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SUMMARY
OF
EVENTS
IN
LESOTHO
Volume 8,
Number 2, (second quarter 2001)
Summary
of
Events
is
a
quarterly
publication
compiled
and
published
by
Prof.
David
Ambrose
since
1993
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
in
Roma.
BNP Conference Confirms Lekhanya as
Leader
$32 Million PRGF Loan Approved
Leaderhip Project Under Way
Basotho
amongst Hillbrow Sex Workers Studied by Wits University
Memorial to Chief Matete Unveiled at Morija
Police Clamp Car Wheels
NUL Vice-Chancellor Installed
Article Published on Corruption in Lesotho
LNDC Workers Lose Case
Sentences Finally Announced in Police Murder Case
12 Soldiers Charged with Murder of Former Deputy Prime Minister
Katse Dam Overflows
Thabo Mbeki Pays Fine of One Cow
Four Car Ministerial Pile-Up Leads to Questions about Speeding
Government Vehicles
New Defence Force and Post Office Periodicals; Nutthouse Publishes
Maseru Edition
Families of Soldiers Killed at Katse to be Compensated
Judgment Given in Irish Murder Case
Budget Speech
Civil Service Salaries Decrease in Real Terms
Deaths of Four Members of Parliament and of Kopanang Basotho Party
Leader
Maluti Hospital Celebrates 50 Years
MP Hijacked
Butterfly Stamps Issued
Media Violations Less in Lesotho than in any other Southern African
Country
Leon Commission Report Due in October 2001
Death of Gwen Malahleha
Sale of House of the Late E. R. Sekhonyana
Youth Dies after Electrocution on Pylon
Sentences Announced for Murder of Ministry of Education Officials
Buses Hit by Gunfire
Justice Maqutu Serves on International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda
Wool Wagon Destroyed by Fire
'Woman gives Birth to a Snake' Story Takes up Much Column Space
Soldiers Deny Blame for Destruction of Moshoeshoe I Airport Security
Fence
Indian Army to Train Lesotho Defence Force
Lesotho Stall at 2001 Tourism Indaba Criticized
Suspected Police Car Thief Arrested
Medicine Murders at Qoqolosing in Leribe District
Deputy Speaker Finally Elected
American Ambassador Leaves
Splits in Ruling LCD Revealed by Press Conference and Dispute over
Mokhehle's Tomb
Lesotho and South African Environment Ministers sign Agreement at
Sehlabathebe
Vision 2020 Report Launched in Maseru
Agreement Signed to Mine Diamonds at Liqhobong
New Senators Appointed
Maseru Private Hospital Reduces Fees
Masupha Sole has Assets Frozen and Faces Bribery and Fraud Charges
IPA Sues Government
21 Lesotho Athletes Compete in Comrades' Marathon
Little Feet Orphanage opening on 25 June 2001
Hijackings and Attack on a Store Result in Four Deaths in Three
Separate Incidents
Zambia knocks Lesotho out of COSAFA Cup
British High Commissioner Decorated in Honours List
Lesotho Bank Announces Withdrawal Charges for Savings Accounts
At the Basotho National Party Conference held in
Maseru on 31 March and 1 April, Major-General Justin Metsing Lekhanya
was re-elected BNP leader and Bereng Sekhonyana was re-elected Deputy
Leader of the party. A former captain in the Lesotho Mountain Police,
Pius Leseteli Malefane was elected Secretary-General, displacing
Molapo Majara who has long been at odds with Lekhanya, and who claimed
he had been excluded from the conference. Mamello Morrison who had long
been acting as a BNP dissident was found to be not even a member of the
party, her party card being a forgery.
The National Executive Committee includes another former military
officer, Colonel Thaabe Letsie who is Deputy Chairman of the party. It
initially contained no women at all, but four women were added ('as an
afterthought' according to Public Eye of 6 April 2001) as 'members
without portfolio'.
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The Central Bank of Lesotho in its CBL Economic Review no. 6 (March
2001), which became available in April, gave details of approval of a
$32 million International Monetary Fund (IMF) Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility (PRGF) Loan for Lesotho.
Since the 1980s after something of a spending spree by the then Minister
of Finance, E. R. Sekhonyana, Lesotho has required IMF loans to finance
its budgetary shortfalls. A succession of loans at concessional rates
was made available in return for Lesotho agreeing to IMF setting targets
and requirements. In effect, the IMF attempted to structure Lesotho's
financial planning in accordance with its then principal doctrines which
included the achievement of an improved balance of payments, low
inflation, relatively small budget deficits and low unemployment. The
IMF Structural Adjustment Programme (and the later Enhanced Structural
Adjustment Facility) monitored Lesotho's performance and was intended to
be instrumental in achieving the various goals. In the event only one of
the IMF's targets, the reduction of the inflation rate, was clearly
achieved. However, this lower inflation was achieved largely because of
Lesotho's economy being intertwined with that of South Africa, which
managed to reduce inflation during the same period.
