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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 4 (Fourth 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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Increase in Statutory Minimum WageThe statutory minimum wage in Lesotho was increased by 9% with effect from 1 October 1999. According to Legal Notice no. 102 of 1999, the minimum monthly wage for unskilled workers was now M469.00, with other statutory minimum wages ranging up to that for a heavy vehicle driver at M901 per month. Lower minimum rates apply to domestic servants and gardeners whose minimum monthly wage is M159 per month, while employees in businesses with less than 3 employees are paid a minimum of M319 per month. It emerged that the wage increase had been decided by the Minister of Labour, Notši Molopo, after the Wages Advisory Board had failed to make a recommendation, following deadlock between workers’ and employers’ representatives on the Board. 9% was considerably above the prevailing rate of inflation. There was no advance notice of the wage increase. It appeared in an issue of the Lesotho Government Gazette dated 1 October 1999, the day from which it was supposed to be implemented. It was not until several days later that the details of the award became known. A sequel was that on 1 November 1999, 700 factory workers. members of the Lesotho Clothing and Allied Workers Union (LECAWU) staged a protest and demanded a wage increase of 30%. According to Public Eye of 12 November, 47 textile workers who took part in the demonstration were later dismissed by their Chinese employers. The LECAWU Secretary-General, Macaefa Billy stated that the Chinese employers told him that they had fired these workers because they were ordered by the government to do so.
LECAWU
threatened
a
strike
to
obtain
the
full
30%
demanded.
Later
strike
action
was
put
off
until
March
2000,
when
it
was
stated
that
workers
would
strike
for
the
balance
of
21%
in
their
demand.
BBC Medium Wave Broadcasts EndThe BBC Medium Wave transmission from Maseru on 1197 kHz stopped transmission on 1 October. This wavelength had been a reliable source for World Service broadcasts, and it left many listeners without access to the BBC. Although there is an FM transmission available in Maseru, in nearby areas such as Roma, intervening mountains interrupt reception. The short wave alternatives are not available to many listeners whose radios do not include short wave. This is particularly true of the increasingly popular ‘clockwork’ radios, which work without mains connections or batteries and can be wound up for 35 minutes at a time or (in daytime) run on solar power. These radios have only FM and Medium Wave bands and cannot pick up Short Wave transmissions.
Those
who
tuned
in
to
1197
kHz
on
1
October
for
the
usual
evening
Focus
on
Africa
Programme
discovered
that
the
waveband
had
already
been
taken
over
by
the
Ministry
of
Family
Radio,
a
religious
broadcasting
organisation
in
Oakland,
California.
Catholic Priest Murdered at RomaA Catholic priest, Father Anthony Motlatsi Ntitsane, was severely beaten and suffered multiple injuries including a fractured skull at Mangopeng, Roma, on the night of Thursday 30 September 1999. He was taken to St Joseph’s Hospital, but died while being transferred to hospital in Maseru. According to villagers and reports in the press, he was visiting ’Majoele Lekau, the widow of a former member of the Lesotho Defence Force. At about 8 p.m. the oldest son Joele, aged 24, arrived, and the priest was later found seriously injured and his car smashed. Joele Lekau was later arrested.
Father
Ntitsane,
who
was
from
Qacha’s
Nek,
served
for
some
years
as
the
priest
at
Assumption
Mission,
Teyateyaneng.
At
the
time
of
his
death
he
was
the
priest
at
St
Raphael’s
Mission
at
Botshabelo
in
the
Free
State.
He
was
buried
in
the
Oblate
Cemetery
at
Mazenod
on
16
October.
Memorial Stone Unveiled to Lesotho Soldiers who Died at Katse
On
26
September
1999,
approximately
a
year
after
the
incident,
a
War
Memorial
was
unveiled
at
Ha
Theko
near
Katse
to
16
Lesotho
Defence
Force
soldiers.
They
died
when
their
barracks
at
Katse
were
destroyed
in
an
aerial
attack
on
22
September
1998.
The
stone
contains
the
names
and
villages
of
the
16
soldiers
above
which
is
inscribed
Sehopotso
sa
masole
a
Lesotho
a
bolailoeng
ka
sehloho
a
ithoabaletse,
ke
masole
a
South
Africa
(In
memory
of
the
Lesotho
soldiers
who
were
cruelly
killed
while
sleeping,
by
the
soldiers
of
South
Africa).
Arts and Cultural Festival Held at MorijaPreparations had been under way for some time for the Morija Arts and Cultural Festival which was held over three days, with the main events concentrated on Saturday 2 October 1999. An extremely wide range of activities took place including traditional dancing, choirs, horse racing, theatre, films, handicraft exhibitions and wire car and morabaraba competitions, these taking place simultaneously at some ten different venues within Morija. At least 5000 persons attended, including many performers from outside Lesotho. The weather was cool and cloudy, but it did not rain on the Saturday. The Festival was opened by His Majesty King Letsie III, and at the end of the day, prizes were presented by the Queen Mother, Queen ’Mamohato.
Those
who
attended
spoke
with
much
enthusiasm
about
the
many
activities
and
hoped
that
the
festival
could
become
an
annual
event.
The
Morija
Arts
&
Cultural
Festival
Organising
Committee
was
headed
by
Stephen
Gill
of
the
Morija
Museum
&
Archives
and
included
a
large
number
of
Maseru
and
Morija-based
supporters.
Although
judged
a
success
by
the
participants,
the
festival
unfortunately
did
not
break
even,
and
this
left
the
organisers
with
a
deficit
of
some
M50000. Lesotho Printers Appeal to Government and Local Firms to Use their ServicesA meeting between the Lesotho Association of Employers and the Government Secretary, Mr Kenneth Mohlabi Tsekoa was reported by Radio Lesotho on 4 October 1999. At the meeting, Morija Printing Works, Mazenod Printing Works and Epic Printers appealed to Government, parastatals and private businesses to use their services rather than to make use of South African printers. The recession which has hit Lesotho since the troubles of 1998 is known to have particularly affected the printing works, and the Morija Printing Works, for example, has had to lay off some of its staff. In the case of Morija, the matter has been made worse by the Lesotho recession coinciding with the collapse of Sasavona Books of Braamfontein in South Africa. Morija had been printing Tsonga books for these publishers for many years, as a result of a long connection with what had once been the Swiss Romande Mission in the Transvaal. Indeed in recent years, the total quantity and number of Tsonga titles printed at Morija had been similar to that of its Sesotho book production. Many Lesotho Government departments have been placing printing orders with South African printers for many years. A particularly large customer is the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, very few of whose publications are printed in Lesotho. It is known that within the printing industry in South Africa, persons placing orders may expect a commission usually of 10%, and this may account for work being placed in South Africa, even when it can be undertaken in Lesotho. Lesotho printers have been unwilling to pay a similar commission.
Reluctance
to
use
Lesotho
facilities
is
also
illustrated
by
the
University
library.
For
many
years
it
has
been
using
a
firm
in
Pretoria
to
bind
academic
periodicals,
even
though
there
is
a
well-equipped
and
cheaper
facility
at
the
Morija
Printing
Works.
A
curiosity
was
that
while
Lesotho
was
using
South
Africa
facilities,
the
reverse
process
was
also
going
on,
with
Morija
being
used
to
bind
the
South
African
Law
Reports.
