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SUMMARY OF EVENTS IN LESOTHO Volume 3, Number 1 (First Quarter 1996) |
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Summary of events in Lesotho is a quarterly publication compiled and published by David Ambrose since 1993 at the National University of |
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SUMMARY OF EVENTS IN LESOTHO Volume 4, Number 4 (Fourth Quarter 1997) |
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Summary of events in Lesotho is a quarterly publication compiled and published by David Ambrose since 1993 at the National University of Lesotho, P. O. Roma 180, Lesotho. |
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CORONATION OF HIS MAJESTY KING LETSIE IIILesotho staged a major public event on Friday 31 October 1997, when King Letsie the Third was formally presented to the Nation in a Coronation Ceremony. The main Ceremony on the Friday was held at the Setsoto Stadium in Maseru, with the Government Secretary, Kenneth Mohlabi Tsekoa, as Master of Ceremonies. Central to the Ceremony was the King being invested by his nearest male relative, his uncle, Chief Masupha Seeiso, with the traditional emblems of Office including a leopard-skin kaross and a traditional crown or moqhaka. Speeches were delivered at the Ceremony by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Commonwealth Secretary-General, on behalf of International Representatives; by President Nelson Mandela on behalf of the Heads of State of Southern African Development Community countries; and by Prince Charles on behalf of Queen Elizabeth the Second, Head of the Commonwealth, and on behalf of other invited Royal Families. In his own speech the king spoke at length on the challenges facing Lesotho. The Ceremony, which lasted the four hours deemed appropriate for important occasions in Lesotho, included traditional dancing, praise poetry, and choral singing including the first public performance of a special Coronation Anthem by the composer and headmaster, Nkau Lepheana. Following the ceremony, the Nation was fed at a huge feast which encompassed the whole of Maseru, persons from each District or special grouping being assigned to one of some 20 institutions ranging from the Lerotholi Polytechnic to the Agricultural College and the National Health Training Centre, where appropriate food was served. The distinguished visitors were provided with a Coronation Banquet at the Maseru Sun Cabanas Hotel. On the following day, there was a further celebration below the Royal Village of Matsieng, when gifts were presented to the King. On this occasion troops of horsemen each with matching blankets provided a spectacle worthy of the great occasions of King Letsie’s ancestors. Speeches were kept to a minimum, and the guests spoke their thanks through King Mswati the Third of Swaziland, who was present at the occasion together with an entourage of queens. <<<back to top First Mosotho Appointed to Manage Maseru Sun HotelA Mosotho, Sam Mphana has become the first local citizen to be appointed General Manager of Maseru Sun Hotel. The appointment took place in mid-1997 and was only later given media attention. Maseru Sun Hotel originally opened as Maseru Holiday Inn, Lesotho’s first modern hotel. It later became Maseru Casino Hotel and then Maseru Sun Cabanas. Sam Mphana replaces Rahman Murtuza, who hails from Mauritius and has managed the hotel for many years. Mr Murtuza now becomes General Manager of Lesotho’s other member of the Sun Hotels Group, the Lesotho Sun, formerly the Lesotho Hilton. <<<back to top Pilot Killed in Mission Aviation Fellowship Plane CrashDavid Bacon, one of the American pilots of the Mission Aviation Fellowship, was killed in a plane crash on 1 October when his plane apparently stalled on take-off in windy conditions at the remote mountain air strip of Methalaneng, south of Mantšonyane. The Mission Aviation Fellowship provides transportation for Lesotho’s Flying Doctor Service. David Bacon, aged 33, was living in Maseru, where he was well known and his children were attending Maseru Prep School. A second aviation mishap occurred at the steep and short Lesobeng airstrip in central Lesotho shortly after midday on 22 October 1997. A Twin Otter of Air Lesotho flying on the route from Qacha’s Nek to Maseru, ran off the runway on landing at its intermediate stop and was damaged. The two aircrew and thirteen passengers were unhurt, but the damage to the aircraft resulted in the suspension of flights between Maseru and Qacha’s Nek. <<<back to top Road Accidents Result in Tragic DeathsThe bus accident on 30 September in which 16 people died led to a number of sad funerals, particularly in Morija, where many of the passengers had been travelling on the fateful evening. Those who died were mainly young people and the wage earners in their families, returning from Maseru. Another horrific accident occurred at Matsieng on 11 October, on the occasion of a special gathering of nursery schools. At the time of the accident, a group of children were walking downhill at Matsieng, when one of the Police ‘Lepolesa Mothusi Motsoalle’ buses passed them on its way up. For reasons which are not clear, the bus went out of control and ran backwards on the hill scattering children across the road. Four very young children were run over and killed instantly and twelve others and a nursery school teacher were injured. <<<back to top Airlink Flights to Maseru IncreasedCompetition on the Maseru to Johannesburg air route increased during October, when Airlink