The balance of payments situation has deteriorated (loss of earnings of
retrenched migrant workers is a big factor here) and during the final
quarter of 2000 (Central Bank figures) the seasonally adjusted balance
had declined to M3177 million, equivalent to 8.3 months of imports.
Unemployment, Lesotho's single most important problem, whose
consequences include internal instability, a high crime rate and
widespread poverty, was not significantly changed during the period, and
indeed became worse as a result of mine retrenchments and privatisation
schemes. The ESAP had included a 'Safety Net Fund' intended to minimize
any additional poverty created by the other changes, but such funds
(like the Lesotho Highlands Revenue Fund and its successor the Lesotho
Fund for Community Development) have major difficulties in tackling
grassroots poverty, in part because Lesotho's government is
over-centralized and the long-awaited establishment of local government
structures in rural areas (as provided for in the Local Government Act
1997) has yet to be implemented.
IMF has more recently woken up to the fact that its economic correctness
has had undesirable effects and that its policies have had little impact
on poverty in the countries accepting its loans. Indeed poverty has
often become worse. The new strategy is 'Poverty Reduction and Growth',
and its loans are now directed towards this strategy. Countries, such as
Lesotho, can apply for loans which are highly concessional, carrying an
interest rate of 0.5% (although in a situation where the dollar/loti
exchange rate is declining, the effective rate can be much higher). A
further concession is that repayments begin only five and a half years
after the disbursement of the loan.
To obtain the loan, which has just been approved, Lesotho is required
to submit a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) which had to be
compiled in conjunction with Lesotho's development partners and
representatives of the poor, the private sector and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs). The Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy paper,
which became available in January 2001, outlines the procedures for
preparation of a full PRSP. It was forwarded to IMF in February together
with a Lesotho: Medium-Term Economic Programme, a document which sets
targets until the year 2004 for selected economic and financial
indicators, for the balance of payments, and for external financing and
sources. The document makes reference to a Seventh National Development
Plan, but if such a plan exists, it has not been published, even though
the Sixth National Development Plan 1996/97-1998/99 has long since
finished its timespan. (The Sixth Plan was conceived as a three-year
'rolling' plan, intended to overlap with the next. Somewhere along the
line, this intention has clearly been lost.)
The PRSP has daunting challenges ahead of it. The poor, who are the
obvious stakeholders for poverty reduction, were apparently not
consulted (despite this being an IMF requirement) in the compilation of
the interim PRSP, but 'comprehensive consultations with the rural poor'
(the urban poor are not mentioned) are promised for the final PRSP to be
completed by June 2002. However, it is likely that provision of
mosebetsi, work, will probably be what most poor people will want most,
and for most of them the prospect still remains bleak. A Central Bank
estimate is that to reach near full employment by 2008, growth in the
numbers employed must average 14.4% annually. In fact, the figures since
1990 show that it averaged just 0.9% annually, less than the growth in
the labour force.
The interim paper was the work of a Technical Working Group with
representatives from government, the private sector, non-governmental
organisations, the National University of Lesotho and the United Nations
Development Programme. It contains proposals to establish a Poverty
Council (with no members of rank less than Principal Secretary) and a
much more widely representative Poverty Forum. 'The establishment of
Local Government structures, as provided for in the Local Government Act
(1997), is central to the achievement of good governance at all levels.'
The structures as provided for by the Act 'will provide the framework
for the consultative process of the PRSP'. Unfortunately, however, by
2001, the Local Government Act 1996 (enacted in 1997), as has been seen,
had still not been brought into force, and all indications are that the
Government is waiting for national elections before setting the
machinery in progress for local elections using the new legislation. It
is unrealistic, therefore, to expect that the new local government
structures will be in place in time for their consultation in the
formulation of the PRSP.
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A partnership between the Christian Council of Lesotho and the
Institute of Extra-Mural Studies of the National University of Lesotho
has resulted in a Lesotho Leadership Programme which according to the
Christian Council newspaper Likereke Ntlafatsong (no. 4 of 2001) will be
formally launched in 2001, even though operations started in September
2000.