Annual Independence Celebrations a Low Key Affair; Prime Minister Continues TravelsThe 33rd Anniversary of Lesotho’s Independence fell on 4 October 1999, which was a national holiday. Until 1997, it had always been marked by an official celebration at the Stadium or Pitso Ground. In 1999, there was no major celebration, only the customary Independence holiday football matches. The Prime Minister, Pakalitha Mosisili, was not in Lesotho on Independence Day, but sent a message from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, where he was attending a conference on ‘Smart Partnership’. Although Radio Lesotho covered his travels backwards and forwards to the conference in some detail, it was less vocal in explaining ‘Smart Partnership’ and its relevance to Lesotho. [‘Smart partnership’ is a concept pioneered in Malaysia in which all parties government, labour, industry and neighbouring countries are meant to benefit from development. The Victoria Falls Conference is the third on this theme, and both the Press and the South African President, Thabo Mbeki (who also attended the Conference), made the point that the conferences were becoming talking shops without action on implementing decisions.] The Prime Minister had undertaken an unprecedented number of foreign journeys in previous weeks, and his travels had included journeys to a trade conference in Malaysia, to OAU conferences in Libya and Algiers, to visit the Pope in Rome, and to address the United Nations in New York. His absence was facilitated by the long parliamentary recess. Whereas in some years there has been only one month in which Parliament has not had sittings, in 1999, the National Assembly was adjourned sine die on Friday 18 June and did not reconvene until 29 October. Following the Victoria Falls Conference, the Prime Minister travelled with his wife to Malawi, where he attended the ‘wedding’ of President Bakili Mulizi on 9 October. Mulizi was in fact already married to and had five children by the lady who was his partner in the wedding ceremony. The ceremony was to formalise her being promoted to senior wife and ‘first lady’ status at the expense of another of his wives.
The
Prime
Minister’s
travels
continued
into
November
when
he
attended
the
Commonwealth
Heads
of
State
Meeting
in
Durban.
Soon
afterwards,
on
20
November,
together
with
Foreign
Minister
Tom
Thabane,
two
army
officers
and
the
Chief
of
Protocol,
he
travelled
to
Costa
Rica
and
El
Salvador
to
see
how
these
countries
manage
their
security
services.
No
advanced
press
briefing
about
the
purpose
of
the
visit
was
made,
and
this
mystified
the
local
press.
The
ruling
party
paper,
Mololi,
of
24
November
1999
could
only
state
that
it
was
understood
that
this
was
an
important
journey
in
terms
of
government
business.
It
added
(unhelpfully
because
it
is
not
true)
that
Costa
Rica
and
El
Salvador
are
two
islands
between
North
and
South
America.
The
Prime
Minister
returned
to
Lesotho
on
27
November.
Catholic FM Officially Inaugurated by ChurchThe new Catholic FM radio station was officially inaugurated on Saturday 10 October 1999 by the Catholic Church in a mass attended by the Archbishop, His Grace Bernard Mohlalisi and the bishops of the three dioceses of Lesotho. According to Moeletsi oa Basotho of 17 October 1999, at the service the keys to the radio station were handed over by Peter Moepi of Marcom Lesotho, the company which had installed the new station, and the equipment was subsequently given an episcopal blessing. The station is only audible in the Maseru area, and broadcasts on 103.3 MHz FM.
The
blessings
bestowed
on
the
new
station
were
not
sufficient
to
prevent
it
developing
serious
dissensions
amongst
its
staff
within
a
short
time
of
opening.
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
of
28
November
1999
reported
that
nine
volunteer
male
announcers
resigned
after
protests
that
the
original
Station
Coordinator,
Frank
Nkhabu,
was
now
working
as
a
messenger,
and
was
not
allowed
also
to
be
a
voluntary
announcer.
This
refusal
was
apparently
linked
to
allegations
that
he
had
stolen
money
contributed
by
parishes
for
the
upkeep
of
the
radio
station.
The
male
announcers
also
expressed
their
displeasure
with
having
to
work
with
volunteer
female
announcers,
and
they
took
the
opportunity
to
state
their
position
over
the
air
on
13
November.
King Pays Official Visit to ChinaHis Majesty King Letsie III paid a one-week official visit to the People’s Republic of China during the period 12 to 17 October 1999. The visit replaced a visit originally scheduled a year earlier, but postponed because of the difficult political situation at the time.
On
his
visit
the
King
was
accompanied,
amongst
others,
by
the
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
Mr
Tom
Thabane
and
the
Minister
of
Trade,
Industry
and
Marketing,
Mr
Mpho
Malie.
It
was
announced
on
their
return
that
China
had
made
a
gift
of
M7
million
to
Lesotho
for
development
purposes.
M16 million Damage at Thaba-Khupa Described by Principal Chief of Thaba-BosiuRadio Lesotho on 16 October 1999 reported a meeting held at Mmelesi Lodge between the Principal Chief of Thaba-Bosiu, Chief Khoabane Theko, and Village Development Councils in his area. A major concern was the Thaba-Khupa Farm Institute near Thaba-Khupa, established in the late 1970s as a joint project of Lesotho’s churches to improve practical and relevant agricultural education. School leavers could only enter the course if they had reached 18, acquired a Standard Seven certificate, and also (personally or through their family) had a grant of land from the village Land Allocation Committee. With major donor support and expertise the Institute had for a while flourished, concentrating on vegetable, fruit, pig and poultry production. Later, technical skills were added and put into practice by manufacturing the components for metal footbridges which were being installed throughout Lesotho through a Danish aid project. A significant number of jobs for local villagers were for a while generated by the Thaba-Khupa Farm Institute, and surplus farm produce was sold at Roma and elsewhere, although a rather grand roadside sales building at Ha Makhalanyane was never actually put into use. Donors provide start-up but rarely provide long-term recurrent funds, and the running and management of Thaba-Khupa after ten years became the sole responsibility of the Churches who were its sponsors. It was not long before salaries were not being paid to staff, and the whole enterprise collapsed, even to the extent of there not being a salary for a security guard to protect the physical assets at the site. With this abandonment, local villagers helped themselves to anything easily removed, including the perimeter fence itself. Some of the more important buildings were taken over by a local entrepreneur, who opened a ‘high school’ in them.
Deploring
the
lack
of
protection
by
villagers,
Chief
Khoabane
Theko,
as
reported
by
Radio
Lesotho,
said
that
damage
at
Thaba-Khupa
was
estimated
at
M16
million
and
M38
million
would
be
needed
to
reconstruct
the
centre
and
to
re-open
it.
However,
donors
were
reluctant
to
show
interest
unless
the
villagers
showed
more
commitment
to
protecting
the
assets
which
adjoined
their
villages. Universal Church Attacked at Mafeteng
Setsomi
sa
Litaba
of
20
October
1999
reported
that
the
Mafeteng
branch
of
the
Universal
Church
was
attacked
by
a
group
of
armed
men
from
the
nearby
village
of
Thabaneng
on
Saturday
16
October
1999.
The
men,
who
said
they
were
attacking
the
church
of
Satan,
caused
considerable
damage
to
the
building,
breaking
windows,
chairs
and
other
furniture.
It
appears
that
the
incident
resulted
from
statements
of
one
’Mamakepe
of
Thabaneng
who
alleged
that
a
month
earlier
she
had
been
raped
by
ministers
of
the
Universal
Church
in
Durban
and
that
they
had
subsequently
planned
to
kill
her
at
a
church
service
there.
BCP Factions Play Musical Chairs with IPA
The
internal
dispute
in
the
Basutoland
Congress
Party
continued
to
have
an
impact
on
the
Interim
Political
Authority.
It
had
already
resulted
in
the
BCP’s
nominated
candidate
Dr
Khauhelo
Raditapole
being
briefly
replaced
in
July
by
Lebenya
Chakela
(who
claimed
to
have
suffered
an
arson
attack
during
the
few
days
he
was
an
IPA
member).