announced it was increasing its flights to eleven a week, using a comfortable 29-seater pressurised aircraft with two pilots and a cabin attendant. The rival firm, the newly privatised Air Lesotho, run by Rossair, has a 19-seater Beechcraft 1900C running twice daily on the same route. <<<back to top Census Population Total Very LowPublished results from the 1996 PopulationCensus first became available during October 1997. The first publication took the form of a volume containing a list of all villages in Lesotho with their respective populations as well as district totals. As published, the total population for the country totalled only 1 835 501, a figure far below anyone’s expectations, including those of the Bureau of Statistics itself. For example the Bureau, in its 1986 population census analysis report, vol. 4, published in 1992, gave low, medium and high projections for 1996 as respectively 2 098 849, 2 112 449 and 2 131 774. Even if the low projection was the correct one, more than 12% of the Lesotho population was apparently missing from the census. There was some speculation as to what could cause such a low figure, including increased death rates, lower fertility rates, the impact of Aids, migration to South Africa, and errors in totalling the figures. Although some of these might have had a minor impact, the general view was that there had been massive underenumeration, this being supported by numerous examples of people stating that they had not been enumerated. The previous three decennial censuses (1966, 1976 and 1986) had been carried out by schoolteachers who had been given a two week period away from their schools, during the first of which they were trained and in the second of which they were sent to undertake the actual enumeration. Given that Lesotho has schoolteachers and schools distributed geographically more or less similarly to the population itself, teachers were normally asked to enumerate an area with which they were familiar. Moreover some had had the experience of participating in several successive censuses. In 1996, census planning took place at a time when strikes by teachers were disrupting schools, and there was a fear that if teachers were again employed, they might take ‘industrial’ action and put the census in jeopardy. It was decided by the Bureau of Statistics to advertise for people to undertake the work, and those who were employed as a result of this were mainly unemployed school leavers, the majority being job seekers living in the peri-urban areas. Because these employees naturally wanted to gain as much remuneration as possible, there were a number of disputes over conditions of service between them and the Bureau of Statistics staff. Moreover, their general unfamiliarity with rural areas was a handicap in the enumeration of the remoter parts of Lesotho. Although so far the Bureau of Statistics has not made a public statement, it was felt in general that the change in the type of enumerators employed was more likely to be the cause of the discrepancy than an actual massive change in population numbers. <<<back to top Death of Veteran Politician Stephen MotlamelleThe death occurred after a long illness on 14 October of Stephen Moeketsi Motlamelle, a founder member (with Ntsu Mokhehle) of the Basutoland African Congress in 1952. At the age of 83, he was the oldest Member of Parliament. His funeral at Lekokoaneng on 25 October attracted a large gathering of members of both the BCP and government representatives. Observers considered that it was unlikely that his vacant seat of Thupa-Kubu would be filled until the next elections. The newly founded Independent Electoral Commission was too busy with the national registration of voters to have the resources to run a by-election in the meantime. <<<back to top M5 Million Civil Suit against Former LHDA Chief ExecutiveIn its issue of 21 October 1997, The Mirror reported that a claim had been filed in the High Court by South-African lawyers acting on behalf of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority for a sum of M4 958 501.48 which it was alleged had been improperly appropriated by Masupha Sole, former Chief Executive of the LHDA. Sole had served in the top position until 1995, when he had been replaced following a period of suspension during a management audit. The missing money was alleged to have been obtained through eleven different irregular payments, involving rentals, salary overpayments and other sums appropriated without legal basis. Evidence of houses being rented by LHDA from government officials and ministers at rates of up to M4 000 per month was reported in Mopheme of 11 November 1997 as the case proceeded. <<<back to top National Archives Put at Serious RiskThe Lesotho National Archives suffered serious problems in the years immediately after Independence because of inadequate and unsuitable accommodation. In the mid-1970s when a Canadian funded project was formulated to expand the University Library, additional space was constructed to provide a safe temporary home for the Lesotho National Archives. They were duly moved to this space in the basement of the building, but lack of personnel and supervision resulted in a virtually non-existent service being provided to researchers. Not only were the existing collections poorly organised and largely uncatalogued, but new materials were acquired in a haphazard way and left lying in ever expanding heaps on the floor. The matter was of some concern to the University, but it could not directly intervene, because the National