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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 6, Number 2 (Second Quarter 1999) |
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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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BCP Leader Quarrels with Close AssociatesAt a press conference on 1 April, the leader of the Basutoland Congress Party, Molapo Qhobela, suspended six of his senior members, including the deputy leader, Tšeliso Makhakhe, the party chairman, Ntsukunyane Mphanya and the treasurer, Sekoala Toloane. The six members (soon dubbed by the press as the ‘six pack’) fought back in a second press conference on 6 April saying that they would continue to serve the BCP until 24 April when the party would elect its new executive committee. Meanwhile tempers were lost at a BCP rally in Maseru on Sunday 11 April and stones and knobkerries were reported to have been used as missiles after Ntsukunyane Mphanya had addressed a crowd of about 300 supporters outside the BCP’s historical office building near the traffic circle. It was stated that the source of the violence were BCP Youth League members who supported Qhobela. Qhobela called for a leadership conference on 17 April, but the six expelled members managed to bring a High Court action which declared he had no authority to call the conference without the consent of the executive. The party conference at Sefika Hall, Maseru of 24-25 April dissolved into a power struggle between the factions for control of the hall. The faction of Ntsukunyane Mphanya and Tšeliso Makhakhe secured the hall on the first day and elected its own National Executive Committee. The following day Molapo Qhobela’s followers obtained use of the hall, and confirmed Molapo Qhobela as leader of the party with Dr Khauhelo Raditapole as Deputy Leader. G. M. Kolisang was re-elected Secretary-General, with Ben Tsie Pekeche as Deputy Secretary-General. Afrika Molungoa was elected as the new editor of Makatolle, and the newspaper re-emerged on 5 May 1999 after nine months dormancy. <<<back to top New Lesotho CoinsPosters being displayed in shops provided information about the new series of Lesotho coins being introduced in 1999. The coins, dated 1998, complete the set which was initiated two years earlier with the release in March 1997 of M2 and M5 coins, dated 1996, to replace notes of the same denominations. The new series of coins is a product of the British Royal Mint and makes no provision for 1s and 2s coins, which no longer serve any useful purpose. The present 25s coin is replaced with a 20s coin, preparation no doubt for eventually eliminating amounts which are not multiples of 10s. The text on the poster seems not to have been checked with the Central Bank in Maseru and contains some strange descriptions including ‘trees’ on the 5s coin, when what is depicted are actually agaves; and also an ‘alligator’ rather than a crocodile on the Coat of Arms. The Coat of Arms forms the common design for the obverse of all the coins, except the M1 coin. As with the previously released M2 and M5 coins there is no attempt to depict the reigning monarch, and indeed royalty is catered for only by placing King Moshoeshoe I on the obverse of the M1 coin. This is a complete change from the original 1979 coins for which a portrait of King Moshoeshoe II in military uniform was a common design for the obverse. The 5s, 10s, 20s and 50s are ‘copper’ coins, and the M1, M2 and M5 are ‘silver’ coins. Details of the individual coins with their reverse designs are: 5s ‘Basotho hut with trees’ [rondavel with agaves]. This coin is 15 mm in diameter with a mass of 1.7g, comparedwiththepresent5s coin which is 23mm in diameter and has a mass of about 4g. 10s Mohair goat. This coin is 16 mm in diameter with a mass of 2.0g. The design and mass are similar to the present 10s coin but the diameter has been reduced by 2 mm. 20s Spiral aloe plant. This coin is 18 mm in diameter with a mass of 2.7g. 50s Mosotho horseman. This coin is 20 mm in diameter with a mass of 3.4g. The present 50s coin, for comparison is 26 mm in diameter and has a mass of approximately 5.5g. M1 Coat of Arms of Lesotho. This new coin represents the greatest savings in bulk in one’s purse, because the previous thick 28 mm diameter coin with a mass of 11g is reduced to a slim 21 mm diameter coin with a mass of only 3.9g. M2 Maize. 22 mm diameter and a mass of 4.5g. M5 Wheat. 