A
court
case
restored
Dr
Raditapole,
but
another
case
in
September
had
her
out
again
and
replaced
with
effect
from
16
September
by
Sekoala
Toloane
of
the
‘six-pack’
faction.
On
25
September,
the
Molapo
Qhobela
faction
of
the
BCP
formally
expelled
the
‘six-pack’
members
including
Sekoala
Toloane
from
the
party.
This
was
followed
by
a
further
High
Court
action
initiated
on
29
September
to
declare
the
actions
of
the
‘six-pack’,
which
had
led
to
Toloane’s
nomination,
null
and
void.
Dr
Raditapole
was
eventually
restored
to
the
IPA,
but
exactly
who
was
or
was
not
a
member
of
the
BCP
was
by
December
further
confused
by
the
fact
that,
according
to
Moeketsi
Tsatsanyane
(BCP
Deputy
Publicity
Officer,
as
quoted
in
Mopheme
of
7
December
1999),
Molapo
Qhobela
had
failed
to
pay
his
membership
fee
by
the
deadline
of
30
November
and
was
therefore
no
longer
a
member
of
the
party.
IPA Unable to Reach Agreement and Seeks Arbitration by the Court of AppealDespite now having sat for more than nine months, the Interim Political Authority had not achieved very much in the way of agreement about the new political system in Lesotho, other than that there should be an increase to 130 seats in Parliament. The IPA failed to reach consensus on whether these seats should be distributed as 65 first-past-the-post and 65 elected by proportional representation or 80 first-past-the-post and 50 elected by proportional representation.
Taking
advantage
of
the
sitting
of
the
Lesotho
Court
of
Appeal,
the
matter
was
referred
to
Judge
Julian
Bowde,
who
sat
on
the
matter
together
with
assessors
nominated
by
the
two
opposing
sides.
These
assessors
were
both
lecturers
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho,
Mr
Nqosa
Mahao
and
Dr
Francis
Makoa.
The
outcome
announced
in
mid-October
was
a
decision
in
favour
of
the
80/50
model,
although
the
details
of
whether
the
50
seats
will
be
purely
elected
by
proportional
representation
or
a
‘topping-up’
compensation
bearing
in
mind
the
results
of
the
80
seats
was
not
made
immediately
clear.
Former LHDA Chief Executive fined M7 million for CorruptionThe largest fine ever imposed by a Lesotho court was imposed on Masupha Sole, former Chief Executive of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, who was found guilty in the High Court in October on eleven charges ranging from bribery to fraudulent claims for expenses. It took the whole morning on Wednesday 20 October for Mr Justice Mathealira Ramodibedi to read out his 100-page judgment, and the judgment was stated to be the longest civil case in the legal history of Lesotho. Sole was ordered to pay a fine of M7776311.98 and also to pay costs. The fallout from the judgment had wide-ranging impact. It takes two sides to make a corrupt deal, and Patrick McCully of the non-governmental International Rivers Network (quoted in Public Eye of 29 October 1999) stated in relation to the case ‘The list of corrupt companies reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of the dam building industry’. The matter was discussed at a meeting of official backers of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in Pretoria on 16 November, which noted that the World Bank is conducting its own corruption investigation. Possible action against firms found guilty of corrupt practices could include their being declared ineligible for World Bank-financed projects. Meanwhile in Lesotho, a criminal case of bribery against Masupha Sole and a number of construction companies was set down for hearing by the Chief Magistrate of Maseru on 29 November. The companies’ names were given by Business Week of 22 November and included Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners (UK); Acres International (Canada); ABB (Sweden/Switzerland); Impregilo (Italy); Dumez International (France); Sogreah (France); Spie Batignolles (France); Cegelec (France); Corne et Bellier (France); Lahmeyer International (Germany); Electro Power Corporation (Panama); and others. According to Mopheme of 30 November 1999, it is estimated that Sole received bribes totalling over M12 million over a period of 10 years. Although several of the construction companies are still working in Lesotho on Phase 1B of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, others no longer have representation in Lesotho.
The
Maseru
Magistrate
on
7
December
referred
the
matter
to
the
High
Court,
where
the
case
was
set
down
for
hearing
on
2
May
2000,
with
time
allocated
for
the
case
to
continue
until
30
October
2000.
Masupha
Sole
in
the
meantime
was
released
on
bail.
Police Deaths over Three Year Period Rise to 24On 29 October a policeman and a married woman were killed by unknown assailants at Ha Tsolo, a southwestern suburb of Maseru. Reporting the incident, Leseli ka Sepolesa of 11 November 1999 stated that this brought the number of policemen killed since the beginning of 1997 to 24. The newspaper also reported an incident at Nyakosoba near Roma, where a cattle-dealer was killed by four masked men. Installation of New Principal Chief of PhamongBereng Letsie Bereng was installed by His Majesty King Letsie III on 30 October 1999 as the new Principal Chief of Phamong, a chieftainship which occupies more than half of Mohale’s Hoek District.
Bereng
Letsie’s
grandfather,
Bereng
Griffith,
had
once
been
a
claimant
to
the
Paramount
Chieftaincy
of
Lesotho.
A
second
cousin
of
King
Letsie
III,
both
the
King
and
Bereng
Letsie
are
great-great-great-great-grandsons
of
King
Moshoeshoe
I.
Bereng
Letsie’s
father,
Letsie
Bereng
Griffith,
died
on
31
August
1992.
Since
1985,
the
chieftainship
had
been
in
the
hands
of
Bereng
Letsie’s
mother
’Masenate
Letsie
Bereng,
who
by
virtue
of
her
position
had
also
been
a
member
of
the
Senate.
New Speaker of the National Assembly Appointed
When
it
resumed
on
29
October
after
a
recess
of
more
than
four
months,
one
of
the
first
duties
of
the
National
Assembly
was
to
elect
a
Speaker
to
replace
the
late
J.
T.
Kolane,
who
died
in
August.
The
new
Speaker
is
Miss
Ntlhoi
Motsamai,
the
former
Deputy
Speaker.
Director of Public Prosecutions ResignsIt was revealed in October that the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sipho Mdluli, had given three months notice of his intention to resign, effective at the end of the calendar year. Sipho Mdluli, a Swazi national, had served in the post for more than ten years and had prosecuted in several significant court cases, including the case in which Military Councillor Sekhobe Letsie together with other military officers had been charged with the murder of Vincent Makhele and Desmond Sixishe and their wives. At the time it was announced he had resigned, Mdluli was still prosecuting in the case of 33 police charged with high treason, sedition and contravening the Internal Security Act of 1984, and it later became clear that the case, which had already been in progress for nearly two years, would not be completed before Mdluli’s departure. Indeed there were rumours that Mdluli might in fact stay on to complete the case if engaged on a daily fee basis. Most of the 33 police being charged in this case had been in gaol since February 1997. It took a year after their arrest before the court case against them began. 32 of them were spending their third Christmas in gaol, not having been yet convicted of any crime. One of their number, Sergeant Tsiane, was however released on 26 November, it being ruled by the High Court that he had no case to answer.
It
was
announced
that
Advocate
Thamatona
Thetsane,
Crown
Attorney,
would
be
appointed
Director
of
Public
Prosecutions
with
effect
from
1
January
2000.
