr Seleke: Some may say we are only interested in our income and our balance sheet. But of all the government parastatals, none has done more than the LNDC has done in terms of helping government to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.

We have given our industrialists and small business people who occupy our properties two months rental holidays. This is not a deferment of rent where they still pay later. Ours is two months of not paying any rent and this rent will never be demanded. No one else has done that.

We also announced some financial instruments to help businesses mitigate the effects of Covid and even grow.

The government is putting in M350 million for the Covid-19 partial credit guarantee scheme. The other M60 million will come from the LNDC. It brings the total value of the instruments to M410 million.

This is what is called coming to the party when the nation needs us. The instruments were launched as a means of offering financing solutions to support private sector-led industrial development and broader economic diversification, and to alleviate the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.

The post Diversification the key to economic development: Seleke appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Nthatuoa Koeshe

BASOTHO National Party (BNP) deputy leader Machesetsa Mofomobe says his party’s leader, Thesele ‘Maseribane, never misused any funds meant to fight the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Chief Maseribane chaired the short-lived National Emergency Command Centre (NECC), originally established by ex-premier Thomas Thabane in March 2020 to spearhead the fight against the pandemic.  However, the controversy dogged NECC was disbanded by new Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro in June 2020. It was subsequently replaced by the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) headed by Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) boss Thabo Khasipe.

The Lesotho Times last week published a confidential payment schedule submitted to treasury which showed that, before its disbandment, the NECC gobbled about M161 million of the M698 million budgeted for the fight against Covid-19 within the short three-month period of its existence. The expenditure scheduled clearly showed some expenses were grossly inflated.

The Lesotho Times report however never said Chief Maseribane was responsible for abusing any funds.  His picture was published because his name was used in the story as he had led the NECC and publicly spoken about its work. When social media went abuzz after an NECC budget was leaked showing inflation of expenses, Chief Maseribane had called the media to clarify the issue. All that background was included in the Lesotho Times story.  It’s standard practice for newspapers to use pictures of anyone mentioned in a story.

But in a foul-mouthed tirade yesterday Mofomobe, who is now infamous for his lack of decorum despite being a deputy minister of foreign affairs, attacked the Lesotho Times, without using its name, for dragging Chief Maseribane’s name in the mud.  Mofomobe also used unprintable epithets against his rival Joang Molapo during their fight for the BNP leadership last year.

Yesterday, Mofomobe said claims that Chief ‘Maseribane had misappropriated NECC funds were “falsehoods that were being peddled by makoerekoere owned newspapers…”

“The BNP has realised that makoerekoere owned newspapers have a tendency of dragging people’s names in the mud and I am also a victim of that,” Mofomobe said.

“They have a tendency of using Chief ‘Maseribane’s pictures and name but when you read the stories, you do not see the proof that he has misused the funds as alleged,” charged Mofomobe.

Makoerekoere is a derogatory name used to express hatred for foreigners.  It is never used by any self-respecting and decent officials or politicians in public.

BNP’s deputy secretary general, Moeketsi Hanyane, said Chief ‘Maseribane was not in control of the NECC’s funds hence there was no way he could have misappropriated funds.

He urged Prime Minister Majoro to conduct a forensic audit so that whoever is responsible for misusing funds is brought to book.

“We are advising the Prime Minister to conduct a forensic audit so that whoever is responsible for misusing the funds accounts for it and the law takes its course no matter that person’s position,” Mr Hanyane said.

To buttress his claims that Chief ‘Maseribane was not responsible for abusing the NECC’s funds, Mr Hanyane produced a letter from former cabinet principal secretary, Lefu Manyokole, addressed to Dr Majoro, who was at the time finance minister.  Mr Hanyane said the letter indicated that Chief ‘Maseribane was not a signatory for Covid-19 funds and could thus not have been involved in any looting of Covid-19 funds.

Mr Hanyane said there was nowhere in the letter where Mr Manyokole indicated that any Covid-19 funds had been sent to Chief Maseribane resulting in him abusing them.

