|
The
Lesotho
Financial
Year
runs
from
April
to
March,
a
custom
inherited
from
the
former
colonial
power.
Britain’s
financial
year
runs
from
6
April
of
one
year
to
5
April
of
the
next,
a
curiously
uncorrected
idiosyncrasy
which
results
from
the
financial
year
having
until
1752
run
from
one
spring
equinox
to
the
next.
When
the
Gregorian
Calendar
was
adopted
in
that
year,
15
days
were
lost,
and
the
financial
year
then
ended
on
5
April
instead
of
21
March.
Lesotho
has
corrected
the
anomaly
to
the
extent
that
its
financial
year
begins
on
1st
April,
and
ahead
of
that
(but
in
most
years,
rather
later),
there
is
the
annual
Budget
Speech.
In
1996,
the
Budget
Speech
was
presented
to
Parliament,
by
the
Minister
of
Finance
and
Economic
Planning,
Dr.
Moeketsi
Senaoana
on
3
April.
The
Speech
coincided
with
the
beginning
of
the
new
National
Development
Plan
period,
which
after
five
Five
Year
Plans,
was
now
to
be
a
Three
Year
Plan,
although
the
plan
itself
had
not
yet
been
published.
Aims
of
the
Plan
and
the
Budget
were
stated
to
be
preservation
of
macroeconomic
stability;
poverty
alleviation
and
sustainable
human
development;
creation
of
employment
activities;
and
preservation
of
the
environment
and
natural
resources.
The
Budget
Speech
included
statistics
of
public
sector
employment.
In
1995/6
the
civil
service
establishment
was
17
990
(actual
employment
16
780,
representing
a
vacancy
ratio
of
7%).
Government
also
paid
the
salaries
of
members
of
the
‘disciplined
forces’
(4881)
and
teachers
(9601),
making
a
total
public
service
employment
of
31
262.
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
project
employment
was
estimated
at
5
780
(5
156
of
whom
were
Basotho),
while
Lesotho
National
Development
Corporation
assisted
enterprises
were
estimated
at
providing
17
500
jobs
and
the
Basotho
Enterprises
Development
Corporation
a
further
534
jobs.
Government
was
to
support
the
manufacturing
and
construction
sectors
with
a
view
to
creating
employment,
and
would
particularly
promote
private
sector
participation
in
development.
The
Minister
referred
to
new
factors
(one
was
the
removal
of
US
garment
quotas)
which
created
opportunities
for
manufacturing
industry,
but
at
the
same
time
opened
them
up
to
Lesotho’s
neighbours.
To
maintain
competitiveness,
increases
in
the
minimum
wage
would
have
to
be
modest.
The
controversial
disbursement
of
funds
from
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Revenue
Fund
(funds
for
activities
popularly
known
as
fato-fato)
was
given
considerable
coverage
in
the
speech.
The
Fund
had
been
set
up
as
a
World
Bank
requirement
so
that
revenue
from
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Project
should
not
simply
be
used
‘to
increase
the
size
and
the
cost
of
the
civil
service,
or
to
embark
on
a
new
round
of
investments
in
inefficient
Government
companies
and
parastatals’.
Because
a
proportion
of
the
additional
Customs
Union
revenue
resulting
from
equipment
and
goods
for
the
LHWP
was
being
paid
into
the
fund,
money
was
available
for
disbursement
from
February
1995.
At
that
date
the
management
of
the
Board
of
the
Fund
had
the
problem
that
the
Village
Development
Councils
then
existing
were
not
generally
perceived
as
having
been
created
through
a
true
democratic
process.
The
VDC
elections
were
not
held
until
August,
and
in
the
meantime
parliamentarians
had
been
asked
to
facilitate
the
formation
of
interim
project
committees
in
their
constituencies.
However,
the
machinery
had
not
been
in
place
for
the
handling
of
funds.
Moreover,
‘there
have
been
incidents
of
Members
of
Parliament
being
in
possession
of
the
fund
moneys,
an
action
specifically
prohibited
under
the
Finance
Act,
as
Fund
resources
are
Public
Funds
and
Government
is
accountable
to
the
Public
through
Parliament.
Instances
of
Members
of
Parliament
becoming
directly
involved
in
decisions
concerning
the
implementation
of
projects
have
also
been
reported’.
Members
of
Parliament,
listening
to
this
part
of
the
speech,
must
have
been
only
too
well
aware
that
in
one
instance
the
whole
of
the
fato-fato
funds
for
one
constituency,
Mashai,
had
been
stolen
while
the
MP
for
the
constituency,
E.
M.
Zuma,
had
been
resting
in
a
room
in
the
Parliament
Buildings
on
20th
October
1995.
Moreover
none
of
the
M145
000
had
been
recovered,
nor
had
charges
been
laid,
despite
police
investigations
which
had
included
the
detention
and
brutal
interrogation
of
a
fellow
MP.
Dr.
Senaoana
mentioned
part
of
the
programme
being
financed
by
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Revenue
Fund.
It
included
some
80
rural
roads
totalling
750
km,
130
dams,
35
footbridges
and
200
boreholes.
In
the
period
April
to
December
1995,
those
employed
on
fato-fato
activities
represented
the
creation
of
the
equivalent
of
14
000
temporary
full-time
jobs.
The
LHWRF
Board
has
recommended
that
in
future
the
responsibility
for
the
implementation
of
community-based
projects
financed
by
the
Fund
should
be
with
Village
Development
Councils.
[There
are
1300
such
Councils
of
varying
size,
competence
and
experience;
recent
legislation
had
invested
the
councils
with
financial
responsibilities,
but
centrally
very
little
was
known
about
individual
councils;
and
the
Ministry
of
Local
Government
had
not
yet
managed
to
publish
either
a
list
of
the
existing
Councils
or
of
the
August
1995
election
results.]
The
Minister
of
Finance
referred
to
external
debt
which
at
M1.8
billion
was
39%
of
GNP,
89%
of
the
debt
being
on
concessionary
terms,
the
debt
service
ratio
being
4.8%.