Lesotho Bank Agreement SignedSaturday 13 November was the date on which was signed (in a ‘lavish ceremony’ at the Central Bank according to the press) the final Purchase and Assumption Agreement by which Lesotho Bank was privatised. The new bank, Lesotho Bank 99 Ltd, is owned 70% by Standard Bank (Lesotho) Ltd (a part of Standard bank of South Africa) and 30% by the Lesotho Government, this 30% share being held in trust for the private sector. Lesotho Bank 99 has assumed all liabilities of the old Lesotho Bank in the form of deposit liabilities in exchange for specified assets, government bonds and treasury bills. The lavishness of the signing ceremony was little comfort to Lesotho Bank’s customers. In November, customers at the main branch in Maseru were often having to stand for hours in queues to reach the tellers, and the autotellers were often out of order for days at a time. A particular frustration was the non-availability of new cheque books, with customers being told to come back in a week’s time for six or more successive occasions. One customer indicated that he would use his last cheque to transfer his remaining cash to another bank which was able to issue new cheque books on the spot.
Many
Maseru
residents
now
bank
in
Ladybrand,
where
interest
rates
are
consistently
higher,
and
the
future
of
banking
in
Maseru
(which
could
be
celebrating
its
centenary
if
it
only
knew
its
own
history)
must
be
in
some
doubt.
Standard
Bank
and
Nedbank
are
now
the
only
commercial
banks
in
Maseru,
and
Nedbank’s
‘hostile’
take-over
bid
for
Standard
Bank
in
South
Africa
might
in
the
near
future
lead
to
the
situation
where
Maseru
had
only
one
commercial
bank.
Mohale Employee and Policeman Die in Car Theft IncidentsAn Italian employee at the Mohale Dam, Francisco Ciemino, was killed when his vehicle was stolen on Sunday 7 November. His body was found in roadside woodland at Masianokeng on the evening of the following day.
On
14
November,
the
Maseru
Car
Theft
Squad
arrested
three
men
in
connection
with
the
crime.
They
were
put
in
the
stolen
vehicle,
but
while
being
driven,
it
seems
one
of
those
arrested
shot
and
killed
the
police
driver
in
the
head
and
escaped.
Details
as
to
what
happened
and
why
the
arrested
men
had
not
been
disarmed
and
handcuffed
were
not
given
in
the
report
on
the
incident
(in
Mopheme
of
16
November
1999).
Two
suspects
were
later
arrested
at
Sefikeng
and
were
taken
to
the
Maseru
suburb
of
Ha
Tšiu
where
they
handed
over
a
gun
suspected
to
have
been
used
in
the
killings
(Mopheme,
7
December
1999).
Fissiparous Tendencies in Ruling PartyFor over a year, rumours had been circulating of a split in the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). The dissentient faction was dubbed Lesiba, ‘the feather’, it being a part of ‘the eagle’ which is used as the party’s symbol. The Mirror of 13 November 1999 discussed the evidence for the existence of Lesiba at some length, claiming to have information from the recent Party Leadership Conference, when it was said that the Prime Minister himself disclosed the existence of such a faction within the party and challenged any members of the party to come forward and deny it if this was not true.
Although
he
has
publicly
denied
it
over
the
Seboping
current
affairs
programme
on
Radio
Lesotho,
The
Mirror
reports
that
the
LCD
Secretary-General
Shakhane
Mokhehle
is
the
leader
of
the
Lesiba
faction.
The
Mirror
report
goes
on
to
report
on
secret
meetings
and
intrigues
within
the
party
by
members
of
the
Lesiba
faction
with
the
aim
of
unseating
the
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili.
Ladybrand Police Horse Recovered in Maloti
The
police
newspaper,
Leseli
ka
Sepolesa,
recorded
in
its
issue
of
23
December
1999
that
police
had
recovered
31
cattle
(of
which
at
least
25
were
believed
to
have
been
stolen)
and
also
a
horse
from
three
men
at
Bokoaneng
and
Ha
Matlali,
remote
areas
near
the
headwaters
of
the
Senqunyane
river.
Most
of
the
cattle
remained
in
police
custody
awaiting
identification,
but
the
horse
was
found
to
have
been
stolen
from
the
Ladybrand
Police
stables
on
12
September
1999.
The
newspaper
carries
a
picture
of
Sergeant
Barnie
Gous
of
Ladybrand
Police
reunited
with
his
horse.
Lesotho Honours Outgoing Commonwealth Secretary-GeneralChief Emeka Anyaoku, the outgoing Commonwealth Secretary-General, travelled to Lesotho with his wife immediately after the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Durban. In Lesotho at the Royal Palace on Tuesday 16 November he was dubbed Knight Commander of the Most Courteous Order of Lesotho by King Letsie III. There is no convenient guide to Lesotho orders and decorations, and although a number of knighthoods have been previously awarded (notably by the then King to the Military Council), Chief Anyaoku KCMCOL is apparently the first knight of a new order, described by the Prime Minister at the awards ceremony as the ‘highest award that the nation has to offer’.
Chief
Anyaoku
left
the
service
of
his
native
Nigeria,
when
the
democratic
government
he
was
serving
as
Foreign
Minister
had
been
dislodged
by
a
military
coup.
After
he
became
Commonwealth
Secretary-General
in
1989,
he
assisted
the
Lesotho
government
several
times
when
it
was
faced
with
difficult
situations.
These
ranged
from
negotiating
the
return
of
King
Moshoeshoe
II
to
major
disputes
in
Lesotho
between
factions
of
the
army
in
January
1994.
It
was
his
personal
intervention
in
Maseru
which
secured
the
release
of
the
Director
of
the
National
Security
Service
after
he
had
been
held
hostage
by
rebellious
junior
members
of
the
service
in
March
1995.
Chief
Anyaoku
had
also
attended
the
funeral
of
King
Moshoeshoe
II
in
January
1996
and
the
coronation
of
King
Letsie
III
in
October
1997.
Roof of Africa Rally Held after Missing a YearThe Roof of Africa Rally, a race across difficult tracks for cars, motor-cycles (and more recently also ‘quad bikes’) was not held in 1998 because of the political disturbances and riots. In 1999 it was held from 18 to 20 November, with the usual ‘Round the Houses’ race in Maseru on the first day, Thursday, and races through the mountains to Ha Lejone on the Friday and to Semonkong on the Saturday. The Ladybrand motorcyclist Elmer Symons won the King of the Roof Trophy, while in the car section a team consisting of S. Illman, F. Stangl and Ashley Thorn (of Roma) won the first position in a machine which was described as a ‘Raceco Special Vehicle A’.
The
organisers
of
the
Roof
of
Africa
‘Round
the
Houses’
race
did
not
leave
Maseru
just
as
they
had
found
it.
Piles
of
old
tyres
which
had
been
used
as
safety
barriers
were
still
littering
the
pavements
more
than
a
month
after
the
race.
Funeral Service Companies Advertise their Arrival with SirensFunerals in Lesotho (which 30 years back took place within a day or so of death) today commonly take place one to three weeks after the death of the person, this time being required to make arrangements (and to raise the money) for the funeral service and the food which is served to those who attend. The changes in funeral practices have been made possible by the establishment of refrigerated mortuaries. The general pattern now prevailing is that the corpse is collected on a Friday after which a wake is held overnight with interment and serving of the lijo tsa mofu (‘food of the deceased’) taking place on the Saturday. However, in the past 30 years, with population growth, villages have doubled in size, resulting in on average twice as many funerals (in fact considerably more as a result of AIDS) and twice as many people to feed. (No-one from the village can be turned away from the food on such an occasion.) A conservative estimate is that with these two basic doublings, four times as much of the national wealth is being spent on funerals as was the case a generation back. Amongst the beneficiaries of this change in customs have been the funeral companies, although they do run the risk of having to hold large cash sums on Friday nights, and as a consequence robberies have occurred, the most ingenious having been from a corpse who was wheeled in, only to wake up and produce a gun.