The project is sponsored by Leadership Regional Network for Southern
Africa (LeaRN) and the W. F. Kellogg Foundation of the USA and has as
goal according to Likereke Ntlafatsong 'to assist in creating economic
and employment opportunities, greater civic participation and better
education and skills that will enable people to get jobs and earn
livelihood, particularly for young people and women in rural
communities'. Whereas these are laudable and important aims, they are
very similar to aims which have been also set out in national
development plans over the past 30 years and also more recently in the
Vision 2020 Report. More elusive is the developing of mechanisms which
ensure that stated goals are achieved.
The expected life of the project is 10 years and annual funding is
M2.5 million. The Chief Executive is Dr Anthony Setšabi, who retired in
2000 from the post of Director of the Institute of Extra-Mural Studies.
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A report, Women at Risk, was released by the University of the
Witwatersrand early in April, as reported in the Mail & Guardian of
12 April 2001. The report was based on a study of Hillbrow prostitutes,
for whom the politically correct job title is now 'sex workers'.
Hillbrow is a northern suburb of Johannesburg, close to the centre, and
a centre for 'sex work' which takes place in hotels, bars and high rise
flats. Over 500 sex workers were interviewed during a two year study and
while 88% came from South Africa, 4% were from Lesotho, 45 from
Mozambique and 4% from a variety of other countries.
53% of sex workers were found to be HIV positive, despite 99% saying
that they regularly use condoms. Charges for services ranged from R20 to
R500 for vaginal penetration, with an average of R52; anal sex cost R20
to R800 with an average of R130; while oral sex cost R30 to R400 with an
average of R78. Weekday takings averaged R300 while weekend takings
averaged R600. Clients were found to be 62% black, 30% white and 8%
other races. The average age of clients was found to be 35 and 62% were
married (quite how these statistics were calculated is unclear, since
the interviews were with the sex workers not their clients).
To undertake sex work, there is no c.v. requirement, no educational
requirement, hours are flexible, there is no risk of retrenchment, you
are your own boss and you can even drink on the job. Despite this, 99.5%
of sex workers were tired of their work and wanted to leave it. However,
similarly paying activities were just not available.
The study found that almost all sex workers work for themselves and that
pimps are almost unknown in Hillbrow. However, police harassment is
common and 16% of sex workers reported being forced to have sex with
police to avoid arrest.
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A memorial to one of the co-founders of Morija, Chief Paulus Matete
Seepheephe, was unveiled at Morija on Saturday 14 April 2001. It is a
stone monument with a bust of Matete in formal European dress, such as
he would have acquired when he was one of five Basotho chiefs who spent
a year in Cape Town with the missionary Thomas Arbousset in 1845-6.
Matete, together with his older brother Mahao, was one of two malome,
maternal uncles of Letsie and Molapo, whom they accompanied to
Makhoarane on 9 July 1833. They were sent to be with the first three
French Protestant missionaries in Lesotho, and at Makhoarane, the
missionaries with their Basotho companions founded the settlement which
soon afterwards became known as Morija.
To mark the unveiling of the memorial, details of the history of the
Matete family, who are Bafokeng by clan, were printed in Leselinyana of
13 April and 15 May 2001. The published account also explains the origin
of the name Ranthomeng. In 1833, King Moshoeshoe, hearing from a Griqua
hunter, Adam Krotz, of the advantage of having missionaries, had sent
200 cattle in order to procure missionaries for his Kingdom. The cattle
were however stolen by Kora en route, and Moshoeshoe at first believed
he had been unsuccessful in his procurement exercise. He asked his
councillors who could fetch missionaries for him and Matete said, 'Nthomeng
ke ba late' (send me, I will bring them). Luckily, Matete did not have
far to go, because the missionaries were already en route and he found
them at Khalong-la-bo-Tau, the modern Modderpoort. Matete's principal
wife 'Mantlibi, gave birth at the time (on 26 June 1833) to a daughter,
and Matete's words to Moshoeshoe were preserved by calling the daughter
Nthomeng. As a result Matete came also to bear the teknonym, Ranthomeng
('father of Nthomeng'), a name subsequently preserved in the family.
Today a direct descendant of Paulus Matete, Ranthomeng Matete, is the
Chief of Morija and is also the Secretary of the Interim Political
Authority.
Chief Seepheephe Matete had three wives, and best known were the
children of the first wife 'Mamahao, who included Mahao, Matete and
Mabela, later to be known as 'Mamohato, the senior wife of King
Moshoeshoe. Matete himself had five wives and a large number of
descendants who became chiefs of villages in their own right, including
Ntlibi (aka Ramabilikoe, of Mathebe), Abele (of Setleketseng), Tšoene
(of Phatlalla and Fika-la-Tšoene, Mohale's Hoek), and Setha (who
eventually founded a village at a remote spot on the Senqunyane, which
still falls administratively under Morija).