He
also
announced
reductions
in
income
tax
and
corporate
taxes
bringing
taxation
down
to
comparative
rates
with
other
countries
in
the
region.
For
public
sector
service
employees
there
was
to
be
a
12%
across-the-board
salary
increase
[some
3%
more
than
the
inflation
rate].
For
1996/7
the
budgeted
revenue
was
estimated
at
M2019
million,
and
budgeted
expenditure
at
M1954
million,
leaving
a
small
surplus.
Almost
half
of
the
budgeted
revenue,
M1006
million,
was
from
Customs
Union
receipts,
with
the
other
large
elements
in
revenue
being
M301
million
from
Income
Tax
and
M236
million
from
General
Sales
Tax.
Of
budgeted
expenditure,
recurrent
expenditure
was
M1357
million,
which
included
grants
and
subventions
of
M129
million
to
the
Ministry
of
Education,
a
large
part
of
this,
M63
million,
being
designated
for
the
National
University
of
Lesotho,
and
M6
million
designated
for
bursaries.
The
Ministry
of
Education
was
also
to
receive
the
highest
ministerial
allocation
with
M413
million
or
30.6%
of
the
total,
followed
by
the
Ministries
of
Health
and
Defence
(M131
million
or
9.7%
and
M124
million
or
9.1%
respectively).
Capital
expenditure
of
M596
million
was
largely
to
fund
the
needs
of
the
Ministry
of
Works
and
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
project
within
which
the
’Muela
Hydropower
project
was
the
largest
single
project
taking
up
M118
million
during
the
budget
period.▲back
to
top
A
matter
which
continued
to
receive
newspaper
comment
during
April
was
the
unceremonious
departure
of
Major-General
Thengo
Pinda
from
the
post
of
Commissioner
of
Police
with
effect
from
22
March,
when
he
was
replaced
by
Brigadier
(promoted
to
Major-General)
Bulutu
Victor
Makoaba.
▲back
to
top
Money
stories
also
made
the
news.
M823
000
was
found
to
have
gone
missing
in
the
Tourist
Board.
Another
sum
was
not
missing,
but
came
to
light.
It
was
M55
million
held
in
a
bank
account
in
Gaborone,
a
relic
from
the
days
when
the
BCP
was
in
exile
in
Botswana.
News
of
its
existence
must
have
given
heart
to
the
many
unemployed
members
of
the
former
Lesotho
Liberation
Army
who
were
near
to
destitution,
and
who
had
gone
as
far
as
voicing
their
grievances
on
the
South
African
Radio
Sesotho.
However,
in
Makatolle
of
29
May
there
was
a
denial
from
Shakhane
Mokhehle
that
such
money
had
ever
existed.
He,
the
party
treasurer
and
his
brother,
the
party
leader,
Ntsu
Mokhehle,
had
been
cosignatories
to
the
party’s
account
in
Barclays
Bank
in
Gaborone,
and
it
had
never
had
even
as
much
as
M1
million.▲back
to
top
A
joyful
occasion
was
when
the
Prime
Minister’s
alma
mater,
the
University
of
Fort
Hare,
awarded
him
an
honorary
Doctorate
of
Laws
on
19
April.▲back
to
top
A
much
sadder
occasion
was
the
funeral
of
four
members
of
the
popular
band
Sankomota
who
were
killed
in
April
in
a
car
crash
in
the
Free
State
while
on
their
way
to
Cape
Town.
Those
who
died
were
Joe
Man
(Joman
Tlali),
Keith
‘Butana’
Matšela,
Mandisa
Galo
and
Patrick
‘Bushy’
Mogamme.
Sankomota
was
founded
by
the
Maseru-born
guitarist
and
composer
Frank
Leepa.
Its
origins
were
in
a
group
called
the
Anti-Antics
in
the
1970s,
which
later
became
known
as
Uhuru
(‘Liberation’),
a
name
which
resulted
in
the
group
being
banned
from
South
Africa
in
1978.
In
1983
the
name
was
changed
to
Sankomota,
the
name
of
the
group’s
first
album,
which
was
recorded
in
Lesotho
in
that
year,
and
established
the
essential
character
of
the
music
for
which
the
group
became
known:
themes
owing
much
to
Basotho
folk
tradition,
but
reworked
into
a
distinctive
idiom
reflecting
a
more
sophisticated
urban
musical
awareness.
Songs
with
themes
about
black
aspirations
resulted
in
the
album
being
banned
in
South
Africa,
a
fate
which
also
was
suffered
by
songs
from
the
second
album,
Dreams
do
come
true.
The
group
spent
some
time
overseas,
acquiring
for
a
while
some
London-born
artists.
Albums
which
followed
were
The
Writing’s
on
the
wall,
and
with
the
coming
of
change
in
1991,
the
more
optimistic
Exploration:
a
new
phase,
followed
by
After
the
storm.
This
period
was
noted
for
the
soaring
vocals
of
Tšepo
Tšola
(‘The
Village
Pope’),
who
had
once
toured
with
Hugh
Masekela.
With
the
change
in
South
Africa,
Sankomota
became
more
South
African-based,
but
with
a
programme
which
resulted
in
a
heavy
travel
schedule
which
took
them
up
and
down
the
length
of
the
country.
Memorial
services
for
those
who
died
were
held
in
Johannesburg
and
Maseru,
and
Sankomota
itself
proved
by
giving
a
concert
that
it
had
the
will
to
survive
the
tragedy.
At
the
time
of
the
tragedy
Sankomota
was
working
on
its
sixth
album.▲back
to
top
Airline
passengers
thought
that
they
had
some
good
news.
The
Fokker
F27,
Lesotho
Airways’
largest
plane,
a
44-seater,
was
back
in
May.
It
had
been
damaged
by
hail
the
previous
October
and
had
had
to
undergo
lengthy
repairs
at
a
cost
of
nearly
M700
000.