Archives were managed by the Culture Division of the Ministry of Education & Culture, and more recently by the Culture Division of the Ministry of Tourism, Sports & Culture. Although there were persons appointed to the Archives service, on a typical day not one of the professional staff could be found at the Archives, and often the cleaner was the only person to be found there. Theoretically, the management of the National Archives falls under an Archives Commission, appointed by the relevant Minister, its members holding office for five years after which they can be reappointed. However, in 1997, there was effectively no such Commission, presumably through an oversight rather than deliberate policy: no-one had been appointed to the Commission or had had his or her membership renewed during the previous five years. There was therefore no body to represent the needs of the Archives at what emerged to be the most crucial and threatening point in its history. The University’s accommodating of the Archives had been intended to be temporary, but 20 years later, there was no sign that Government had taken the necessary steps to provide appropriate premises. Although a site had been allocated for an Archives Building (and also for a National Museum Building) at the old Agricultural Showgrounds area in Maseru (better known more recently as the temporary ’Manthabiseng Bus Stop), most of this site had been taken over by the new Chinese-funded and constructed National Convention Centre, nearing completion late in 1997. Meanwhile, action had been taken by the University authorities requesting the National Archives to vacate the space in the University Library. As a result, at the end of September, the process began of moving the National Archives. The High Court and other legal records were conveyed from the Archives to the High Court early in October with the help of a lorry and convict labour from the Maseru Central Gaol. At the High Court end the papers were accommodated in a damp prison cell adjoining the Magistrate’s Court. They were stacked against a wall, effectively unusable to researchers. Meanwhile the remaining archival materials were moved to a former private house in Lancers’ Road, which government had recently used as the Traffic Commissioner’s Office. Its size was totally inadequate for the quantity of materials being moved, and although the house was barricaded to prevent theft, it was not known what precautions might have been taken against rats and mice and other possible threats to preservation. Moreover it seemed that access by researchers would be virtually impossible. The Institute of Southern African Studies at Roma, which had been advertising access to the National Archives as an attraction to visiting researchers was particularly concerned about the development. The new Director of the Institute, Professor L. B. B. J. Machobane, himself a historian, expressed concern that the action had been taken without consultation with the scholarly community. By the end of the year it became known that the fate of the National Archives had attracted international concern. King Letsie III had approached the University asking for information on what was happening, and the matter was to be put onto the agenda of the first University Senate meeting in the new year. <<<back to top New Newspapers LaunchedA new weekly newspaper, Southern Star, was launched in Lesotho during October. The Editor-in-Chief of the new newspaper is the veteran journalist, Joe Molefi, who came to Lesotho from South Africa in October 1961 as a refugee after having been put on trial with Nelson Mandela and others for high treason. The Managing Director is Frank Baffoe, a long-time resident of Lesotho, originally from Ghana. The name Southern Star in fact revives the name of a business magazine which had formerly been published by Frank Baffoe’s company, Baffoe & Associates in 1988-90. A number of other new newspapers also emerged in the closing months of 1997. These included Public Eye, an A4 monthly printed on blue paper and published by ‘Voice Multimedia’ an organisation apparently with links to Mopheme newspaper. The new course for journalists at the University’s Institute of Extra-Mural Studies sponsored the newspaper Lesotho Pioneer which was intermittently daily and also available through the Internet. The Media Institute of Lesotho (MILES) also produced its own newspaper Moqolotsi (‘The Reporter’) in December. So far only one issue has appeared. Development Dialogue whose Sesotho alter ego is Maratha (‘Morsels’) was revived in newspaper format by the Ministry of Local Government in November, with uncertain frequency, only one issue dated November-December having appeared so far. It is essentially two newspapers, one in English and one in Sesotho, printed together with the second paper upside down on the back of the other. A bi-lingual newspaper produced by the National Environment Secretariat appeared late in December. Printed in colour as a tabloid, it is called Our Environment: Tikoloho ea Rona. Ad-Vantage is a free weekly advertising newspaper which began appearing weekly in August. Finally, The Sun, edited by Tšitso Rampuku, first appeared in late October as another English weekly, with circulation offices in both Maseru and Virginia in the Free State. A Sesotho edition called Thebe appeared, published by The Sun, in early December. Both papers carried South African and Lesotho stories. Thebe resolved the problem of whether to use the Lesotho or South African orthography for Sesotho by using a mixture of the