The
funeral
companies
since
mid-1999
have
engaged
in
what
many
would
regard
as
an
unnecessary
form
of
self-advertisement.
As
corpses
are
delivered
to
villages
on
Friday
afternoons,
the
hearse
is
equipped
with
a
siren
which
advertises
the
arrival
of
the
deceased.
The
former
quiet
and
dignity
associated
with
funeral
practices
have
now
been
noisily
transgressed,
without
any
apparent
consumer
protest.
(Of
course
if
the
consumer
on
such
an
occasion
is
the
deceased,
he
or
she
is
hardly
in
a
position
to
do
much
about
it.)
Letšeng-la-Terae Mine reopensThe diamond mine at Letšeng-la-Terae, situated at 3000 metres above sea level in Mokhotlong District, had been operated by the De Beers company from 1977 to 1982. Its development had required massive infrastructural development, including the construction of the highest electricity power supply line in Africa. The closure of the mine in 1982 was the result of a depressed world diamond market and a drop in the demand for the larger high-quality stones which were Letšeng’s speciality. It was announced in October that an agreement had been reached between the firm of Letšeng Diamonds and the Lesotho Government to reopen the mine. The agreement was signed by the Minister of Natural Resources, Mr Monyane Moleleki, and Mr Keith Whitelock of Letšeng Diamonds (Pty) Ltd. Keith Whitelock is no stranger to Letšeng, having been the manager of the mine in the days of De Beers. The reopened mine will be 24% owned by the Lesotho Government, while 38% shares will be held both by Letšeng Diamonds and by the New Mining Corporation (part of the South African JCI group).
The
official
sod
turning,
inaugurating
work
on
the
reopened
mine,
was
carried
out
by
the
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili
on
19
November.
Production
at
the
newly
opened
mine
is
not
expected
to
begin
until
late
in
2000.
Introduction of Free Primary Education Discussed at SeminarWith effect from January 2000, children entering the lowest class of primary school, Standard One, will no longer have to pay school fees, and government policy is that this will be repeated in successive years so that within seven years all primary education will be free. The implications of this decision by the Ministry of Education were explored at a two day symposium on free primary education held in Maseru 21-22 November 1999. Predictions were made that there would be a 30000 increase in Standard One children from 70000 to 100000. This would require 500 more classrooms, 500 additional teachers and additional stationery and textbooks. Quite how some of these requirements would be met in the time remaining was not immediately clear. Meanwhile a pre-registration for Standard One in 2000 was due to begin on 8 November 1999 in villages throughout the country. Not everyone welcomed the way in which the move to free primary education was being carried out, and in particular the Catholic Church decided to oppose it. At a meeting of priests and nuns with the Archbishop in Maseru on 27 November (as reported in Moeletsi oa Basotho of 5 December 1999), there were speeches from several persons, including the Catholic Schools Secretary, George Tsepa Mohlapiso. There was general disquiet that the matter had not been discussed with interested parties before being suddenly announced at a pitso of the Prime Minister. The practicability of implementation at short notice was also mentioned. It was agreed that Catholic schools would ignore the introduction of free education and would register children and demand fees in the new year without any changes to the existing system.
Although
free
primary
education
had
been
announced
as
if
it
was
an
innovation,
it
is
in
fact
not
new.
Mission
schools
were
not
permitted
to
charge
school
fees
after
the
setting
up
of
the
Basutoland
Education
Fund
in
1927
which
provided
grants
to
meet
the
expenses
of
approved
primary
schools.
However,
as
years
went
by
and
the
government
subvention
to
the
mission
education
secretariats
became
inadequate,
schools
and
mission
education
secretaries
found
ways
of
requiring
pupils
to
contribute
to
rising
school
costs.
Government
intervened
for
a
second
time,
and
it
was
again
announced
in
the
late
1970s
that
school
fees
had
been
abolished.
The
cycle
has
now
repeated
itself
for
the
third
time
with
the
announcement
that
primary
education
was
again
to
be
made
free,
although
on
this
occasion,
initially
it
will
only
apply
to
children
enrolling
in
the
lowest
class
of
primary
schools,
Standard
One.
Road Construction Work Disrupts Maseru TrafficBy the fourth quarter of 1999, Maseru was suffering major traffic dislocation as a result of construction work. The southern approach road through Lithabaneng, as well as the link road through Lower Thamae were being reconstructed by Rumdel Construction resulting in diversions and delays (and also some disturbance of the peace to local residents, when blasting was taking place). Matters were no better in the town centre, because Moshoeshoe Road was also under reconstruction with long sections closed. Moreover, on the south side of Kingsway, the construction of the new 6 km Relief Road was resulting in the city being effectively cut in two, with extensive diversions resulting from the closure of Pioneer Road, where an underpass is being constructed. A Group Five Construction spokesman estimated the relief road would take eighteen months to complete.
Adding
to
the
dust
and
noise
in
the
centre
of
Maseru
was
demolition
work
on
burnt-out
buildings
from
the
riots
over
a
year
earlier.
By
late
1999,
most
of
these
building
sites
had
been
cleared
by
a
local
firm,
Speedy
Construction.
However,
resources
for
redevelopment
were
mainly
lacking,
and
on
some
sites,
temporary
shops
had
opened
in
the
kind
of
containers
usually
used
for
transporting
goods.
One
building
restored
to
its
former
glory
(and
indeed
with
an
additional
new
thatched
building
on
the
former
Boccaccio
Car
Park)
was
the
Basotho
Hat.
By
the
end
of
the
year
it
was
awaiting
an
official
reopening.
Asparagus Producers Lack MarketAsparagus, was until recently the best cash crop in Lesotho for farmers to grow, at least in terms of maloti per hectare paid to producers. Unfortunately, it has now suffered an almost complete loss of markets with the closure of Basotho Canners. In recent years the Lesotho National Development Corporation factory at Masianokeng had been leased to a South African company, Langeberg, who managed to keep it near profitability by importing large quantities of asparagus from South Africa, Lesotho production being insufficient to keep its production line running. However, for the past two years, this arrangement has foundered, leaving local asparagus stranded without a market. Meanwhile attempts to privatise Basotho Canners had failed. Large agribusiness processing facilities with insufficient local production to keep them busy are unfortunately a familiar story in Lesotho. In Maseru, Lesotho Flour Mills, which shed a part of its labour force when it was recently privatised, maintains its profitability by importing grain from South Africa. Less than 5% of flour milled is from Lesotho sources. The Lesotho National Abattoir on the northern outskirts of Maseru is unable to maintain a similar profitability. It receives only enough animals to run at 20% of capacity, and since it runs at a considerable loss, attempts at privatization have so far been difficult.
The
most
unfortunate
of
all
facilities
is
the
Wheat
Drying
Plant
at
Masianokeng.
Built
with
EU
funds,
it
was
planned
as
part
of
a
project
by
which
land
could
produce
two
crops
a
year.
Winter
wheat
would
be
harvested
a
month
earlier
than
normal,
in
time
for
a
summer
crop
to
be
planted:
the
plant
was
designed
to
dry
this
wheat
so
it
could
be
milled
for
flour.