In
the
meantime,
the
less
comfortable
18-seater
Twin
Otters
had
been
flying
on
the
Johannesburg
route,
sometimes
resulting
in
insufficient
capacity
for
passengers
or
luggage.
However,
in
late
June,
this
good
news
was
tempered
by
a
Lesotho
Airways
strike,
which
interrupted
flights
leaving
Lesotho
from
the
Moshoeshoe
I
International
Airport
for
a
few
days.
The
International
Airport,
never
a
hive
of
activity,
lost
two
thirds
of
its
international
connections
at
the
end
of
the
month,
when
the
twice
weekly
flights
of
Royal
Swazi
Air
to
Cape
Town
and
Manzini
were
withdrawn.
Except
at
term’s
end
when
the
many
Basotho
students
studying
in
Cape
Town
made
use
of
the
service,
the
flights
had
not
been
well
known
or
well
patronised.
On
the
final
flight
to
Cape
Town,
there
was
just
one
passenger
who
embarked
on
the
flight
from
Lesotho.
In
fact
the
good
news
also
had
to
be
qualified
.
The
Fokker
did
not
appear
as
expected,
and
it
was
later
learned
that
the
Fokker
would
not
now
be
available
until
September.
With
just
two
Twin
Otters
to
maintain
all
internal
and
international
flights
Lesotho
Airways
was
finding
it
difficult
to
maintain
its
normal
scheduled
flights,
and
passengers
on
the
Johannesburg
flights
suffered
flights
arriving
late
or
even
being
cancelled.▲back
to
top
The
decennial
census
began,
at
least
theoretically,
on
14
April.
On
previous
occasions,
schoolteachers
had
been
employed,
and
schools
had
been
given
two
weeks
holiday,
but
on
this
occasion
it
had
been
thought
that
the
strike
action
by
teachers
which
had
plagued
the
previous
school
year
might
have
continued
putting
the
census
in
jeopardy.
Lesotho
has
a
large
pool
of
unemployed
school
leavers,
the
majority
of
them
failing
to
meet
the
requirements
of
even
a
Third
Class
School
Certificate.
It
was
thought
that
they
could
be
given
the
necessary
training
over
a
one
week
period
so
that
they
could
conduct
the
census
in
the
following
week.
However,
there
turned
out
to
be
severe
logistical
problems.
Those
recruited
wanted
to
be
paid
part
of
what
was
owing
to
them
at
the
end
of
the
training
period,
before
they
even
went
out
to
undertake
the
enumeration
work.
Moreover,
whereas
primary
teachers
in
previous
years
could
be
found
from
even
the
remotest
areas
of
Lesotho,
the
school
leavers
were
concentrated
in
towns
and
many
rural
areas
inevitably
had
to
be
covered
by
persons
who
did
not
know
the
local
topography.
Even
the
government
newspaper,
Lesotho
Today
was
reporting
in
its
2
May
edition
that
the
census
had
‘got
off
to
a
very
bad
start’.
It
was
apparently
still
continuing
more
than
two
weeks
after
the
targeted
completion
date.▲back
to
top
In
May,
other
news
was
of
a
strike
involving
3000
Basotho
working
for
foreign
contractors
engaged
in
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Project.
Their
grievances
were
brought
to
Maseru
for
presentation
to
the
Minister
of
Labour,
and
the
main
concerns
of
the
strikers
were
discrimination
in
salaries,
accommodation
and
food.▲back
to
top
The
aftermath
of
the
Annual
Conference
of
the
ruling
Basutoland
Congress
Party
was
the
story
which
made
most
national
news
during
April
,
May
and
June.
It
will
be
recalled
that
this
Conference,
after
several
delays,
had
taken
place
from
8th
to
11th
March,
and
its
proceedings
had
been
interrupted
by
dissension
between
two
factions
of
the
party,
so
much
so
that
proper
procedures
had
not
been
followed.
The
party
factions
were
the
Majelathoko,
literally
‘those
that
eat
apart’,
and
the
Maporesha,
derived
originally
from
their
English
name,
‘Pressure
Group’,
because
members
had
been
believed
to
form
an
internal
subgroup
of
the
party
which
had
been
attempting
to
influence
party
policy.
The
name
‘Pressure
Group’
had
been
in
use
since
shortly
after
the
1993
elections,
and
it
seems
it
was
members
of
this
group
who
coined
the
name
Majelathoko,
some
time
late
in
1995.
Leading
the
Majelathoko
was
the
Prime
Minister’s
younger
brother,
Shakhane
Mokhehle
(also
known
as
‘Shakes’
to
his
supporters)
along
with
Thebe
Motebang.
They
(and
the
party
newspaper
Makatolle
which
generally
represented
their
viewpoint)
never
used
the
name
Majelathoko.
It
was
to
be
found,
however
in
all
other
newspapers.
The
Maporesha,
similarly
did
not
use
this
of
themselves.
Amongst
them
were
three
veteran
politician
cabinet
ministers,
Molapo
Qhobela,
Tšeliso
Makhakhe
and
Ntsukunyane
Mphanya.
Although
they
did
not
have
an
official
newspaper,
the
newly
founded
paper
Khakhaulane,
the
paper
of
the
BCP
Youth
League,
increasingly
allowed
them
to
have
a
voice
in
its
columns.
At
the
Party
Conference,
the
elections
for
the
Party
Executive
Committee
had
resulted
in
a
narrow
victory
for
the
Majelathoko
candidates
who
defeated
the
Maporesha
members
who
had
dominated
the
Executive
for
the
previous
year.
But
many
of
those
present
observed
that
the
conduct
of
the
elections
was
irregular,
and
proper
procedures
for
the
Annual
Conference
had
not
been
followed
prior
to
the
voting.
For
example
the
outgoing
Secretary-General,
G.
M.
Kolisang,
had
not
been
allowed
to
complete
reading
his
report,
while
the
outgoing
Treasurer
had
not
been
able
to
give
his
report
at
all.