two, sometimes even in the same sentence. <<<back to top Death of Former Mayor of MaseruSobhuza Sopeng, who served two terms as Mayor of Maseru in 1989/90 and 1990/1 died at the age of 48 after a short illness at his home in Maseru East on 1 November. A graduate of the National University of Lesotho and a staunch Seventh Day Adventist, he had been the first Mayor of the newly created Maseru City Council. <<<back to top Three Die in Construction Accident in Central MaseruThree construction workers were killed in central Maseru on 5 November when concrete beams supporting a tower crane collapsed into a trench which they were excavating for a sewer pipeline. Two others were injured. The accident took place on the building site on the south-west side of Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, where the M35 million Phase III Government Office Complex is under construction. The two main contractors on the site employ together 180 workers, and there are a further 120 working on subcontracts. Radio Lesotho on 17 November reported that the Occupational Health and Safety Unit of the Ministry of Labour had investigated the accident and found that the site foreman was to blame. The site foreman himself, however, stated that he had warned the workers of the danger, and they had continued to work in the area. <<<back to top Stock Theft Leads to Violence at Ha NtsaneStock theft problems resulted in serious violence at Ha Ntsane village which adjoins Thaba-Bosiu on the south side. According to the Chief of Ha Ntsane, Makhabane Ntsane, as quoted in The Mirror of 7 November 1997, 295 cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys had been stolen from his village since 1995, and despite reporting the matter to the Matela and Roma Police Stations, no police even came to investigate the matter. The matter came to a head when his house was attacked with stones and bullets. The next morning when there was a village gathering and two members of the village had absented themselves, it was realised that they were the guilty persons. The villagers, according to The Mirror tortured the two suspects, Khethang Mokoteli and Makhetha Pheane, into revealing that they were being employed by two persons from Ha Phaloane near Nazareth Mission. These in turn implicated two police from the Matela Police Station. In late October, the villagers apparently ‘arrested’ all six suspects including the two policemen and took them to Mabote Police Station in Maseru. The Chief then appealed for permission to have fire-arms so that he and his villagers could protect themselves and their animals. Three weeks later matters had come to a head. As reported on 18 November over Radio Lesotho, two suspected cattle thieves, Buti Mafatle and Nonyana Nomo, had been killed and their bodies burned at Ha Ntsane, and as a result of the incident, Chief Makhabane Ntsane was in custody at Roma Police Station. Media accounts of the events were hard to reconcile. According to a lengthy report in Mololi of 26 November 1997, at a meeting held at Ha Ntsane on 23 November by Major Haretsebe None, officer responsible for the Maseru & Thaba-Tseka District police, a spokesman for Ha Ntsane village implicated two policemen from Roma police station in the stock theft ring operating in the area. Moreover, the spokesman, one Malefetsane, further stated the police had done nothing when the villagers had made their original complaints about stock theft and this had led to the deterioration of the situation. The bodies of the two suspects who had been killed had been burned to prevent them coming back to life and using witchcraft. Moreover the villagers as a whole had carried out the killings. Major None warned the people about taking the law into their own hands, and in particular they should not arrest policemen. This should only be done by their superiors. Chief Lerotholi Theko, representing the Chief of Thaba-Bosiu, said that he was not able to send persons wanted by the police to the local police station because suspects were tortured there. He would send them to Maseru. <<<back to top Basotho Graduate in Botswana23 Basotho were among the 2203 graduands at a ceremony held at the University of Botswana on 1 November. These figures are a part of the large numbers of Basotho now studying in foreign Universities, particularly in South Africa. They are also indicative of the phenomenal growth of the University of Botswana, which began full time teaching in 1971 as a branch campus of the then University of Botswana, Lesotho & Swaziland whose main campus was then in Lesotho. The 2203 graduates in Botswana can be compared with the 360 graduates at the National University of Lesotho a month earlier. Less than five Batswana have studied at the National University of Lesotho in recent years, the majority of these coming to Lesotho because they did not wish to fulfill the pre-University national service requirement in Botswana. <<<back to top Death of Matela Errington ThabaneA veteran of the Second World War who was also a veteran politician, Matela Thabane, of Makhoakhoeng near Masianokeng, was buried on 15 November 1997. He was the Member of Parliament for Qiloane constituency from 1965, and stood for the Boqate constituency in 1970. Although he won the seat, the coup following the elections resulted in Parliament being suspended and his spending a considerable period in gaol. <<<back to top First Test Water Passes through Highlands Water Project TunnelsThe first water from the Katse Reservoir to pass through the tunnels of the system reached the Ash River in