Chief Matete died on 13 October 1870. The monument to him is very
sparing in detail and even dates. It simply says: Re u hopola ka hlompho,
Morena Matete (We remember you with respect, Chief Matete).
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A procedure used by police forces elsewhere was first seen in Lesotho in
early April when police began to use wheel clamps on cars which had been
illegally parked in Maseru. The government newspaper, Lentsoe la Basotho
of 5 April 2001 carried pictures of clamped cars, these being a novelty
to many of its local readers.
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The Sixth Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Lesotho, Dr
Tefetso Henry Mothibe, was installed in a ceremony at the Roma Campus on
Friday 6 April 2001. Dr Mothibe, born on 14 March 1950, is a Senior
Lecturer in History and most recently had been working in the Institute
of Southern African Studies on a biography of King Moshoeshoe II.
In his speech accepting his new responsibilities, Dr Mothibe referred to
the recent Ernst & Young Management Audit of the University and the
resulting 'transformation exercise' now under way. He also mentioned the
forensic audit currently being undertaken at the university. He referred
to recent past turmoil in the university and pledged himself to create a
stable and peaceful NUL. He recognised the need to establish healthy
'industrial relations' and would create a two-way forum to enable
communication betwen unions and management. He referred to the high
vacancy rate due to local staff leaving Lesotho or joining the civil
service. Although he did not refer to it, those invited guests who might
have walked around the campus would have noticed a phenomenon unique in
the university's history. More than 20 staff houses now stand empty, a
consequence of the combination of unfilled vacancies and local staff
leaving the campus to live in their own houses. Local staff have
benefited from generous housing loans, and the introduction of
'economic' rents for campus housing in January 1999 has been a further
incentive for staff to reside in their own houses.
His Majesty, King Letsie III, who is Chancellor of the University,
also spoke at the occasion. He mentioned that the new Vice-Chancellor
had graduated at NUL with a BA degree and Concurrent Certificate of
Education in 1976, had also acquired a BA degree from the University of
Oxford in 1981, and had subsequently received his PhD from the
University of Wisconsin. He was confident that he would be able to
fulfill his new responsibilities 'although not of towering stature' [the
Chancellor is taller!]. The Chancellor mentioned two particular
concerns. One of these was the truly alarming performance of pupils in
the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate, where in fact only 4% of
candidates in the past year had obtained a credit in English Language.
He urged the university to review the teaching and learning methods for
English Language to remedy the situation. The King also referred to the
fact that the budget allocated to the university had been increasing in
recent years but despite that the student intake had remained largely
unchanged.
The Chancellor's list of the new Vice-Chancellor's qualifications was
supplemented by a number of others provided in a letter to Mopheme of 10
April 2001 by Vuyani Tyhali, Assistant Secretary-General of the Congress
of Lesotho Trade Unions (COLETU). Henry Mothibe was arrested in South
Africa in 1976 at the time of the Soweto uprising and sentenced to 2½
years on Robben Island under the Terrorism Act. His cell mates included
Mosiuoa Lekota from the Free State, now the South African Minister of
Defence; and the late Harry Gwala, who later became a formidable ANC
leader in the Natal Midlands. At NUL, Mothibe was in 1987 the president
of the National University of Lesotho Academic Staff Association (NULASA)
and was again elected president in 1993 when NULASA was transformed into
the Lesotho University Teachers and Researchers Union (LUTARU). Tyhali
concluded his letter with an allegation that the Minister of Education
had 'unleashed its refined fascism' barring LUTARU members from
promotion and empowering the Vice-Chancellor to expel any suspected
LUTARU members from duty. Nevertheless Tyhali congratulated Mothibe on
his new post in which his challenges were 'to revive research and shift
NUL from the consultancy tendency, to support the NUL transformation
forum, and promote efficiency and dialogue'.
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An article has appeared in the most recent issue (vol. 11, no. 2) of the
Lesotho Law Journal about corruption in Lesotho. The LLJ is dated 1998,
but it only appeared in April 2000, reflecting how far the periodical is
behind its publication schedule. Despite the 1998 date, the articles
have been much more recently written, and indeed the corruption article,
in referring to the High Court case in which Masupha Sole was ordered to
repay M7.7 million to the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority,
states that it occurred 'last year'. Judgment was in fact given in 2000
(not 1997, as a reader misled by a date on the cover might expect), and
(except for one minor amount) was later confirmed by the Court of
Appeal.