(It
was
however
published
later
in
Moafrika
of
10
May
1996,
showing
that
the
party,
although
managing
to
keep
income
and
expenditure
more
or
less
equal
in
1995-6,
nevertheless
had
still
had
major
debts
in
the
form
of
bank
overdarafts.)
Following
the
Conference,
party
leaders
from
three
constituencies,
Mokhotlong,
Khubelu
and
Thabana-Morena
brought
a
High
Court
Action
(in
which
they
were
later
joined
by
Mohale’s
Hoek
constituency)
asking
that
the
court,
because
of
the
irregularities,
should
declare
the
Conference
of
8th
to
11th
March
null
and
void.
The
initial
hearings
were
concerned
with
whether
the
applicants
had
a
case
the
Court
could
rule
on,
and
when
after
legal
argument
it
was
decided
that
they
had,
31
different
respondents
were
named
who
were
required
to
deposit
with
the
Court
documentary
evidence
of
what
had
happened.
The
respondents
ranged
from
the
members
of
the
outgoing
and
‘elected’
incoming
executive
committee
members
to
the
Prime
Minister
and
Deputy
Prime
Minister
themselves,
as
well
as
the
party
itself.
The
High
Court,
presided
over
by
Mr.
Justice
Ntšabeng
Mofolo,
sat
over
many
weeks
and
as
it
did
so,
evidence
was
led
of
intimidation
of
party
delegates
and
observers,
as
well
as
doubts
about
the
electoral
process.
Meanwhile
some
newspapers
tried
a
guessing
game
as
to
which
Members
of
Parliament
belonged
to
each
faction.
For
example,
Moafrika,
in
its
issue
of
29
March
1996,
published
photographs
of
27
MPs
who
were
seen
as
‘the
MPs
rejecting
corruption
and
working
for
justice
and
reconciliation
within
the
BCP
and
the
Basotho
Nation’
(Bakhethoa
ba
nenang
bobolu,
ba
sebeletsang
TOKA
le
POELANO
kahara
LEKHOTLA
la
MAHATAMMOHO
le
SECHABA
sa
BASOTHO
[capitalised
thus]).
These
were
seen
by
many
as
being
the
members
of
the
Maporesha,
and
they
included
the
senior
politicians,
Molapo
Qhobela,
Tšeliso
Makhakhe
and
Ntsukunyane
Mphanya,
as
well
as
two
other
cabinet
ministers,
Deborah
Raditapole
and
Sekoala
Toloane
[another
Cabinet
Ministers
who
might
have
been
included,
Moeketsi
Senaoana,
was
omitted
because
he
was
a
Senator
and
not
an
MP].
Moafrika’s
action
did
not
go
unchallenged.
A
letter
by
one
of
those
portrayed,
Menzel
Chakela,
published
in
Makatolle
of
24
April
1996
attempted
to
heal
divisions
and
stated
that
it
was
invidious
of
Moafrika
to
single
out
these
27
persons,
when
in
fact
all
members
of
the
BCP
were
working
for
justice
and
reconciliation.
The
party
paper
itself,
Makatolle,
was
not
receptive
to
articles
attacking
the
Majelathoko,
and
these
were
to
be
found
in
Moafrika,
whose
editor,
Candi
Ramainoane,
a
former
Mayor
of
Maseru,
was
clearly
siding
with
the
Maporesha.
As
has
been
seen,
the
editor
of
Khakhaulane,
Mthwalo
Mthwalo,
also
took
the
side
of
the
Maporesha.
While
one
drama
was
being
played
out
in
Court,
another
was
emerging
in
Cabinet.
The
Prime
Minister
was
increasingly
believed
to
be
falling
under
the
influence
of
his
brother
Shakhane,
the
head
of
the
Majelathoko,
and
there
were
sinister
indications
that
the
Maporesha
were
to
be
purged
from
Cabinet.
Others,
however,
believed
that
the
Leader
of
the
Party
could
not
possibly
dispense
with
the
services
of
his
wisest,
most
experienced,
and
most
loyal
colleagues.
There
were
however
persistent
rumours,
one
of
them
reported
as
if
it
was
a
dream
from
which
the
writer
awoke,
in
which
Qhobela,
Mphanya,
Makhakhe,
Toloane
and
Raditapole
were
being
dismissed
from
Cabinet.
This
was
published
in
a
signed
article
by
M.
Leqheku
in
Moafrika
of
29
March.
The
Mirror
newspaper,
in
less
dreamy
mood,
appeared
to
have
acquired
inside
knowledge
when
it
predicted
in
its
issue
of
17
April
that
Mphanya,
Makhakhe,
Qhobela,
and
the
Finance
Minister,
Dr.
Moeketsi
Senaoana,
would
be
shortly
dismissed
from
the
Cabinet
and
the
first
three
of
these
were
planning
to
form
their
own
political
party.
The
axe
fell
on
6
May,
and
there
was
indeed
a
major
Cabinet
reshuffle,
and
although
Dr.
Moeketsi
Senaoana
retained
his
cabinet
post,
Molapo
Qhobela,
Tšeliso
Makhakhe,
Ntsukunyane
Mphanya
and
Sekoala
Toloane,
four
of
the
five
cabinet
ministers
in
the
27
persons
singled
out
by
Moafrika,
were
all
moved
from
cabinet
positions.
The
fifth
person,
Dr.
Khauhelo
Deborah
Raditapole
was
moved
from
the
key
post
of
Minister
of
Natural
Resources
(which
she
had
only
occupied
for
a
few
months),
to
become
Minister
of
Trade
and
Industry,
making
way
for
the
Prime
Minister’s
brother,
Shakhane
Mokhehle
to
take
over
as
the
new
Minister
of
Natural
Resources.
The
effect
of
the
shuffle
is
shown
in
the
following
table;
New
Ministers
and
New
Portfolios
in
6
May
1996
reshuffle
-
Ms.