the Vaal catchment on 3 November. This was part of a testing process, ahead of the actual formal beginning of regular deliveries, to be inaugurated by President Mandela and King Letsie III on 22 January 1998. The hydropower component lags behind the water transfer component of the project, and the first hydropower is now scheduled to be generated in June 1998. Meanwhile the reservoir itself was reported to be very nearly full, having reached about 5 metres below the Full Supply Level of 2053 metres by late November. <<<back to top Roof of Africa RallyDelayed by the Coronation, the Roof of Africa Rally began in Maseru on 19 November. Once sponsored by The Star newspaper, the rally is now sponsored jointly by Lesotho Sun and Pennzoil. As has been the case in recent years separate races were held for motor cycles and what are generally referred to as ‘cars’ although their bizarre shapes often have little in common with ordinary motor cars, other than the possession of four wheels. Both races include a race ‘round the houses’ in Maseru to determine starting position, and then a gruelling route through the mountains. In the motor cycle section, 43 out of 88 entrants finished the race in generally dusty rather than muddy conditions. The race was won by Alfie Cox on a AGA Panasonic KTM motor cycle, his eighth victory in the race, although in 1996 he had not finished due to technical problems. In the car section 16 out of 34 entrants finished. The winner was the Franz Czepek Sr & Jr (father and son) team in their Vee Motors Raceco Porsche. Amongst local entrants, the Astoria Bakery sponsored team of Richard Schilling and Ashley Thorn came seventh; while the Lesotho Bank sponsored Lesotho Defence Force team of P. Shai and M. Ramoseeka came fifteenth. <<<back to top Workers Demonstrate Against Chinese Factory OwnersOn Friday 14 November a crowd of reportedly thousands of placard carrying employees of Maseru clothing factories demonstrated against poor working conditions and the low minimum wage. Others, it was said, feared to join the demonstration because they would be dismissed by the Chinese factory owners if they participated. A delegation met the Minister, Notši Molopo, who promised to react to their demands. <<<back to top Rise in Postal RatesA steep rise in postal rates, to be implemented on 1 January 1998, was announced in November. The internal letter rate was to be doubled from 35s to 70s, still below the South African internal letter rate which is R1.00 for standard sized letters. The steepest rise was in the overseas air mail rate which was to be tripled from M1.50 to M4.50 per 10 g, making it more than two and a half times the South African rate of R1.70 per 10g. The new aerogramme and air mail post card rates were also to be M4.50 (compared with R1.20 in South Africa). It was predicted that the new rates would result in an increasing use of e mail, and also that journeys to Ladybrand and other border towns would increase for bulk posting of overseas air mail. A prime reason for the rise in postal rates was believed to be the financial crisis in the Post Office resulting from the need to pay for the new Postal Headquarters Building. Situated opposite the main Post Office on Kingsway in Maseru (on the old Frasers Retail ‘Crocodile Shop’ site), the impressive nine storey building was already being occupied by late 1997, although completion of the upper floors was not scheduled until April 1998. The two lower floors were for postal use, and the others for rental. At M156 million, it was one of the most expensive office blocks to be undertaken in Maseru. However, it seems there were problems of where the funds were to be found, and this was apparently a source of tension between the Postal Services Department and Central Government. Since long before Independence, Government Departments had enjoyed free postal privileges, and were entitled to send letters through the post with an ‘official free’ rubber stamp bearing the name of each department. The Post Office had expected these privileges in recent years to be compensated through an annual Government grant to the Post Office, but for several years this had not happened: Government wanted exact statistics of free mail carried on its behalf, but such statistics were hard to compile unless a system of printed Official Stamps issued to Government Departments was instituted. The matter was now likely to come to a head, although with only some 9 million postal items a year passing through the Lesotho Post Office, it seemed unlikely that the rise in postal rates would be sufficient to pay for the new building (or indeed even the interest on the loan). Nor it seemed would the renting of the other floors be likely to bring in much revenue, the building being completed at a time when there was a glut of free office space in Maseru. <<<back to top New Inquiry into Shooting of Lesotho Highlands Water Project Strikers by PoliceThe incident on 14 September 1996, when Lesotho Highland Water Project workers had been shot by the police, had been investigated by a Commission of Inquiry headed by a civil servant later in the same year, but the final report had apparently never been made widely available. Moreover the independence of the Commission had been challenged. A Lesotho Government Gazette Extraordinary of 21 November 1997, more than 14 months after the incident, announced the setting up of a new Commission of Inquiry headed by Mr. Justice M. M. Ramolibeli, its two other members being Elia Mokuoane of the private firm Mokuoane Construction, and a former