The
plant
and
much
other
expensive
machinery
have
remained
idle
beside
the
main
road
for
many
years,
having
never
ever
been
brought
into
use. High Court Ruling Challenges Suspensions made under Catholic Canon LawA High Court ruling in November by Mr Justice Ramodibedi challenged the Catholic Church’s right to exercise discipline through its own hierarchy. The matter, as reported in The Mirror of 19 November 1999, arose after two Catholic Priests had been suspended from duties by Bishop Sebastian Khoarai, Bishop of Mohale’s Hoek. Against Father Elias Thato Mona, chaplain at ’Masentle High School, the Bishop’s allegations had been that he had disseminated his personal and wrongful theological insights and had been frequently drunk in public places ‘during which time he consorts with different women and has illicit relations with them’. Against Father Thabang Ernest Moloi, Priest at Mount Carmel Mission, the allegations were of similar seriousness, including ‘cohabiting with young people of the female gender’, inciting people to acts of disobedience towards the Bishop, refusing to hear confessions, and ‘insisting on a distorted kind of inculturation in which the images of the saints are replaced with Basotho national figures’. In a 26-page judgment, Judge Modibedi ruled that the suspensions, despite the seriousness of the allegations, flouted Catholic Canon Law, in that the Bishop could not act as a judge in a case where he had a personal interest. The suspended priests had also complained that they had not been given the opportunity to be heard before the suspensions were applied. At the hearing, the Catholic Church and the Bishop, who were joint respondents, contended that the High Court had no jurisdiction in matters of church discipline. It was not immediately clear what would happen subsequently. The two priests had petitioned the High Court against their suspension from duties. If they were not reinstated the Church might be held to be in contempt of court. If the Church asked leave to take the matter to the Court of Appeal, this would be in contravention of its view that courts had no jurisdiction in ecclesiastical matters.
The
wider
ramifications
were
also
of
some
interest.
What
of
a
church
member
who
was
disciplined
by
a
parish
priest
who
withheld
communion?
If
the
parishioner
took
the
matter
to
the
High
Court
might
not
he
or
she
be
granted
similar
relief
in
that
a
parish
priest
could
also
be
said
to
be
both
judge
and
to
have
a
personal
interest
in
such
a
matter?
University Teachers and Researchers Union Demands Vice-Chancellor’s DismissalThe Lesotho University Teachers and Researchers Union (LUTARU) on 22 November 1999 presented a petition to the University Council, copies of which were also made available to the local press. The petition, which was apparently unsigned, so that it was not clear how many individuals were associated with its contents, made 19 allegations against the Vice-Chancellor, Professor R. I. M. Moletsane. Amongst these were allegations of administrative irregularities, and allegations that the University’s name and resources had been used to set up projects in his home village of Liphiring, where he is the chief. The petition asked that an independent inquiry be instituted to investigate the financial management and other aspects of management since 1997; and that Professor Moletsane be dismissed from the University forthwith. The petition was received by the Chairman of the University Council, Mr Moletsane Monyake, who assured LUTARU that Council would consider each charge in the petition at its next meeting early in the year 2000. Professor Moletsane was appointed to a four-year contract as Vice Chancellor with effect from January 1997, so that he has approximately one more year in office. His appointment was made after LUTARU had seriously objected to the original short list, which had included no local citizens.
On
Friday
10
December,
LUTARU,
17
of
its
members,
the
newspaper
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho,
Radio
Lesotho
and
the
Attorney-General
received
notice
that
they
were
being
summoned
for
libel
by
Professor
Moletsane
who
was
claiming
damages
of
M500000.
Dissension in BNP Revealed by Rally and by Resigning Vice-ChairmanA Basotho National Party rally held at Peka early in November was reported at length in The Mirror of 12 November. It revealed that there was a power struggle within the BNP between Thesele ’Maseribane and his close allies, Mamello Morrison and Lekhooana Jonathan against the party chairman, Major-General Metsing Lekhanya. Mamello Morrison was apparently now a fully fledged BNP member, although for a long time her allegiance had been to the MFP whose party newspaper she had once edited. She revealed to The Mirror that a Commission of Inquiry had been set up under Colonel Thaabe Letsie (a former member of the Military Council) to investigate the cause of squabbles within the party. As revealed in The Mirror, the power struggle had degenerated into personal allegations including one on which Mamello Morrison dwelt at length, namely that she was committing adultery with the former party Vice-Chairman, Thesele ’Maseribane. The former Vice-Chairman of the Basotho National Party, Thesele ’Maseribane, who had already resigned from that post on 8 October, later gave a press conference (reported in The Mirror of 29 November) in which he alleged that members of the party were plotting to kill him. He denied at the press conference that he was attempting to overthrow the party leader, Major-General Lekhanya, and also that he was sleeping with the IPA member, Mamello Morrison (in any case a rather surprising allegation since she is nearly old enough to be his mother). He also denied that he had misappropriated certain funds, and denied that he had been ‘bought by Pino’.
In
relation
to
the
Italian
proprietor
of
the
Hotel
Victoria,
Giuseppe
Florio,
commonly
known
as
Pino,
’Maseribane
stated
in
passing
that
during
the
‘Freedom
Square’
protests
of
August
and
September
1998,
Pino
had
fed
the
protesters
and
paid
for
medical
and
burial
expenses
for
those
who
had
fallen
sick
or
been
killed.
This
confirmed
what
had
been
previously
generally
believed
about
the
role
of
Pino.
Despite
its
central
position,
it
was
noteworthy
that
the
Hotel
Victoria
had
escaped
damage
in
the
September
1998
riots,
although
its
bottle
store
on
Kingsway
had
been
too
much
of
a
temptation
to
the
looters
to
be
ignored.
Editor of Leselinyana Resigns; Memorial to Predecessor Still Not Officially UnveiledA. B. Thoahlane, who had been editor of Leselinyana la Lesotho since 1989, resigned from the editorship with effect from 30 November 1999. Aaron Balfour Tsiekhomo Thoahlane was rarely known by any of his first names, and his various books were published using the shortened form A. B. Thoahlane. These included Lemuloana (1971), a book of poetry; Makumane a histori ea Lesotho (1978), a book about 19th century Lesotho history; Mce nkhono-thupa! (1985), about Sesotho culture and language; and Liphalafala (1987), a second book of poetry. As editor of Leselinyana, A. B. Thoahlane had served for an uninterrupted period of 10 years, which had taken him well past normal retirement age. His editorship had been the longest since that of Rev. Georges Dieterlen who had been editor from 1934 to 1950. The Board of the Lesotho Evangelical Church, which manages all three of Leselinyana, the Morija Printing Works and the Morija Sesuto Book Depot, appointed Rev. Aaron Moroahabuse Thebe, Minister of the Thaba-Bosiu Parish, as Acting Editor until a permanent replacement could be found.
Meanwhile,
outside
the
Leselinyana
office
at
Morija,
the
memorial
to
a
former
editor,
Edgar
Mahlomola
Motuba,
had
been
completed
a
year
earlier,
but
was
still
awaiting
an
official
unveiling.
Motuba
had
been
editor
for
almost
the
same
period
as
Thoahlane.
Appointed
in
mid-1971,
he
had
been
away
from
Lesotho
during
1971-2
attending
a
journalism
course
in
Zambia.
Under
Motuba,
Leselinyana,
although
a
church
newspaper,
had
assumed
a
national
role
by
reporting
events
and
providing
a
forum
for
views
not
elsewhere
allowed
to
appear
in
print.
When
dissent
had
become
armed
opposition
and
there
had
been
government
reprisals,
the
newspaper
had
provided
extensive
coverage
of
events.
In
1981,
the
newspaper
reported
on
a
spate
of
assassinations,
believed
by
many
to
be
the
work
of
a
government-sponsored
killer
squad,
‘Koeeoko’.
On
7
September
1981,
Motuba
and
two
of
his
friends
were
abducted
from
Morija.