25 mm diameter and a mass of 6.4g. <<<back to top AIDS Statistics ReleasedAccording to a report in NewsWire of 6 April 1999, 79 patients died of AIDS in Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Maseru, during the month of March 1999. The HIV/AIDS Counsellor at the hospital, Mrs ’Majobo Lejaha said that of 5578 persons reported nationally as AIDS cases in June 1998, 3000 were now dead. Because of the increased number of AIDS patients in the hospital, it was now necessary to discharge some of the AIDS patients so that they could be taken care of by their relatives. AIDS statistics for Quthing were published in NewsWire of 9 April 1999. Since the beginning of the year, 62 of 67 persons tested for AIDS had been found to HIV positive and of these, 16 had already died, most of them being females between the ages of 18 and 40. In a third report in NewsWire of 14 June 1999, it was stated that as of December 1998, the number of known AIDS cases in Lesotho was 7317, and of these 12% were children under the age of four years. <<<back to top Police Fire on Lesotho Sun Minibus and Injure Two Workers CriticallyAs reported in The Mirror of 9 April, on Easter Saturday 3 April 1999, police opened fire on a minibus transporting Lesotho Sun workers home from work. The driver and a woman passenger were critically injured and four other passengers sustained leg and thigh injuries. The incident occurred at Ha Abia in the southeastern suburbs of Maseru. Apparently, the minibus, owned by Mrs Lebohang Rachabane, bore the registration AL 577. The police were looking for a stolen minibus belonging to the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority with registration AL 557. <<<back to top Lesotho National Convention Centre Handed Over to Lesotho GovernmentOne of the largest public buildings in Maseru, the Lesotho National Convention Centre, was handed over to the Lesotho Government in a ceremony attended by the Prime Minister and other dignitaries on Friday 9 April 1999. Media coverage of the event did not clarify who paid for the LNCC, and it was supposed by many who had watched the Chinese State Construction Company building it, that it was a gift from the Chinese Government. In fact it was not a gift and the larger part of the financing (approximately M20 million) was by means of a Chinese Government loan to the Lesotho Government (M15 million of this loan had been spent on construction by 31 March 1996 according to the Estimates for the 1997-8 financial year). The terms and conditions of the loan, for example whether it is a soft or commercial loan do not seem to have been made public. The balance of the cost, a further estimated M6.65 million total cost, according to the Estimates for the 1998-9 financial year, was money provided by the Lesotho Government itself. The building occupies land which had once been the Agricultural Showgrounds, and had been subsequently earmarked for the Lesotho National Archives and National Museum. These did not materialise and during the 1990 riots, the area became at short notice a bus terminus, the so-called ’Manthabiseng Bus Stop, an area which quickly filled up with the shacks of informal traders. In 1996, the area was cleared and construction on the LNCC began. It was substantially completed within two years. The LNCC covers some 17 000 m2 and has floor space of 6 400 m2. It has two auditoriums of 800 and 200 seats, four meeting rooms, a lobby, an exhibition room and a coffee bar. However, the Lesotho Government is now faced with the problem as to how it will use the building. In mid-1998, advertisements had appeared in the media, inviting private sector operators to apply ‘to operate the Centre as a self-sustaining and profitable commercial entity without recourse to government subventions’. There was apparently no significant response to the advertisement. The sad truth is that the building was undertaken without any public discussion as to whether it was needed, and it took over prime sites designated for buildings of national cultural importance. If there had been prior discussion, the building might have been designed as a National Cultural Centre and incorporated the National Museum and the National Archives, both of which were currently non-functioning. The need for a National Museum was particularly acute, given the large quantity of recent materials available for display as a result of the activities of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. In the case of the National Archives, the very poor service which had been available up to 1997 was suddenly terminated when the archives were moved from Roma to Maseru and stored from floor to ceiling in the rooms of a private house. More than 100 man years would be required to put them in a suitable state for access by scholars, and many of the post-Independence archival records have simply not been preserved. <<<back to top University NewsThe National University of Lesotho has campuses at Roma and Maseru, and publishes a weekly newsletter called Information Flash and a less frequent National University of Lesotho Newsletter. Amongst news items which appeared in these periodicals and elsewhere in the period March to June 1999 were the following: • The new electric fence which had been installed round the Roma Campus was energized with effect from 4 April 1999. • A new PABX (Private Automatic Branch Exchange) was being installed at Roma during April. This will allow direct inward dialling to extensions of the university number (266) - 34 0601. However, as part of the development all of the several hundred extension numbers were being changed. Inward dialling requires insertion of the extra digits 21, so for example someone dialling extension number 3009 from South Africa has to dial 09266-340601-21-3009. • AIDS has become a major and tragic problem. A United Nations report had revealed that 11.6% of University students in Lesotho were HIV positive. 