Judge of the Lesotho High Court, Mr. Justice B. P. Cullinan. <<<back to top Lesotho Bank Management Suspended and Replaced by Irish TeamPublic disquiet about Lesotho Bank, and annoyance about the inefficiency of its services, was in early December partly assuaged by a major shake-up in which an Irish Team of external experts was brought in to revitalize and strengthen the bank. A statement on 12 December by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Leketekete Ketso, sought to calm public concern about the changes, which included the suspension of four top officials of the bank, including the General Manager, Nkopane Monyane. The new Irish Managing Director of Lesotho Bank, Brian Jenkins, was appointed by the Lesotho Government and the Board of Directors to serve for six months with effect from 11 December, this information being conveyed to the public inter alia by advertisements in English and Sesotho in local newspapers. By late December, the new management was still coming to grips with the problems of the bank. It was rumoured that to improve financial viability, a cut of 20% in the bank staff was to be implemented. It was also announced that the Lesotho Bank agencies at Morija and Masianokeng were to be closed with effect from 12 January 1998. <<<back to top Opening of Additional Maseru Bus StationA new Maseru Bus Station was opened by the Minister of Home Affairs, Pakalitha Mosisili on Monday 14 December. Situated on the site of a demolished house on the corner of Market Road and Motsamai Street, near the premises of Epic Printers, it provides covered parking for minibus taxis and space on the periphery for vendors. The design of the stalls was apparently not pleasing to most vendors, who when interviewed complained that they had not been consulted about their requirements. The house which was demolished had been in use as a mosque, and with compensation money a new mosque was opened late in 1997 on a site on Motsamai Street immediately opposite the demolished house. <<<back to top Arrests Following Allegations of Coup PlotA well-known lawyer, Hae Phoofolo, and two alleged accomplices, were arrested in mid-December, and charged with high treason, for alleged acts intended to topple the Lesotho Government in June 1997. Hae Phoofolo is the defence lawyer for the 32 police officers charged with sedition, treason and contravention of the Internal Security Act and according to Mopheme of 23 December, the charges against him involved plans to mobilize and organize armed personnel to release the 32 police (33 according to some sources) who are his clients. Phoofolo, who in recent times has promoted his image as a human rights lawyer, has had a chequered career. He had once been Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, but had been dismissed from this post and convicted of fraud, as a result of which he had spent time in gaol. In August 1994, when a coup toppled the elected government, he had become Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the illegal government, avoiding the consequences of his actions on this occasion only because of the indemnity provisions when the elected government was restored. Despite the seriousness of the charge, Phoofolo (unlike the police officers he was representing) was granted bail after a few days in detention. It seemed that the police officers would be spending at least a year in gaol, whether guilty or not, because the trial for their alleged misdeeds was set down to take place from 9 to 27 February 1998. <<<back to top Disquiet about Traditional Circumcision SchoolsAn article by Kekeletso Motopi in Mopheme of 23 December drew attention to the serious problem of boys dying in traditional initiation schools. The article quoted Major Lethunya of the Leribe Police, and stated that 20 incidents of boys dying at initiation schools had occurred in the previous calendar year, 1996. The President of the Lesotho Universal Medicine Men and Herbalists Council, Letuka Tuoane, gave a figure of 25 boys dying during initiation, although the period to which this number relates was not stated. Deaths in initiation school occur, both as a result of ordeals inflicted on initiates, and as a result of the circumcision operation itself, which is apparently often incompetently performed by inexperienced circumcisers. Others attending initiation schools suffer serious mutilations of their genitals, and the writer of the article interviewed in hospital one such unfortunate person. Traditional initiation still attracts a considerable following in Lesotho. Statistics are not available, but probably some 10% of the population still attend such schools. Girls’ initiation in Lesotho is not associated with genital mutilation as occurs elsewhere in Africa. Boys’ initiation takes place over a period of several weeks in a place remote from the village where the mophato or initiation lodge is constructed. In the case of girls, they are usually accommodated in a specially built hut on the outskirts of a village. A particular concern in recent years has been the likelihood that AIDS is being spread in circumcision schools by the use of unsterilized instruments. The training of circumcisers in modern medical procedures is not an easy task, given that according to tradition they must keep secret their practices and all matters relating to initiation schools. <<<back to top Contracts Signed for Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase IB WorksThe second main construction work for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is a dam at Mohale (Likalaneng) on the Senqunyane river, a connecting tunnel to the Katse Reservoir, and a weir on the Matsoku river, also with a connecting tunnel to the reservoir. Water will run by gravity through these tunnels to add some 10 m3/s from the Senqunyane and 3 m3/s from the Matsoku to the 17 m3/s available already from the Malibamatšo catchment, thus increasing the yield of the project by some three-quarters. There will be no need for additional tunnels leading northwards from the Katse Reservoir, since they have already been constructed to take the full 30 m3/s of water which will become available when Phase IB of the project is completed. As preparation for Phase IB, infrastructural works including access roads have already been under construction for the past two years, and these include a new Maseru By-Pass scheduled to be completed by mid-1998, and linking the railway station and border post to Masianokeng by a road passing round the southern perimeter of the built-up area. This by-pass is linked to the reconstructed road from Masianokeng which includes widened mountain passes along the Mountain Road as far as Likalaneng. The total cost of Phase IB is put at M4 500 million, and contracts signed in December included loan agreements covering a part of the cost with the Credit Lyonnais and with the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Investment Bank. Funding of the Matsoku Diversion was expected to come from the European Investment Bank through a loan agreement yet to be signed. On 19 December, construction contract awards worth altogether M845 million were granted to Mohale Tunnel Contractors (MTC) and to Matsoku Civil Contractors (MCC), each of which is a consortium of the same three contracting firms, namely Hochtief of Germany, Concor of South Africa and Impregilo of Italy. Of this amount, the 26 km long Mohale Tunnel will consume M665 million, and will be constructed by Tunnel Boring Machines working from each end. The M180 million Matsoku contract consists of a concrete weir 15 m high and a 9 km tunnel, which can take at peak flow 5 m3/s of water. The contracts signed require work to begin on the Mohale Tunnel and Matsoku Weir and Tunnel by 2 February 1998. The biggest single contract of Phase IB, namely the contract for the construction of the Mohale Dam itself, is expected to be awarded early in 1998. <<<back to top Mystery of Sri Lankan ‘Tourists’The majority of 115 young Sri Lankan Tamils who arrived in Lesotho late in 1997 were still being accommodated at the Lakeside Hotel in mid-December. Their accommodation was being paid for by a Dr. Fatiee, but the reason for their arrival was a matter for speculation. As reported in Mopheme of 23 December, it seems that they were not straying from their hotel and were not sightseeing like other tourists. They were due to leave for Johannesburg on 23 December. Under the normal arrangements which apply to Commonwealth countries, Sri Lankan nationals do not need visas to enter Lesotho and can stay for 30 days without formality. Mopheme reported in its 23 December issue that 20 of the 115 Sri Lankans had been deported and 20 others were in police custody. The remaining 75 were still staying at the hotel. The actual number of Sri Lankans who had come to Lesotho was not clear. On 31 December, it was reported by Radio Lesotho that there were 300 Sri Lankans stranded at Moshoeshoe I International Airport, after attempts to fly them out to Johannesburg had failed for the second time and they had been returned. <<<back to top The Weather: El Niño Fails to Bring Predicted DroughtThe drought which had been expected during the summer as a result of the El Niño phenomenon, did not in fact materialise. In most places October and December rainfall were a little below average, but November rainfall was above average. Unfortunately, it seems that many farmers may have been frightened by the predictions of no rainfall during the summer, and in many parts of the Lowlands of Lesotho less than 50% of the land was cultivated (indeed less than 20% in some areas). As usually happens during the summer, freak weather conditions occurred in some areas. A devastating hailstorm occurred at Roma on the afternoon of 13 November, destroying crops and gardens, and causing some M100 000 worth of damage at Thorns’ Store. A further weather-related incident occurred at Roma in the early hours of Saturday 29 November, when following heavy rain, a large boulder detached itself from the cliff above the village of Mafikeng, and rolled down the hillside, flattening one house and killing the unfortunate occupant, Tšeliso Ramankhoe, who was asleep inside. <<<back to top World Bank to Provide Financial Assistance for University Science BlockThe Science Block at the National University of Lesotho was originally built more than 40 years ago during the time of Pius XII College. Since that time the student body has grown tenfold, but the original building remains in use, albeit with a number of extensions. It was announced in December that an additional block would be constructed adjoining and to the north of the existing block with World Bank assistance to the extent of M5.5 million. The Science Extension Project would provide 12 additional science laboratories, 30 new offices and other appropriate facilities. <<<back to top Preparations for the General ElectionThe Independent Electoral Commission, which began work on 4 September, had a tight schedule to prepare for elections early in 1998. A previously appointed Constituency Delimitation Commission had prepared a draft delimitation