Their
bodies
had
been
found
the
following
day
near
the
main
road
55km
to
the
south
of
Morija.
18
years
later,
despite
a
campaign
by
Moafrika
and
other
newspapers,
no-one
had
yet
been
charged
with
the
crime. December Rains Break Drought and Set RecordsAlthough the long dry winter was broken by good rainfall in the second half of October, this was followed by the driest November since 1990 in much of the country. November rainfall was typically only a quarter of the average. Almost all Lowlands rivers stopped running and the outlook for crops looked bleak. However, extremely heavy rains fell everywhere throughout December providing some hope of a harvest, although planting crops as late as December is risky, because of the high chance of losing them to frost at the end of the summer. Total December rainfall in parts of the country were in some cases triple the mean rainfall for the month. The total rainfall at Roma, for example, was 355 mm, making it (after January 1934) the second wettest month of the century. Rain had fallen on 21 days during the month, including 14 consecutive days from 15 to 28 December.
There
were
some
exceptionally
heavy
December
thunderstorms.
A
storm
on
the
afternoon
of
21
December
caused
so
much
run-off
that
the
new
Maseru
Bypass
became
impassable
for
a
lengthy
period
when
water
from
comparatively
minor
catchments
exceeded
the
capacity
of
culverts
and
flooded
the
road.
When
the
waters
subsided
it
was
seen
that
there
was
damage
to
the
hard
shoulders
and
part
of
the
tarred
surface
of
the
road
itself
had
been
undermined.
Agreement Signed between Lesotho Government and the Interim Political AuthorityThe long-awaited Memorandum of Agreement between the Lesotho Government and the Interim Political Authority (IPA) was finally signed in Maseru on Friday 3 December at the National Convention Centre in the presence of representatives of SADC states. This appears to have been the first official function to have been held at the National Convention Centre since its completion over a year earlier. The signatories were the Prime Minister, Pakalitha Mosisili; and the IPA Chairpersons, Bereng Sekhonyana and Lekhetho Rakuoane. Signing as witnesses were a representative of the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Edward Omotoso, United Nations Resident Co-ordinator. The 11-point document (earlier and later versions of which were published in Moafrika of 5 November and 3 December 1999) states that the Electoral Model will have a mix of constituency seats to proportional representation of 80:50 for the 2000 election only, followed by equal numbers in subsequent elections. A new Electoral Commission will be appointed which will be supplemented by two international experts who will serve as full members of the Commission. Other points deal with a Security Liaison Committee; a Contact Group between the Prime Minister and the IPA; a Joint Committee on the Media; and a Joint Implementation Committee ‘comprising equal numbers of the two contracting parties’. In the original draft agreement it was stated that the Commonwealth Secretary-General would appoint an expert group which would determine a realistic timetable for the next election. This was later modified so that SADC and the Commonwealth shared this responsibility. In the original text, it was stated that the Commonwealth Secretary-General and the Presidents of the extended SADC troika (Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe) together with the United Nations would act as Moral Guarantors of the agreement and ‘will, in co-operation with the parties, do all in their power to ensure its implementation in good faith’. In the revised agreement this was modified so that the Presidents of the extended SADC troika would serve as Guarantors of the agreement. ‘Furthermore, the Secretaries-General of the United Nations (UN), Organization of African Unity (OAU), and Commonwealth will, in co-operation with the parties and Guarantors, do all in their power to ensure the implementation of this Agreement’.
It
was
noteworthy
that
the
agreement
lacked
detail
on
the
mechanics
of
the
election.
There
was
a
general
assumption,
however,
that
rather
than
proportionally
elected
persons
‘topping-up’
parties
underrepresented
in
constituencies,
they
were
simply
to
be
elected
in
a
separate
parallel
election.
Such
an
arrangement,
if
applied
to
the
previous
election,
would
have
given
the
opposition
parties
(which
polled
40%
of
the
votes)
a
mere
21
seats
in
a
Parliament
of
130,
or
just
16%
of
the
seats.
Creation
of
a
greatly
enlarged
and
costly
Parliament
without
introducing
an
electoral
mechanism
which
shared
seats
fairly
between
parties
seemed
to
some
observers
a
less
than
satisfactory
outcome
after
a
whole
year
of
IPA
discussions. Biodiversity Project Officially LaunchedAt a reception hosted by the National Environment Secretariat at the Lesotho Sun on Wednesday 8 December, a new environmental project was launched for the southern districts of Mohale’s Hoek, Quthing and Qacha’s Nek. The project is officially known as Conserving Mountain Biodiversity in Southern Lesotho, will run initially for the period 1999-2004, and is currently funded by M15 million from the Global Environmental Facility and M1.7 million from the Lesotho Government. The project’s Quthing District Project Officer, Mrs ’Mamolemo Pomela described the main aims of the project as the creation of a network of protected areas; and the development of improved Range Management Systems to reduce biodiversity loss. It was noted that Lesotho, as a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, was committed to setting aside 10% of its land area as protected areas, but that currently the area conserved was far less than 1%.
Slides
projected
showed
the
extent
of
degradation
of
the
Quthing
District’s
rangelands
and
wetlands.
However,
pasture
areas
near
the
South
African
border
were
now
in
better
shape
than
for
a
very
long
time
because
of
the
border
‘war’
with
the
Eastern
Cape,
in
which
both
sides
were
looting
cattle
across
the
border.
As
a
result
it
was
no
longer
safe
to
keep
cattle
in
a
strip
several
kilometres
wide
on
the
Lesotho
side
of
the
border,
and
the
grasslands
were
flourishing
Court Martial Takes Long Recess
The
Court
Martial
before
which
38
soldiers
have
been
appearing
accused
of
mutiny
was
still
continuing
a
year
after
it
commenced
in
December
1998.
The
Court
Martial
went
into
recess
on
10
December
1999
until
17
January
2000
so
that
those
involved
in
the
case
(other
than
the
accused)
could
enjoy
a
Christmas
break.
The
accused,
who
have
been
held
since
1998,
were
destined
to
spend
a
second
Christmas
in
the
Maximum
Security
prison.
LCD wins By-electionsThe Motimposo and Kolo by-elections, made necessary by the deaths of the two MPs representing these constituencies, were held on 11 December 1999. Voter registration began on 4 October and Nomination Day was 23 October. The parties of the Setlamo alliance (BNP, BCP, MFP) boycotted the by-elections, and as a result the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) won both seats with overwhelming majorities. In the Motimposo constituency in the suburbs of Maseru, Tšeliso Mohloki obtained 1678 votes, while the other four candidates between them gained only 103 votes. He therefore won 94.2% of votes cast. However, only 15% of the electorate of 12071 in the constituency had turned out to vote. In the Kolo constituency in the lowlands of Mafeteng District, the turn-out was slightly better than at Motimposo, and 28% of the electorate of 9704 turned out to vote. Retšelisitsoe Ranooe obtained 2538 votes, while the other two candidates between them polled 134 votes. The LCD candidate was thus elected with 94.9% of the vote, which is close to a record percentage for a contested seat in Lesotho. This record seems to be held by the 96.1% of the votes obtained by the BCP candidate, Sello Maphalla in the Hlotse by-election on 26 August 1995.
Apart
from
the
LCD,
the
parties
which
contested
both
by-elections
were
the
Patriotic
Front
for
Democracy
(PFD)
and
the
National
Progressive
Party
(NPP),
a
splinter
group
from
the
BNP.
At
Motimposo
there
was
also
an
independent
candidate
and
a
candidate
of
the
New
Lesotho
Freedom
Party
(NLFP),
a
recent
splinter
group
from
the
MFP.