In response to the BNP press conference yesterday, the Lesotho Times management said it had noted Mr Mofomobe’s abusive posture but the company had decided not to dignify him with any response. Suffice to clarify for the benefit of any readers – who may have missed the original story – that it never accused Chief Maseribane nor anyone else for that matter of abusing funds.

“What we published was a report based on evidence showing that there was abuse of funds as some costs were overly inflated. The report did not mention anyone as having perpetrated the abuse. That information is not yet known and we wait for any credible investigation that will expose the culprits. We will then dutifully name them…,” said Lesotho Times editor Herbert Moyo.

“If he (Mofomobe) takes his time to re-read our story, he will discover that his diatribe was a sheer waste of his time, energy and possibly his party’s paltry resources.

“Our story never said Chief Maseribane stole or abused any money from his leadership of the NECC. Our story explained the wasteful expenditure and profligacy at the NECC based on evidence of its expenditure that was availed to us.

“Chief Maseribane was only mentioned in the story in respect of the comments he had made during his tenure as chairman of the NECC.  His picture was also used on that basis. So contrary to Mofomobe’s understanding of our story, we did not have to produce any proof on an allegation that we did not make.

“Mr Hanyane’s remarks that Dr Majoro ensures a full investigation of the abuse of Covid funds is spot on. When that is done and the culprits are known, we shall dutifully publish their names in line with our motto of reporting without fear or favour.

“Until then, Mofomobe is better advised to keep his anger in abeyance.”

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Limpho Sello

THE chief executive officer of the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC), Thabo Khasipe, has accused some unnamed government officials of frustrating NACOSEC’s efforts to fully execute its mandate of fighting the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

His remarks at yesterday’s press conference in Maseru come against the background of concerns expressed by the principal secretary for cabinet administration, Kabelo Lehora, that NACOSEC may have acted outside its powers when it advertised for tenders and appointed personnel for the fight against virus without consulting his office.

Among others, NACOSEC has advertised tenders for the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), marketing, advertising and communication consultancy.

It has also invited applications for 50 call centre jobs.

In a recent memo to the finance ministry, Mr Lehora questioned the legality of NACOSEC engaging in such activities which have huge financial implications without his involvement as the cabinet’s chief accounting officer.

NACOSEC was set up in June 2020 by Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro in terms of the Disaster Management Act (DMA), and it reports directly to him. This followed the disbandment of the National Emergency Command Centre (NECC). The NECC had been widely condemned as an extravagant institution not focused on the core mandate of fighting Coronavirus but providing a leeway for corrupt politicians and officials “to eat”.

A leaked April 2020 NECC document showed that instead of focusing on the core work of fighting Covid-19, the NECC was more concerned with the well-being of its officials with scarce funds earmarked for such superfluous aims as morning tea, lunch and dinner for personnel.

A payment request submitted by the NECC to the Ministry of Finance, seen by this publication last week, shows that the NECC had already gobbled M161 million of the M698 million budget to fight Covid-19 by the time it was disbanded in June 2020.

More than M10 782 618 was spent on food for NECCC staffers drawn from different ministries at a time health staff were going with no PPE and there was almost no visible campaign effort to educate Basotho on the ravages of the virus. Money was also spent on purchasing office equipment and other related items at grossly inflated prices.

Since its establishment, NACOSEC has widely been commended for helping end last month’s strike by health professionals by agreeing to pay them risk allowances and providing them with PPE for their frontline work in fighting Covid-19.

But these gains could be reversed due to some government officials throwing spanners into their operations, Mr Khasipe said yesterday.

Without mentioning anyone by name, Mr Khasipe said while they enjoyed the support of the Prime Minister and his cabinet, he was very disappointed about the battles they were now forced to engage with some government officials.

“I am disappointed that us the civilians are now fighting battles, small battles,” Mr Khasipe said.

“We are busy fighting small battles while we are losing the big war (against Covid-19).