of the country into the 80 constituencies now required to replace the 65 at the last election. Although the IEC was expected to redo this work, it apparently had to be realistic about its time schedule, and made only minor modifications. In the matter of registration of electors, it appeared that the former Elections Office had not preserved earlier registration lists on computer, and the whole process would have to be redone. The total number to be registered for the 1998 elections has increased considerably, not only because of population increase, but as a result of the lowering of the voting age to 18. The process of hiring registration clerks began in December, and they were provided with a three-day course by the British Security Printing Firm, De La Rue International, which was providing the equipment. M8 million worth of voting equipment including registration forms and equipment for making identification cards arrived by aeroplane in Lesotho from Britain on 20 December. A report in Southern Star of 12 December said that each registration team would consist of three officers, a Registration Supervisor, a Photographer, and a Card Issuer, and there would also be an Application Clerk. There were 500 registration kits, each capable of registering 500 people and 950 replenishment kits. It was not stated what would happen when these were exhausted. Simple arithmetic shows that they would suffice to register 725 000 persons, which is probably only about 65% of those eligible to register. Political parties meanwhile were gearing themselves for the election. The Hareeng Basotho Party which had split with the BCP before the 1993 elections declared that their dispute had been with Ntsu Mokhehle who had now himself left the BCP. The party leader Khauta Khasu and deputy leader Phoka Chaolane announced their return to the BCP together with their claimed membership of 5 700. Another political party is the Sefate Democratic Union, which originated when its leader Bofihla Nkuebe, a former BCP member, had stood as an independent in the Qeme by-election and won. The leader announced in November that he was looking for 40 men and women to stand as SDU candidates in the coming election. A new political party which was registered on 17 October 1997 was the Basotho United Christian Democratic Party. According to Leselinyana of 27 November, a party rally organised by its leader, M. B. P. Mojaki, to which ministers of religion had been invited, was in fact sparsely attended. The Basotho National Party meanwhile attracted media attention by holding a major event at Ha Rakolo to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the death of its former leader, Chief Leabua Jonathan. It was reported in The Mirror of 12 December that more than 15 000 members of the party attended, as did the Mayor of Ficksburg, an ANC Representative, and the BCP leader, Molapo Qhobela. <<<back to top Serious Accidents During Festive PeriodAs unfortunately now seems to happen each year, a number of serious road accidents occurred over the Christmas holiday period. The worst of these occurred on the afternoon of Boxing Day, 26 December. A pirate taxi, being pursued by police, crashed near Lehoatateng between Boinyatso and Roma, leading to seven deaths and ten serious injuries. The taxi was apparently travelling from Khubetsoana to Ha Moitšupeli, and those killed, some of whom were children, were not known locally in Roma. A week after the event, the bodies of two of those killed still remained unidentified in the mortuary at St Joseph’s Hospital, Roma. <<<back to top Festive Season AmnestiesAs the end of the year approached, it was announced that 387 prisoners with only short sentences still to serve, would be granted amnesty. Amongst these were Matsoso Bolofo and his associates who had been jailed for their parts in the ‘Leap Year’s Day’ attempted coup on 29 February 1996 when they had entered the Radio Lesotho studio and announced over the air that they had suspended the constitution. The ‘coup’ had in fact only lasted some ten minutes, although the repercussions had been considerable, because of suspicions that if the ‘coup’ had been successful, members of one or more opposition parties would have assumed power. The leader of one party, Makara Sekautu, who was also released under parole as part of the amnesty, announced that his party, the United Party would fight for better prison conditions if elected. <<<back to top Prime Minister Announces his Impending RetirementIn a BBC interview with reporter Thabo Motlamelle on New Year’s Eve, the Prime Minister, Ntsu Mokhehle, announced that he would be retiring shortly, would not stand in the 1998 elections, and would not stand for re-election as leader of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (the party he had founded in June 1997 when he had been ousted as leader of the BCP). Speaking in a rather feeble voice, he said that he was retiring for health reasons. It was also known that his wife had recently been very ill. The LCD was scheduled to hold its first ‘annual’ conference (it was not yet a year old) in January 1998. There was considerable speculation as to who might follow him as leader of the LCD, and indeed whether the LCD itself might not split, since there were members of the party who favoured the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs, Pakalitha Mosisili; while it was believed that the Prime Minister himself favoured as successor his younger brother, the Minister of Natural Resources, Shakhane Robong Mokhehle. [updated to 31 December 1997] |