’Mamoshebi
Kabi
Minister
of
Transport,
Posts
&
Communications
(new
cabinet
member)
-
Mr.
Pakane
Khala
Minister
of
Information
&
Broadcasting
(new
cabinet
member)
-
Mr.
Tefo
Mabote
Minister
of
Health
&
Social
Welfare
(new
cabinet
member;
replaced
Sekoala
Toloane)
-
Mr.
Thabiso
Qhojeng
Assistant
Minister
to
the
Prime
Minister
(new
ministerial
post)
-
Mr.
Sephiri
Motanyane
Minister
of
Justice,
Law
&
Constitutional
Affairs
(replaced
Molapo
Qhobela)
-
Mr.
Lira
Motete
Minister
of
Works
(from
Information
&
Broadcasting;
replaced
Ntsukunyane
Mphanya)
-
Mr.
Lesao
Lehohla
Minister
of
Education
(from
Transport,
and
before
that
Home
Affairs;
replaced
Makhakhe)
-
Dr.
Khauhelo
Raditapole
Minister
of
Trade
&
Industry
(from
Natural
Resources
and
before
that
Health)
-
Mr.
Shakhane
Mokhehle
Minister
of
Natural
Resources
(from
Trade
&
Industry;
exchanged
with
Dr.
Raditapole)
-
Unchanged
Members
of
the
Cabinet
-
Dr.
Ntsu
Mokhehle
Prime
Minister,
Minister
of
Defence
and
of
the
Public
Service
-
Prof.
Pakalitha
Mosisili
Deputy
Prime
Minister,
Minister
of
Local
Government
&
Home
Affairs
-
Dr.
Moeketsi
Senaoana
Minister
of
Finance
&
Economic
Planning
-
Mr.
Kelebone
Maope
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs
-
Mr.
Notši
Molopo
Minister
of
Employment
&
Labour
-
Mr.
Mopshatla
Mabitle
Minister
of
Agriculture,
Co-operatives,
Marketing
&
Youth
Affairs
-
Mr.
Pashu
Mochesane
Minister
of
Tourism,
Sports
&
Culture
The
six
newcomers
to
the
Cabinet
were
sworn
in
as
usual
in
the
Banqueting
Hall
of
the
Royal
Palace
on
Tuesday
7
May.
However,
it
was
noted
by
the
press
that
the
outgoing
ministers
and
also
a
majority
of
Members
of
Parliament
were
absent,
most
of
them
apparently
boycotting
the
occasion.
There
was
considerable
public
comment
on
these
changes
and
on
the
likely
outcome
if
those
who
had
been
dismissed
from
the
Cabinet
were
restored
to
their
place
in
the
party
executive
at
the
end
of
the
High
Court
case.
Such
an
outcome
with
a
repeated
Annual
Conference
seemed
likely
to
be
fraught
with
problems
and
to
be
likely
to
further
divide
the
party
rather
than
to
heal
divisions.
It
seemed
that
further
developments
would
have
to
await
the
court
judgment,
but
in
fact
other
developments
emerged
sooner.
Two
of
the
most
important
Cabinet
Ministers,
the
Minister
of
Finance,
Dr.
Senaoana,
and
the
former
Minister
of
Natural
Resources,
Dr.
Raditapole,
handed
in
their
resignations
on
15th
May,
having
apparently
unsuccessfully
attempted
to
get
the
Prime
Minister
to
reverse
the
cabinet
reshuffle.
Persistent
rumours
indicated
that
Moafrika’s
27
occupants
of
its
March
portrait
gallery
were
growing
by
the
hour,
28,
29,
...
,
and
might
soon
be
a
majority
amongst
the
64
BCP
MPs.
There
might
be
enough
to
pass
a
vote
of
no
confidence
in
the
leader
if
the
court
decision
led
to
a
repeat
Annual
Conference.
The
two
resignations
clearly
took
the
Prime
Minister
by
surprise.
Indeed
it
was
an
unprecedented
step.
In
the
whole
history
of
Lesotho,
no-one
could
recall
an
occasion
when
individual
ministers
had
been
willing
to
sacrifice
ministerial
salaries
and
other
perks
on
a
point
of
principle.
It
appears
that
other
resignations
might
have
occurred
and
ministers
such
as
the
new
Minister
of
Education,
Lesao
Lehohla,
were
rumoured
to
have
been
especially
summoned
and
enjoined
to
remain
in
office.
Lentsoe
la
Basotho,
the
Government
newspaper,
on
25
May
specifically
issued
a
statement
that
neither
Lesao
Lehohla
nor
the
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
Kelebone
Maope
were
going
to
resign.
Radio
Lesotho
did
not
allow
the
four
dismissed
cabinet
ministers
air
time
(by
now
being
called
the
‘Big
Four’
by
the
press),
but
did
allow
the
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
Kelebone
Maope,
to
attack
his
former
colleagues
in
the
programme
Seboping
on
Radio
Lesotho.
A
comparatively
newcomer
to
the
party,
he
accused
them
of
being
disloyal
and
revealing
(unspecified)
cabinet
secrets.
There
was
also
an
insinuation
that
at
least
one
of
the
four
had
been
implicated
in
the
murder
of
the
former
Deputy
Prime
Minister,
Selometsi
Baholo.
(Mr.
Baholo
had
been
murdered
by
members
of
an
army
unit
in
1994,
when
as
Minister
of
Finance
he
had
refused
an
army
demand
of
a
100%
pay
increase.
Although
at
the
time
it
was
known
that
he
and
Molapo
Qhobela,
then
Foreign
Minister,
had
been
personally
at
odds
with
each
other,
no-one
had
seriously
suggested
that
the
army
had
in
any
way
been
acting
in
consort
with
any
cabinet
member).
The
Prime
Minister’s
response
to
events
was
to
summon
a
National
Pitso
on
Sunday
26th
May.
The
pitso
was
to
be
attended
by
civil
servants
and
considerable
hype
was
used
to
build
it
up
as
an
important
event.