25 out of 26 persons tested at St Joseph’s Hospital in April 1999 had been found to be HIV positive. • Following the departure of the founding Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Professor A. C. Ebenebe, plans were now far advanced to move the Faculty of Agriculture in August from Roma to the site where it had originally been planned to be established, namely the Lesotho Agricultural College in Maseru. LAC shares a large site with the Agricultural Research Station of the Ministry of Agriculture. • Extremely poor Cambridge Overseas School Certificate results, particularly in English Language, had resulted in only 133 Lesotho students qualifying for University entrance in 1999, compared with an expected total of some 600 to 700. As a result a special Pre-Entry English Examination was to be given by the University. (383 candidates subsequently took the examination set by the University’s Department of English and 296 were deemed to have successfully passed.) • A number of new buildings had recently come into use, including a new Science Block with 12 laboratories, 30 offices and a computer room, funded with World Bank assistance. Also funded by the World Bank were two adjoining residences known as Tšepo Hall. Eight single-storey blocks making use of redundant Lesotho Highlands Project Contractors buildings had also been recently added to the university. Highlands 1 to 3 were in use as office blocks at Roma; Highlands 4 to 6 were to be installed at the Institute of Extra-Mural Studies on the Maseru Campus as office and classroom blocks; while Highlands 7 and 8 were to provide classrooms and bedroom accommodation at the Mohale’s Hoek IEMS centre. • The University’s Consultancy Unit (NUL-CONSULS) had moved to Maseru and was occupying the premises of the former Institute of Labour Studies on the Institute of Extra-Mural Studies campus. • A new Faculty of Health Sciences had been founded and advertisements for the ‘Founding Dean’ appeared in newspapers during May. [However, 20 years earlier the University had also unsuccessfully attempted to found a Faculty of Health Sciences, and there had been an earlier ‘Founding Dean’, Dr Pascalis Ngakane.] • A book had been published by the NUL Publishing House entitled Birds of the Roma Campus, National University of Lesotho. 92 pages long and with colour plates and maps as well as silhouettes of individual birds, the book was the work of David Ambrose and David Hlosi Maphisa. It covers 156 bird species recorded from the campus and 42 additional species found within 5 km of the campus. Aerial photographs of the campus, the oldest of which was taken in 1958, are included. <<<back to top King Letsie III to MarryIt was announced by the Prime Minister in Parliament on Thursday 15 April that 35-year old King Letsie III is engaged to be married. The King’s bride is to be 22-year old Karabo Motšoeneng, currently a second year BSc student at the National University of Lesotho, and formerly an International Baccalaureate pupil at Machabeng College. She is the daughter of Thekiso and ’Makarabo Motšoeneng of Hlotse and not of royal blood. The following day, the King’s uncle, Chief Mathealira Seeiso announced that the bohali had already been agreed, and the King would marry with 40 head of cattle. A date for the wedding had, however, not yet been fixed. <<<back to top BNP Appoints New IPA MembersThe Deputy Leader of the Basotho National Party, Bereng Sekhonyana, and Chief Mooki Molapo, were on Monday 19 April 1999 sworn in as members of the Interim Political Authority, replacing Chief Lekhooana Jonathan and Dr ’Meli Malie. Mr Sekhonyana said that the BNP had decided to replace their former members with ‘younger and fresh blood’ <<<back to top Death of Rathala RamolahloaneRathala Ramolahloane, who had been a founder member of the BCP, died on 19 April 1999, aged 70. Most recently, he had gained some prominence, by being one of the six members of the ‘six-pack’, the group of the BCP which had opposed Molapo Qhobela’s leadership. Earlier he had been editor of the BCP newspaper, Makatolle. In July 1998, Ntsukunyane Mphanya had taken over the newspaper from Ramolahloane. However, under Mphanya’s editorship there had been only two issues of the newspaper before it had lapsed into a dormant state. <<<back to top Budget SpeechThe Budget Speech was delivered in the National Assembly on 26 April 1999, nearly four weeks after the new fiscal year had already begun. In his speech, the Minister of Finance & Development Planning, Dr Leketekete Ketso, referred to the devastating effects that the events of the previous September had had on persons, property and the economy as a whole. As a result mainly of these events the Lesotho Gross Domestic Product had declined by an estimated 10% during 1998 with some 3000 job losses. A further decline of 1.6% was expected in 1999. Government policies were aimed at reducing dependence on Customs Union revenues (averaging 54% of total revenue for the past ten years), and improving collection of income tax and sales tax. A recent development had been that the South African Revenue Service had amended the Export Incentive Scheme, and vendors in South Africa could no longer zero rate supplies to traders from Lesotho, but had to charge VAT at the standard 14% rate. At designated border posts, a VAT Refund Administrator issues refund of VAT to traders and private shoppers once the documentation has been verified. It was proposed to sign an agreement so that traders and private shoppers would in future receive only a 4% refund and the remaining 10% would be passed over to the Lesotho Government as sales tax/VAT. The Government remained committed to the privatization programme, with the search continuing for strategic partners for such enterprises as Basotho Fruit & Vegetable Canners, Lesotho Pharmaceutical Corporation, Maloti Highlands Abattoir, Maloti Oil and Cake Mills and Lesotho Bank. Reference was made to the role of manufacturing industry, which had grown rapidly in recent years, but the growth had dropped to 6% in 1997/8 and was projected at 2% for 1998/9. There was need to develop local entrepreneurship, and in particular the Basotho Hat Craft Shop would be reconstructed at a cost of M4 million to promote the sale and export of products such as handicrafts, thus assisting in the generation of employment. BEDCO would also construct industrial estates at Qacha’s Nek and Thaba-Tseka. In relation to tourism, the possibility of establishing a high altitude training centre for athletes at Mohale was being investigated. There were also plans for development of ski resorts at Kotisephola near Sani Top as well as at Mahlasela near Oxbow. On unemployment the 40% unemployment rate estimated in the previous budget had increased as a result of the September 1998 events and also as a result of the continuing retrenchment of Basotho migrant workers. Government would continue to place a high priority on providing skills-oriented training. Reference was made to the Lesotho Highlands Revenue Fund which had been suspended in 1997 as a result of administrative and managerial problems encountered in applying the funds for development projects at rural level. The fund had been reformulated as the Lesotho Fund for Community Development (LFCD) with a mandate to finance programmes and projects designed to support (i) empowerment of communities to manage their own local development projects; (ii) improvement of services managed and sustained by participating communities; (iii) local initiatives for employment creation and sustainable income generation; and (iv) participation of communities to improve and protect their local environment and natural resources. During the past year the fund had successfully completed road and footbridge construction amounting to M51.2 million. In relation to Education, the Minister mentioned that Government is committed to achieving universal primary education, but there were obstacles such as herdboys whose employment results in their missing formal education. Government was taking exploratory steps towards eliminating fees at primary level, and fee elimination would begin with Standard One in January 2000. Under Public Sector Management, reference was made to the replacement of the old 20 grade structure with a 12 grade structure, which had been implemented a year earlier on 1 April 1998. Other civil service reforms included the establishment of a Remuneration and Benefits Unit to ensure jobs are properly graded; a programme of prudent financial management; and a peace, security and stability programme which would include changes to the structure of the Lesotho Defence Force and the National Security Service. In figures, the 1998/9 fiscal year had resulted in a budget deficit of M135 million against a budgeted deficit of M436 million, the difference being accounted largely by lower expenditures on the capital side. As a result of the disturbances, projects had been disrupted or delayed. There had been a shortfall of M80 million in revenues and grants, mainly because of lower sales tax and income tax following the disturbances. For the 1999/2000 fiscal year, the budget was providing for revenue and grants amounting to an increase of 8.6% over the 1998/9 budget, and an overall increase of 2.9% on the expenditure side. Income tax was projected to decline by 4% as a result of the impact of the recent political crisis on business activity, and ‘in the light of unfavourable revenue projections, the anticipated rise in debt service and the huge cost of the reconstruction programme, extra effort has been made in the formulation of the budget to contain expenditure at the 1998/99 budget level’. There would as a result be no salary increases for civil servants and no inflation adjustment. Debt servicing was becoming a problem, with M61.1 million needed to meet the debt service obligation in connection with the ’Muela Hydropower Project, and the need for a bond issue to rehabilitate Lesotho Bank. The debt service/GNP ratio which was estimated at 5.4% in 1998/9 was estimated at 8.1% for 1999/2000. ‘The budget deficit for the year is projected at M333 million, which is equivalent to about 5.4% of GNP. For a country like Lesotho with limited resources, the deficit is not sustainable especially given that external financing is not forthcoming in required amounts.’ <<<back to top Eight Football Players Die in Minibus Taxi AccidentEight members of the Blue Aces football team of Maqhaka died when their minibus taxi crashed at Ha Foso near Maseru on Sunday 2 May. A further six passengers were injured. The team had been on their way to play a match at Ha Matala. <<<back to top Minibus Taxi Driver Dies in Dispute over PassengersA driver of a minibus taxi died at St Joseph’s Hospital, Roma, on Monday 3 May after a dispute between taxis who were competing for passengers. A taxi conductor and some passengers were also admitted to the hospital with minor injuries. The dispute had occurred earlier at Ngope-Tšoeu some 12 km beyond Roma on the road to Ramabanta. Three taxi operators were later arrested by the police. A week after the incident a meeting was held by the Traffic Department, taxi owners, and the police at Nyakosoba near Ngope-Tšoeu. As reported in NewsWire of 12 May, Detective-Sergeant Kabelo Tšiu outlined a serious situation in which there were shootings and races at high speed between minibus taxis in order to be the first to pick up passengers. Taxi operators were encouraged to form an association which would settle their misunderstandings. <<<back to top New Lesotho Freedom Party LaunchedA new political party, the New Lesotho Freedom Party (NLFP), made up of expelled members of the Marematlou Freedom Party, was launched at Ha Foso near Maseru on Saturday 8 May. The interim president of the party is Phakiso Khoabane. Some 200 persons attended the occasion on a wet day. The new leaders of the party expressed dissatisfaction at the role of the MFP in the events which had followed the 1998 elections. <<<back to top Death of ’Mamoshebi KabiThe Minister of Environment, Gender and Youth Affairs, Mrs ’Mamoshebi Kabi, died in Bloemfontein on Sunday 9 May after a long illness. ’Mamoshebi Kabi was the only woman member of the present Lesotho cabinet. In the LCD cabinet before the 1998 elections she had served since 1996 as Minister of Transport and Telecommunications. Born at Khubetsoana Ha Shoaepane in 1936, ’Mamoshebi Kabi was the eighth child of the LEC minister Rev Elijah Phakisi and his wife Eliza Phakisi. Politically inspired by teachers including Ntsu Mokhehle, when she was at Basutoland High School, she paid a high price for her BCP allegiance after the coup in 1970 when she was imprisoned. For some years she was on the staff of the University’s Institute of Extra-Mural Studies as an Extension Educator. She is survived by her husband Motete Kabi, four children and seven grandchildren. The state funeral was held at Botšabelo on Friday 21 May. <<<back to top Radio Mast for MokhotlongA new 30-metre high radio mast was completed during May on Popa Mountain between Mokhotlong and Tlokoeng. It brings FM radio to Mokhotlong for the first time, the district previously only able to receive radio stations operating on short and medium waves. <<<back to top Unclaimed Corpses Buried in Mass Grave38 unclaimed corpses were buried in a mass grave in the Seputana valley in Maseru on Friday 14 May. Some of the corpses were seriously decomposed, despite having been kept in the mortuary at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. The high cost of funerals in Lesotho has made people increasingly reluctant to collect the bodies of relatives for burial. Similar incidents in which unclaimed corpses were buried by convict labour have occurred in other districts. <<<back to top SADC Forces Move Out of Lesotho15 May was set as the deadline for the last of the South African and Botswana soldiers of the SADC force to leave Lesotho. The two commanders, Colonel Hans Swart of the South African National Defence Force and Colonel Jimmy Thulaganyo Masisi of the Botswana Defence Force were the last to cross the bridge into South Africa on 15 May, thus bringing to an end the seven months long Operation BOLEAS. A short ceremony was held at Maseru Bridge to mark the departure of the troops. In an earlier statement Colonel Swart said that the SANDF and BDF forces would be held on standby to reintervene should they be requested to do so. SADC forces were being replaced by a new SADC mission, the 300-strong ‘Operation Maluti’ which would undertake reconstruction and training assistance to the Lesotho Defence Force. The SADC Training Team in Lesotho (SADCTTIL) would consist of BDF and SANDF instructors and a company strength combined protection force from both countries. Meanwhile 138 LDF members had participated in Exercise Blue Crane, a peace-keeping training exercise at Lohatla in South Africa, in which defence forces from eleven SADC states had participated. <<<back to top People’s Choice Radio off the AirOne of two independent radio stations in Lesotho, People’s Choice FM, went off the air on Tuesday 18 May. The