“Our challenges started when we published tenders for PPE. That is when some in government started asking questions about what NACOSEC is about. Before that no one appeared to have a problem.

“So, we are currently enjoying the support of the private sector. Some of them have pledged to assist to buy intensive care unit (ICU) beds and other hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. We have also received assistance from Ntate (Sam) Matekane and this is good support we will hold on to because the government funds seem to be a problem. It is a catch-22 situation.”

Mr Khasipe later told this publication that they could be forced to cancel the tenders they had advertised if they are deprived of funds by the government.

“Without money, the tenders we have advertised will just have to be declared null and void. But we need to act fast because the PPE that was bought will be finished in a week or two.

“We were supposed to have bought the other batch by now but everything has stopped because there is no money. We will be back to square one once the PPE that was bought is finished. Unfortunately, the questions for non-performance will be directed at us when we have done our part (by advertising tenders for the supply of PPE),” Mr Khasipe said.

At the press conference, Mr Khasipe also bemoaned the high Covid-19 deaths in the country.

He said of the 815 Covid-19 infections recorded to date, there were 220 recoveries and 24 deaths.

He said at three percent of the infections, the death rate was worryingly high for a country with a population of just 2, 1 million.

“We have a very high death rate and it is worrisome,” Mr Khasipe said.

Asked what could be the cause of the high death rate, he said, “we are not in a position to say what could be the underlying causes”.

“We still need to investigate. When we have all the data, we will unpack it with our data analysts,” Mr Khasipe said.

The post Khasipe accuses gov officials of impending Covid-19 fight appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Pascalinah Kabi

HIGH Court judge Justice Molefi Makara has issued an interim order stopping Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli from transferring the Lesotho Mounted Police Service Staff Association (LEPOSA)’s spokesperson Police Constable (PC) Motlatsi Mofokeng from Maseru to Berea district.

Justice Makara granted the interim order last week after PC Mofokeng filed an urgent application seeking the nullification of Commissioner Molibeli’s 31 July 2020 decision to transfer him to Berea with effect from 1 August 2020.

The 6 August 2020 order is valid until 3 September 2020 when PC Mofokeng’s application for a final order barring Commissioner Molibeli from transferring him shall be heard.

PC Mofokeng approached the court after the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS)’s human resource officer, Superintendent Marou wrote to him on 31 July 2020, informing him that he would be transferred to Berea with effect from the beginning of this month.

“We acknowledge receipt of your (PC Mofokeng’s) letter dated 15 July 2020,” Supt Marou stated in his letter to PC Mofokeng.

“You and I may agree that you were expected to provide reasons, if any, why you may not be transferred to Berea as contemplated.

“You failed to respond to the said letter, and instead you raised vague issues. In essence you denied yourself an opportunity to be heard. Thus, the transfer still stands and you are expected to report to your new duty station on 1 August 2020,” Supt Marou stated in the letter.

The letter to PC Mofokeng was written as Commissioner Molibeli intensified his war with what he terms the “rebellious” LEPOSA leadership.

For more than a year now, tensions have been simmering between Commissioner Molibeli and his subordinates.

LEPOSA accuses Commissioner Molibeli of bias and incompetence in handling police grievances. The police union alleges that since taking charge in August 2017, Commissioner Molibeli has unprocedurally promoted his close allies like Deputy Police Commissioner (DCP) Paseka Mokete and Assistant Police Commissioner (ACP) Beleme Lebajoa.

LEPOSA also accuses the police boss of failing to deal decisively with the thorny issue of police brutality and it has petitioned Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro to fire him.

Apart from petitioning Dr Majoro to act against him, some LEPOSA members have also filed court applications against Commissioner Molibeli seeking the nullifications of the promotions he has made.

Even some members of the police command like ACP Sera Makharilele and ACP Motlatsi Mapola are not happy with Commissioner Molibeli’s leadership.