However,
on
the
Sunday
in
question,
the
Setsoto
Stadium,
which
was
far
from
full,
was
the
scene
of
what
might
be
more
considered
a
party
rally
than
a
national
event,
with
BCP
songs
being
broadcast
over
Radio
Lesotho
as
a
prelude
of
several
hours
duration
before
the
main
event,
which
was
a
short
speech
by
each
of
the
Prime
Minister
and
Deputy
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili.
The
Prime
Minister’s
speech.
like
that
of
Kelebone
Maope,
was
noteworthy
for
its
vilification
of
his
dismissed
Cabinet
colleagues,
who
had
been
stalwarts
of
the
party
of
more
than
30
years
standing,
but
were
now
found
wanting
in
loyalty,
reliability
and
trustworthiness.
According
to
Makatolle
of
29
May
1996,
he
said
about
them:
‘...
These
men
who
are
so
obviously
rejected
by
the
Government
and
their
friends,
you
as
a
whole
ought,
even
out
in
the
villages
to
be
rejecting
them;
they
should
not
be
allowed
to
continue
with
this
business
of
theirs,
which
began
back
in
Gaborone,
and
to
spoil
the
oneness
and
unity
of
the
nation
in
its
development.
Civil
servants
who
appear
to
support
them
should
cease
such
action
immediately,
because
it
conflicts
with
their
employment
contracts.
If
they
don’t
desist,
then
the
Government
will
have
to
turn
them
out.
I
am
asking
the
newspaper
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
and
its
latter-day
associate,
Mr.
Khauta
Khasu,
to
stop
spouting
untruths
and
revelations
about
myself
and
my
wife
’Maneo.
Humanity
and
respect
are
the
foundations
of
our
national
identity
and
culture.’
The
reference
to
Gaborone,
was
to
the
long
years
during
the
1970s
and
1980s
when
the
party
leadership
was
in
exile.
The
reference
to
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
was
to
its
front
page
article
of
26
May
1996
in
which
Khauta
Khasu,
a
long
time
member
of
the
BCP,
and
now
leader
of
the
Hareeng
Basotho
Party,
had
made
a
series
of
allegations
about
the
past
activities
of
Ntsu
Mokhehle,
amongst
which
had
been
the
indecent
assault
of
a
niece
of
Tšeliso
Makhakhe.
Ntsu
had
also,
it
was
alleged,
been
so
much
at
loggerheads
with
his
wife
in
Gaborone
that
at
one
point
he
(Khasu)
had
had
to
intervene
to
prevent
her
being
deported
at
Ntsu’s
instigation
on
a
trumped
up
charge
of
being
a
spy
for
Leabua
Jonathan.
Moeletsi
had
interviewed
’Maneo
Mokhehle
to
get
her
views
on
the
allegations,
but
she
had
asked
that
they
print
nothing
without
the
Prime
Minister’s
permission.
Although
new
cabinet
ministers
had
been
installed
to
replace
those
dismissed,
replacement
of
those
who
resigned
took
rather
longer.
A
new
Minister
of
Works
had
been
found
in
the
shape
of
Mohaila
Mohale,
the
septuagenarian
veteran
journalist
and
MP
for
Pela-Tšoeu,
who
attained
Cabinet
rank
for
the
first
time.
(Many
said
he
would
have
been
more
at
home
in
the
Ministry
of
Information.)
However
even
after
a
month,
there
was
as
yet
no
indication
as
to
who
might
fill
the
key
position
of
Minister
of
Finance,
although
feelers
were
known
to
have
been
extended
to
ascertain
the
suitability
of
candidates
in
the
University’s
Department
of
Economics.
Dr.
Senaoana,
in
the
meantime
announced
his
intention
to
retain
his
Senate
seat,
making
it
rather
difficult
for
a
replacement
Minister
of
Finance
to
be
found
a
parliamentary
position
unless
there
was
a
resignation
from
the
Senate.
Meanwhile
the
‘Big
Four’
dismissed
cabinet
ministers
defended
their
reputations.
Radio
Lesotho
did
not
allow
them
air
time,
but
a
statement
to
the
Press,
published
in
Mopheme
of
4
June,
stated
their
viewpoint:
‘Following
our
summary
expulsion
from
Cabinet
on
6
May
1996,
Mr.
Maope,
the
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
made
the
most
unbridled
allegations
against
us
in
a
special
radio
programme.
He
alleged
that
we
were
not
loyal
to
the
Prime
Minister,
that
we
divulged
cabinet
secrets
and
that
at
least
one
of
us
was
implicated
in
the
murder
of
Mr.
Baholo,
once
Deputy
Prime
Minister.
These
are
indeed
horrific
allegations
and
no
perpetrator
of
them
can
get
away
with
them....
On
26
May
1996,
while
all
the
four
of
us
and
the
people
generally
were
still
reeling
with
shock,
the
Prime
Minister
himself
repeated
Mr.
Maope’s
allegations
concerning
disloyalty
and
divulgence
of
cabinet
secrets.
The
Prime
Minister
added
a
weird
dimension:
he
appealed
to
the
nation
to
anathematise
us.
The
magnitude
and
consequence
of
this
appeal
by
the
head
of
government
is
horrifying
indeed;
and
we
are
obliged
to
seek
protection
from
whatever
quarter.’
The
Cabinet
Ministers
who
had
been
expelled
at
their
press
conference
on
7
June
were
explicitly
asked
about
Khasu’s
allegations
about
the
party
leader.
They
refused
to
be
drawn
into
revealing
matters
from
the
distant
past.
However,
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
refused
to
let
the
matter
drop.
Here
were
ministers
who
had
been
expelled
from
Government
for
betraying
government
confidences,
yet
they
were
being
tight-lipped
about
other
party
secrets.