managing director of PC FM (as it is commonly known), Motlatsi Majara, who is also an announcer on the radio station, said that the radio station had not been on the air because it had failed to pay its electricity bill on time. PC FM employs 24 staff and is situated on the eighth floor of the new Post Office complex. <<<back to top Fire at Treasury Damages Computer CentreA fire which broke out at the Treasury Department on Tuesday 18 May resulted in the burning of part of the computer centre. According to NewsWire of 25 May, quoting police sources, high ranking government officials including a minister were responsible for the arson, and that it was perpetrated in order to hide evidence of a M90 million fraud. However, other reports suggested that the fire was caused by an air conditioner fault. Despite earlier fears, the fire had apparently not destroyed government payroll records. <<<back to top Anglicans Unable to Elect New BishopAn Elective Assembly was held by the Anglican Church, sitting from 25 to 27 May 1999 to find a Bishop to replace Bishop Andrew Duma, who had occupied the See for just over a year, following the resignation of Bishop Philip Mokuku. There were five candidates for the election: Very Rev. Lebohang Kheekhe, Dean of the Cathedral and former Anglican Education Secretary; Father Joseph Leoli; Father Ramokhutšoane Lieta; Father Ishmael Mokotso; and Father Oziel Sepetla. However, after three days of intense discussion and secret balloting, no candidate was able to come up with both the necessary two-thirds majority votes of the laity and the two-thirds majority votes of the clergy. Accordingly, the appointment of the new bishop has been delegated to the Provincial Bishops Synod, a gathering of all the Bishops of the Church of the Province of South Africa, of which Lesotho is a part. <<<back to top 13 Young People from Mafeteng Die in Tragic AccidentAccording to Leseli la Sepolesa of 10 June 1999, 13 members of a youth choir died and 10 were injured on 29 May when their vehicle left the road and overturned near Maphutšaneng in Mohale’s Hoek District. A police spokesperson attributed the accident to a defective vehicle driven at excessive speed. <<<back to top LDF Members Arrested on Charges of Murdering Deputy Prime Minister BaholoThe murder of the Deputy Prime Minister, Selometsi Baholo, on 14 April 1994 by members of the Lesotho Defence Force had been carried out in broad daylight in a suburb of Maseru where there were many witnesses. The motive had apparently been anger on the part of the troops when, as Minister of Finance, he had turned down an army demand that their salaries be increased by 100%. Despite Baholo receiving a state funeral attended by the Prime Minister and King, the government of the time was so little able to control the army that it was unable to bring the murderers to justice. Even junior military personnel appeared to be immune from prosecution. The situation had however now changed with a Court Martial in progress in which 41 privates, lance-corporals, corporals and one sergeant were standing trial for mutiny in September 1998. In June 1999, more than five years after Baholo’s death, 16 soldiers (one corporal and fifteen privates) were charged with his murder. Four of these were also amongst the 41 soldiers facing the Court Martial on charges of mutiny. By the end of June, no date had yet been set for the murder trial. The Court Martial was also not progressing very fast. It had begun its proceedings in December, but by the beginning of April had entered into a long adjournment because both the Judge-Advocate Peter Cullinan, and the Senior Counsel for the Prosecution, Mr Hendrik Viljoen, were ‘engaged in serious matters elsewhere’. <<<back to top Lesotho Defence Force DeathsIn June 1999, there was a spate of violent deaths amongst Lesotho Defence Force personnel. Two soldiers were shot by unknown assailants in different suburbs of Maseru. In a third incident, a Private Sebotsa was alleged to have hanged himself after taking rat poison. Some persons suggested that the third death might be related to the case in which soldiers had been charged with murdering Selometsi Baholo. <<<back to top Letšeng Diamond Mine to ReopenAccording to a report in Mopheme of 1 June, the Letšeng--la-Terae Diamond Mine in Mokhotlong District would reopen, following an agreement signed on 28 May by the Lesotho Government and JCI Projects (South Africa) and Letšeng Diamonds. The mine, situated at 3000 m above sea-level had been operated by De Beers in the period 1977-82, but had been closed because of a drop in the demand for diamonds. According to the newspaper report, the reopened Letšeng Mine would create from 300 to 400 jobs, would begin operating in 18 months time and it was expected that Letšeng Diamonds would inject some M260 million in the first five years. An article by Keith Whitelock in the same issue of Mopheme provided additional information about the new venture. However, it once again repeated the wrong explanation for the place name. Letšeng-la-Terae has been repeatedly and erroneously said to mean ‘the