This
candidate
won
just
12
votes. Owner of Lancers’ Inn MurderedVal Pringle, who with his wife Thea van Mastrigt, was co-owner of the Lancers’ Inn, Maseru’s oldest hotel, was murdered by thieves on the night of Monday 13 December 1999. Val Pringle, who was born in Washington DC in 1937, had lived in Maseru since 1980. A tall black American, one of his first jobs on joining the Lancers’ Inn had been to act as a night club bouncer. After a few years he married Thea van Mastrigt, who had been owner-manager of the Lancers’ Inn since 1970. The Lancers’ Inn was thereafter run by a company known as Valanthea (after the owners’ first names), and amongst the offerings in the restaurant were specialities known as ‘Pringle burgers’. Val and Thea, who both became Lesotho citizens, built a house on the Thuathe Plateau, and it was there that thieves arrived on 13 December, demanding the keys of their BMW car. Even after they had been given the keys, they killed Val, although his wife, Thea, escaped. Val Pringle’s body had 14 stab wounds. The car was recovered three days later after being involved in an accident at Teyateyaneng.
A
funeral
service
was
held
for
Val
Pringle
at
Thuathe
on
Wednesday
22
December.
It
was
followed
by
cremation
in
Bloemfontein.
New Anglican Bishop Consecrated and EnthronedThe new Anglican Bishop of Lesotho, Joseph Mahapu Tsubella, was consecrated and enthroned at the Cathedral of St Mary and St James in Maseru on Sunday 19 December 1999 by the Head of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, the Archbishop of Cape Town, Njongonkulu Ndungane. He replaces Bishop Andrew Duma who retired in October after a relatively short episcopacy, during which his health had not been good. Bishop Tsubella was appointed to the office by the House of Bishops of the Church of the Province of South Africa after an earlier electoral assembly in Maseru had failed to choose a bishop from the five local candidates. He is the fifth Bishop of the Anglican See of Lesotho, which was created in 1950, having been formerly part of the Diocese of Bloemfontein. The first and longest serving Bishop of Lesotho (then Basutoland) was John Maund and he was followed in succession by Desmond Tutu, Philip Mokuku and Andrew Duma.
Bishop
Tsubella
was
born
at
Marquard
in
the
Free
State
in
1943,
and
has
served
as
parish
priest
in
several
different
parts
of
South
Africa,
but
not
in
Lesotho.
His
immediately
previous
post
was
as
parish
priest
at
Katlehong
in
Gauteng
in
the
Diocese
of
the
Highveld.
He
is
married
with
three
children.
Lesotho to Play South Africa in World Cup First Round DrawThe draw for the 2002 World Cup First Round was announced in Japan on 7 December 1999. The Lesotho team Likoena, is drawn to play the South African team, Bafana Bafana, and qualification for the second round will depend on the aggregate result of matches played at home and away, probably to take place in the period April to June 2000. Although surprises are always possible, Lesotho were perhaps unlucky on this occasion to have been drawn to play against such powerful opponents. Lesotho did not enter the previous four World Cup competitions, and Likuena’s last appearance was in the qualifying round for the 1982 World Cup. On that occasion they were drawn against Guinea, whom they held to 1-1 at home, only to lose 3-1 away. Lesotho’s only other appearance in the quadrennial competition was eight years earlier, when they were crushed 6-1 by Zambia in the first round.
The
venue
for
the
2002
World
Cup
will
be
shared
between
Japan
and
South
Korea.
Editor of Moafrika fined M90000The editor of the newspaper Moafrika, Candi Ramainoane, was required to pay damages of M90000 in the High Court in December, after being found guilty of libelling a Member of Parliament, Moeketsi Sello. The case arose from an article which appeared above a pseudonym, ‘Oa Mohlakeng’, ‘From the Mire’.
The
defence
stated
that
the
offending
passage
had
in
fact
come
from
the
book
Lesotho
and
the
Struggle
for
Azania
by
Bernard
Leeman.
However,
in
Court
no
one
managed
to
produce
the
book,
and
those
present
seemed
to
be
even
doubtful
of
its
existence.
[It
does
exist,
and
was
published
in
1985,
although
its
purported
publisher,
the
University
of
Azania,
has
never
existed.]
Statistics Published on Christian DenominationsLikereke Ntlafatsong in its December issue of 1999 provides details of the numbers of Christians of different denominations in Lesotho, based on a survey by Sechaba Consultants. This provides the first detailed figures since the 1966 Census, the three subsequent censuses not having included questions on religious affiliation. In 1966, 39% of the population were Catholic, 24% belonged to the Lesotho Evangelical Church, 11% were Anglican, 8% belonged to other Christian denominations, and 18% were non-Christian.
The
1999
figures
show
43.5%
as
Catholic,
25.7%
LEC,
12.8%
Anglican,
9.3%
belonging
to
various
‘African
Independent
Churches’,
2.7%
Pentecostal,
2.1%
African
Methodist
Episcopal
Church,
2.1%
Wesleyan
Methodist
Church,
0.4%
Dutch
Reformed
Church,
0.3%
Jehovah’s
Witnesses,
0.3%
Seventh
Day
Adventists,
and
0.8%
‘none’.
No
figures
are
given
for
Moslems
or
Bahais
both
of
whom
are
known
to
have
significant
numbers
of
adherents. Ruling Party Holds Annual ConferenceThe Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) held its annual conference at the National Convention Centre, now popularly known as ’Manthabiseng, because it replaced the ’Manthabiseng Bus Stop on that site. [’Manthabiseng was an unfortunate lady beaten to death by security guards at a shop in May 1991: her death led to riots which resulted in the Bus Station being moved to the former Agricultural Show Grounds, which thereafter became known as the ’Manthabiseng Bus Stop.]
At
the
conference,
the
Prime
Minister,
Bethuel
Pakalitha
Mosisili
was
re-elected
party
leader,
and
Kelebone
Maope
was
re-elected
deputy
party
leader,
while
Shakhane
Mokhehle
was
re-elected
Secretary-General.
To
the
surprise
of
some,
amongst
those
elected
to
serve
on
the
Executive
Committee
was
Dr
Leketekete
Ketso.
He
had
resigned
earlier
as
Minister
of
Finance
after
facing
charges
of
dangerous
driving
and
culpable
homicide
following
an
accident,
which
occurred
when
he
was
driving
a
government
vehicle
with
a
female
friend
in
the
early
hours
of
a
Sunday
morning.
The
case
arising
from
the
accident
is
still
proceeding
in
the
Maseru
Magistrate’s
court.
Year 2000 Celebrated with FireworksThe transition from the nineteen-nineties to the twenty-noughties (or to the 21st century and 3rd millennium, for those who were happy to celebrate it a year early) took place without major incident in Lesotho, although it was an opportunity for much noise-making. A feature of recent years, facilitated by Chinese shops, has been the availability of fireworks, likirikete as they are known in Sesotho. These were exploded in great numbers to mark the occasion. Rather belatedly, Government had set up a ‘Y2K Secretariat’, fearing that some ill-defined mischief might descend on the nation at midnight. The Secretariat made some rather extraordinary statements including one that people should not disconnect their appliances overnight as this might cause an imbalance in the electricity supply. Banks took the opportunity of announcing that the first full working day of the New Year would be needed to examine their computer systems for evidence of the ‘Y2K bug’, an exercise which would prevent them from providing customer services on that day. In the event, the worst mischief that the bug did on most computers was to assign to the day following 31 December 1999 an unexpected date such as 3 January 1981. A brief excursion into the Windows Control Panel solved the problem for most people without difficulty. [updated to 31 December 1999] |