Moeletsi,
which
historically
had
always
supported
the
BNP,
continued
to
try
to
score
points
off
the
BCP,
and
reprinted
in
its
issue
of
23
June
1996
allegations
which
had
appeared
nearly
20
years
ago
in
its
issue
of
30
January
1977.
It
had
then
reported
about
the
indecent
assault
(the
Sesotho
word
tlheka-tlheko
is
often
a
euphemism
for
rape)
of
young
BCP
girls
who
had
been
educated
in
Russia,
and
that
the
Party
(then
in
exile
in
Gaborone)
had
not
been
able
to
set
up
an
appropriate
investigatory
subcommittee,
despite
a
written
appeal
by
Tšeliso
Makhakhe,
Khauta
Khasu
Koenyama
Chakela
and
others
that
Ntsu
Mokhehle
be
expelled
from
the
party
under
section
21(e)
of
its
Constitution.
Makhakhe
had
at
the
time
been
the
Deputy
Party
Leader,
Khasu
the
Party
Chairman,
and
Chakela
the
General
Secretary.
Well
into
June
there
was
still
no
new
Minister
of
Finance.
Also
it
was
apparent
that
the
Prime
Minister
was
in
poor
health.
According
to
Moafrika
of
14
June,
he
had
had
to
be
taken
for
hospital
treatment
on
11
June
with
his
heart
beating
very
fast
and
he
was
supported
because
he
could
not
walk
unaided.
He
had
thereafter
been
ordered
to
take
several
days
complete
rest.
A
new
Minister
of
Finance
was
finally
sworn
in
on
Tuesday
24
June.
He
was
Dr.
Leketekete
Victor
Ketso,
of
the
Economics
Department
of
the
National
University
of
Lesotho,
an
erstwhile
colleague
of
Dr.
Senaoana,
who
had
resigned
nearly
six
weeks
earlier.
Since
Dr.
Senaoana
had
declined
to
resign
from
the
Senate,
a
seat
had
to
be
created
for
Dr.
Ketso
by
the
resignation
of
Senator
Tšeliso
Maruping
Mohloki.
The
new
Minister
was
apparently
expected
to
introduce
a
revised
budget.
Even
before
his
appointment,
the
Prime
Minister
had
announced
that
there
would
have
to
be
some
amendments
to
provide
old-age
pensions
and
primary
school
fee
subsidies.
It
was
not
immediately
clear
whether
it
was
expected
these
would
be
accommodated
through
changes
to
the
Estimates
or
by
a
supplementary
appropriation
bill.▲back
to
top
During
the
second
quarter
of
1996,
there
was
no
let-up
from
the
continuing
cattle
rustling
in
which
people
from
the
former
Transkei
and
Basotho
in
the
districts
of
Quthing
and
Qacha’s
Nek
were
engaged
in
armed
warfare
over
stolen
cattle.
Lentsoe
la
Basotho
of
25
May
reported
an
incident
in
which
300
men
from
the
South
African
side
of
the
border
had
captured
1000
sheep
and
goats,
100
cattle,
30
horses
and
14
donkeys
from
cattle-posts
in
the
Tosing
area
of
Quthing
District.
One
of
the
attackers
had
been
killed,
and
his
body
was
taken
by
helicopter
to
the
Government
mortuary
at
Moyeni.
A
week
later
the
same
newspaper
was
reporting
a
number
of
incidents
from
Qacha’s
Nek
District.
In
one
a
16-year
old
boy
was
shot
and
killed
at
Ha
Mosaqane
east
of
Qacha’s
Nek.
A
police
report
from
Qacha’s
Nek
stated
that
of
670
animals
stolen
from
Qacha’s
Nek
District
by
South
African
residents,
only
202
had
been
recovered.
Of
34
animals
stolen
from
South
Africa
by
Lesotho
residents,
only
11
had
been
recovered.
Another
serious
incident
was
reported
early
in
June.
This
occurred
at
or
near
the
village
of
Sekoaing
Ha
Moliba
on
the
high
plateau
above
Tosing
in
Quthing
District.
Cattle
were
again
stolen,
but
four
of
the
raiders
were
killed,
while
a
Mosotho
woman
was
also
shot
in
the
incident
and
later
died
in
hospital.
It
was
promised
that
there
would
be
military
deployment
in
the
area,
although
some
persons
wondered
whether
the
soldiers
of
the
Lesotho
Defence
Force,
used
to
operating
with
vehicles,
would
be
effective
in
an
area
entirely
without
roads,
and
where
the
theft
routes
were
along
steep
bridle
paths.
Meanwhile
it
was
announced
that
there
would
be
a
meeting
between
the
Lesotho
Foreign
Minister
and
his
South
African
counterpart
to
discuss
appropriate
measures.▲back
to
top
The
length
of
time
for
cases
to
finally
reach
a
court
decision
was
exemplified
by
the
case
of
the
murder
of
the
Barclays
Bank
Manager,
Toloko
Kimane,
who
had
been
killed
on
10
September
1991,
after
a
bitter
strike
by
bank
employees,
who
had
been
finally
dismissed
after
refusing
to
return
to
work.
Although
four
persons
had
been
charged
with
the
murder
soon
afterwards,
only
three
were
in
the
dock
to
hear
the
judgment,
the
fourth,
Nkalimeng
Mothobi,
having
escaped
from
gaol
in
1992.
Although
he
had
been
recaptured
in
1993,
his
case
for
some
reason
had
been
separated
and
he
was
still
awaiting
trial.
The
judgment,
275
pages
long,
took
four
days
to
read,
and
the
three
defendants
were
all
sentenced
to
death.
It
was
found
that
they
had
been
together
in
Kimane’s
car
when
he
had
been
killed
near
the
Lakeside
Hotel
in
Maseru,
his
body
having
been
subsequently
dumped
in
a
donga
beside
the
road
at
Sekamaneng
to
the
north
of
Maseru.
The
same
persons
were
also
found
guilty
of
conspiracy
to
kill
Samuel
Rahlao,
Manger
of
Standard
Bank.