turn by the swamp’. In fact it is named after an unfortunate individual, Draai or Terae, who set out from Tlokoeng for Qwaqwa and perished in a snowstorm. His body was found by the pools of water which stood near the kimberlite outcrop. Thus Letšeng-la-Terae means ‘At Terae’s pool’. Brown’s Cash & Carry Burns at MaputsoeProperty worth M5 million and the building worth M500 000 were lost in a fire at Maputsoe on Wednesday 2 June. Brown’s Cash & Carry was destroyed after a fire which began at 7.30 a. m. in a shack manned by the building’s security guards. There is no fire brigade in Maputsoe, and onlookers were powerless to prevent the initial small blaze from spreading to gut the whole building. <<<back to top China Sends Second Team of Medical DoctorsA team of twelve medical personnel had been sent by the People’s Republic of China to work at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Maseru in June 1997. On the completion of their two-year tour, they were replaced by a second 15-member medical team which arrived in Maseru on 5 June 1999. <<<back to top Trial of Rebel Police ContinuesMore than two years after the February 1997 police rebellion, the 33 junior policemen were still on trial at the High Court before Mr Justice Molai accused of high treason and two alternative charges. They had been denied bail throughout that period. The number on trial was reduced by one, when the only policewoman among the accused, Nthabiseng Penesi had all charges withdrawn against her at the beginning of June. The case proceeded slowly throughout the quarter with a number of adjournments for various reasons, including during May the ill health of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sipho Mdluli. By early June, however, the crown had completed its case. <<<back to top Maseru Shack Owners Forced to MoveA long delayed battle erupted late in June between shack owners and the Maseru City Council. Over several decades, street vendors had gradually encroached on pavements and streets with more and more sophisticated shelters and caravans, so that in many areas pedestrians had been forced to walk in the road. The situation had been exacerbated when the informal trading area known as the ’Manthabiseng Bus Stop had been closed in February 1996, and shack and caravan owners had moved their premises to the very congested ‘bus stop’ area near the Pitso Ground. After notice was given in May 1999 that these structures were illegal, Maseru City Council announced that any structures not removed by owners would be forcibly removed to a site at Ha Thetsane. Police were brought in to assist the Maseru City Council in implementing its decision. <<<back to top Mohale Workers Die in Bus CrashA bus carrying workers going on month-end leave from the Mohale construction site overturned at speed at Boinyatso around dawn on Friday 25 June. Originally it was reported on Radio Lesotho that 13 workers were killed and a large number injured. Lentsoe la Basotho of 1 July 1999 reported that 3 workers died on the spot and more than 17 were seriously injured. It appears that the bus failed to decelerate and take the left turn at the junction of the Mountain and Roma Roads leading to speculation that the driver might have been fatigued, and gone to sleep. The driver of the bus was uninjured and was taken for questioning to the Roma Police Station. There, according to the Lentsoe la Basotho report he stated that he had driven the bus the previous night to Mohale, arriving at 11 p.m., and he had started out that morning from Mohale at 4 a.m. In between he had relaxed and taken alcoholic drink and did not know at what time he had slept. <<<back to top Interim Political Authority Still Deliberating on Electoral SystemMore than six months after its formation, the Interim Political Authority still lacked consensus on the new electoral system for Lesotho. The actual deliberations of the IPA were, however, somewhat shrouded in secrecy, because unlike the Senate and National Assembly, it did not have a public or press gallery, nor a daily published Hansard. In May and June, four of the main political parties bypassed the IPA to the extent of holding a series of six meetings in the Prime Minister’s Office under the Chairmanship of Bishop Paul Khoarai. Those present at the meetings were the two co-chairmen of the IPA and the leaders of the LCD (Pakalitha Mosisili, the Prime Minister), BNP (Major-General J. M. Lekhanya), BCP (Molapo Qhobela) and MFP (V.M.Malebo). A communique was issued at the end of the meetings defining consensus within the IPA ‘to mean agreement by a substantial majority after lobbying of opinions and without a vote’. On the form for future elections, three of the parties favoured a 100% proportional representation (PR) model, while the LCD favoured a mixed model with components of ‘first past the post’ and PR. Whereas the LCD felt that any major change should be submitted to a national referendum, the other three parties considered that a referendum was outside the mandate of the IPA, and presented timing and financial difficulties. [Updated to 30 June 1999] |