The latter has even asked the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Advocate Hlalefang Motinyane to prosecute Commissioner Molibeli and ACP Lebajoa for abuse of office after they allegedly protected former First Lady ‘Maesaiah Thabane from prosecution for allegedly assaulting a Maseru man at the state house in January 2019.

Commissioner Molibeli has not taken LEPOSA’s pursuit of him lying down.

Over the past three weeks, the police boss has written memos to police officers, warning of “rogue” police officers whom he said are “in open rebellion against the police command”.

Commissioner Molibeli has also initiated processes to fire LEPOSA secretary general Inspector Moraleli Motloli. He fired LEPOSA national treasurer Lance Sergeant ‘Mathebe Motseki on Monday.

Lance Sergeant Motseki was on 27 July 2020 slapped with a letter demanding she “show cause” why she should not be dismissed for her recent statements which allegedly tarnished the image of the police command.

Speaking earlier last month at the funeral of one Lance Corporal Thabang Molelekoa in Mafeteng, Lance Sergeant Motseki allegedly accused the police authorities of transferring some police officers as punishment for opening a case against ‘Maesaiah for allegedly assaulting a Maseru man in January 2019.

Lance Sergeant Motseki is also alleged to have accused the police command of failing to arrest DCP Mokete after a female junior police officer accused him of sexual assault in April 2020. The case is now before the courts.

On 30 July 2020, Commissioner Molibeli also asked Inspector Motloli to “show cause” why he should not be dismissed from the police force for petitioning Prime Minister Majoro to fire him (Molibeli).

The post Temporary relief for LEPOSA spokesperson against Molibeli appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Mohalenyane Phakela

THE Constitutional Court has reserved judgement in a case in which top politicians, Mothetjoa Metsing and Selibe Mochoboroane, are seeking the rescission of its October 2018 judgement which nullified a deal to defer the criminal prosecutions of politicians until the completion of the current multi-sector reforms process.

Justice Molefi Makara said this was to give the Constitutional Court time to write the judgement, a process he said might take three weeks.   Justice Makara heard the application alongside Acting Chief Justice ‘Maseforo Mahase and the now retired Justice Semapo Peete.

Clause 10 of the 2018 agreement between then Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s government and the opposition defers the trials of Mr Metsing and other opposition politicians at least until after the implementation of the multi-sector reforms recommended by SADC in 2016.

Th agreement cleared the way for Mr Metsing’s November 2018 return from exile to participate in the multi-sector reforms process. However, the clause was invalidated in November 2028 by the same Constitutional Court bench comprising of Justices Makara, Mahase and Peete.

This after the late Police Constable (PC) Mokalekale Khetheng’s father, Thabo Khetheng, petitioned the court to declare it unconstitutional saying self-serving agreements between politicians could not outstrip the constitution.

PC Khetheng was allegedly murdered by fellow police officers on 26 March 2016. The opposition Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) deputy leader Tšeliso Mokhosi was initially charged with PC Khetheng’s murder alongside four senior police officers.

He was turned into a state witness in June 2020. Prior to that in November 2018, PC Khetheng’s father had successfully challenged the constitutionality of clause 10 of the government-opposition agreement to ensure Mr Mokhosi would be charged.

The successful challenge also cleared the way for Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane to be charged with treason in connection with the 30 August 2014 attempted coup against the first government of Mr Thabane.

The duo is supposed to be charged alongside former army commander Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli and an army officer, Captain Litekanyo Nyakane.

But on 25 February 2020 Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane petitioned the Constitutional Court to rescind its earlier judgement on the grounds that they were not joined in the application when clause 10 was nullified yet they were interested parties in the litigation.

Justice Makara, who wrote the initial November 2018 judgement, said on Tuesday he would need at least three weeks to write the new judgement because he and others were overwhelmed with work.

“We are overwhelmed with a lot of work,” Justice Makara said.

“Besides this case, I have to write two more judgements. I will try to finish this judgement within three weeks. You will be notified should there be any obstacles,” Justice Makara said.

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