Those
sentenced
to
death
were
Teboho
Michael
Chaka
of
Standard
Bank,
Remaketse
Sehlabaka
of
Barclays
Bank
(then
both
members
of
the
National
Union
of
Bank
Employees),
and
Samuel
Monontši
Maliehe,
a
driver.
The
convicted
persons
gave
leave
of
notice
to
appeal.
The
newspaper
Mopheme
in
an
unusually
articulate
editorial,
attacked
the
use
of
the
death
penalty,
which
depicted
‘Lesotho
as
a
killer
state’.▲back
to
top
The
Commission
established
to
investigate
the
death
of
King
Moshoeshoe
II
reported
in
May.
It
had
been
established
with
officers
from
New
Scotland
Yard,
after
allegations
that
the
Government
had
not
properly
investigated
the
circumstances
surrounding
the
King’s
death.
The
Commission
came
to
the
conclusion
that
the
cause
of
the
accident
was
the
extreme
fatigue
on
the
part
of
the
driver,
Tseko
Moshe,
who
had
had
little
rest
on
the
two
previous
nights.
Moreover,
the
alcohol
level
in
his
blood
was
‘so
high
that
it
will
have
impaired
his
concentration,
eyesight
and
reaction
times’.
The
report
noted
that
the
occupants
of
the
car
had
not
been
using
seatbelts.
It
also
made
extensive
recommendations
relating
to
security
for
the
Royal
Family.
‘Any
officer
or
driver
with
a
history
of
alcoholism
should
not
even
be
assigned
to
the
Palace.▲back
to
top’
The
death
occurred
on
8
June
of
Mosebi
Damane,
the
Mosotho
historian.
His
funeral
was
held
on
22
June
near
Masitise
in
Quthing
District,
the
place
where
he
was
born
on
the
last
day
of
1918.
Mosebi
Damane
had
been
known
to
almost
everyone
in
government
over
a
period
of
a
generation
or
more,
and
the
occasion
was
attended
by
numerous
present
and
former
cabinet
ministers
and
academics.
A
Mosia
by
birth,
Mosebi
Damane
could
not
account
for
the
origin
of
his
unusual
surname.
An
ancestor
may
have
been
named
after
Damane
Mokhethi,
a
Mofokeng
living
200
years
back.
Attempts
to
link
the
name
to
daman,
a
rock
rabbit,
seem
unlikely,
because
this
word,
of
Arabic
origin,
seems
only
to
have
been
used
in
southern
Africa
(and
then
only
briefly)
by
the
pioneer
missionaries,
Casalis
and
Arbousset,
who
had
happened
to
learn
Arabic
before
coming
to
Lesotho.
Damane’s
career
as
a
historian
began
during
his
long
period
(1937-60)
when
he
was
teaching
at
the
Morija
Training
College.
Early
work
can
be
found
as
contributions
to
Leselinyana
la
Lesotho
and
in
The
Teachers’
Magazine
of
the
Basutoland
Education
Department.
During
this
period
he
wrote
Peace,
the
mother
of
nations:
the
‘saga’
of
the
origin
of
the
Protestant
Church
in
Basutoland
(1947).
Short
historical
works
in
Sesotho
followed,
notably
Moorosi,
Morena
oa
Baphuthi
(1948)
and
Histori
ea
Lesotho
(1950),
a
school
textbook,
several
times
reprinted
and
also
published
in
South
African
Sesotho
orthography
in
1962.
Marath’a
lilepe
a
puo
ea
Sesotho,
buka
ea
pele
(Morsels
of
the
Sesotho
language,
book
one)
(1960),
even
though
there
was
no
second
volume,
established
Damane’s
reputation
as
a
commentator
and
interpreter
of
Lithoko
tsa
Marena
a
Basotho.
These
were
the
praise
poems
of
Basotho
chiefs
which
had
been
collected
and
published
a
generation
earlier
by
Mangoaela,
and
had
become
established
as
a
core
work
in
the
school
Sesotho
syllabus,
despite
the
difficulties
which
they
presented
in
their
poetical
constructions
and
historical
allusions.
This
initial
work
on
the
lithoko
paved
the
way
for
a
later
collaboration
with
Peter
Sanders
and
the
publication
of
Lithoko:
Sotho
praise
poems
(1974),
an
extensively
annotated
scholarly
translation
into
English
of
the
lithoko
of
the
principal
chiefs.
The
challenge
to
provide
a
similar
commentary
and
translation
for
the
remaining
lithoko
in
Mangoaela’s
collection
has
yet
to
be
taken
up.
Short
in
stature,
Mosebi
was
known
for
his
infectious
enthusiasm
for
history.
It
was
this
rather
than
a
systematic
scholarly
approach
which
marked
him
out
as
a
historian.
Well
aware
that
Lesotho’s
history
transcended
its
present
boundaries,
he
befriended
farmers
over
the
border
whose
boundaries
enclosed
important
Lesotho
historical
sites.
Many
people
benefited
from
guided
tours
with
him
both
inside
and
outside
Lesotho,
where
he
would
point
out
detail
that
might
otherwise
be
missed.
Mosebi
Damane
was
first
attached
to
the
History
Department
of
the
University
of
Botswana,
Lesotho
&
Swaziland
in
1973
as
a
Leverhulme
Research
Fellow.
His
master’s
thesis
was
on
Batlokoa
history,
but
has
not
been
published.
During
1978-85
he
was
successively
Lecturer,
Senior
Lecturer
and
Head
of
the
Department
of
History
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho.
On
leaving
the
University,
he
joined
the
civil
service
to
occupy
the
post
of
Government
Historian,
which
was
specially
created
for
him.
He
became
especially
well
known
through
the
medium
of
radio
and
television
in
South
Africa,
and
at
the
time
of
his
death
he
had
just
taken
up
the
post
of
Consultant
on
Chieftainship
Affairs
to
the
Free
State
Government.
▲back
to
top
[updated
to
30
June
1996]
|