The author of the article, T. H. Mothibe, is now Vice-Chancellor of the
National University of Lesotho, and he comments that corruption is
experienced in tender awards, especially in the construction industry;
and in public service delivery sectors, for example, hospitals and
clinics, granting of business licences, allocation of land, and at
police road blocks.
Amongst the identified causes of corruption are low wages combined with
lax controls. Old reports [there were no recent ones, since none has
been published relating to a financial year later than 1992-3] of the
Auditor General are quoted in relation to serious accounting
deficiencies. In relation to the magnitude of corruption a series of
court cases is quoted where public officials from the Accountant General
downwards were convicted of fraud or theft.
The author states that 'In a fragile and young democracy (like that of
Lesotho) corruption ... threatens democracy because it breeds cynicism
and alienation of the ordinary people. It debases human rights and
destroys confidence in democracy and undermines government in the eyes
of the people. This leads to a pervasive cynicism about politics and
politicians which is disastrous for democracy. If a society reaches the
point where people believe that they are losing out if they do not
indulge in corrupt practices, then the rule of law gives way to the law
of the jungle. It does not improve the economic prospects of ordinary
people [but] rather destroys them. For a few who become millionaires,
millions become impoverished.'
As far as controls on corruption, a number of relevant bodies and
reforms are mentioned, as well as a recent statute, the Prevention of
Corruption and Economic Offences Act 1999. This makes provision for a
Director of Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences as well as
two Deputy Directors and other staff. There are 53 sections to the Act
and provision for making regulations under the Act. However, it appears
that the Directorate provided by the Act had not yet been set up.
Moreover, as the writer comments, experience has shown that legislation
on its own is not enough.
The 53 Lesotho National Development Corporation workers who had been
retrenched, but later took LNDC to court, had won in the High Court
which ordered their reinstatement. However, in April 2001, when LNDC
appealed against the decision, judgment was given in its favour by the
Lesotho Court of Appeal. It seems that the workers only had one crumb of
comfort. No order was made that they should pay back the salaries which
they had been paid since their reinstatement.
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The long delayed sentencing on members of the police who had been found
guilty of murder and attempted murder was finally reported (although the
date of sentencing was not given) in the government newspaper, Lentsoe
la Basotho, of 19 April 2001. Second Lieutenant Phakiso Molise of the
Lesotho Mounted Police Service, who is already serving a prison sentence
of three years (one suspended) for high treason, sedition and
contravention of the Internal Security Act, was sentenced to a total of
38 years imprisonment. His colleague Motlalepula Mafeto also received a
sentence of 38 years, while three other policemen, Tšokolo Mosae,
Lefata Ramakhula and Sehloho Mokapela received 28 years. The sixth
policeman, Moeketsi Lekoekoe had been found not guilty and released.
The sentencing followed a lengthy trial, at the end of which Molise and
four other policemen had been found guilty of murdering
Lieutenant-Colonel Marabe Penane and Major Karabo Chabeli. They were
also found guilty of shooting with intent to kill three other police
officers who were wounded in the shoot-out at the Maseru Central Police
Station Charge office on 31 October 1995. Following the incident and a
Commission of Inquiry, Molise had evaded arrest, led a rebellion against
the Commissioner of Police, and taken over the Police Headquarters. The
rebellion had been crushed on 16 February 1997, when the Headquarters
Building had been stormed by the Lesotho Defence Force, resulting in
much damage. Molise had then disappeared into South Africa with one of
the other accused Sergeant Thabang Makateng. Although Molise had been
captured in South Africa and deported back to Lesotho, Makateng was
still on the run.
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There had long been rumours about the army contingent which murdered in
broad daylight the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance,
Selometsi Baholo, on the morning of 14 April 1994. A newspaper report in
Public Eye of 13 April 2001 provided the names of 12 soldiers who had
been charged with the murder and were currently on M1000 bail each, with
a number of other conditions including daily reporting to the Ratjomose
barracks. The 12 soldiers are 11 privates and one corporal, who is
already serving seven years in gaol following the recent mutiny trial.
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Persons living downstream of the Katse Reservoir were warned early in
April that the Katse Reservoir was expected to overflow shortly. Unlike
the five previous summers when rainfall was well above average, rainfall
during the 2000 1 summer had been close to normal. However, heavy rain
from mid-March continued until early May. Water overtopped the spillway
of the dam on 18 April 2001.
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A fine of one cow which had been levied on President Thabo Mbeki of
South Africa, was paid in person by the President to King Letsie III at
the King's country residence at Matsieng on 19 April 2001. The Friesland
cow was first handed over to President Mbeki by Winkie Direko, Prime
Minister of the Free State, on behalf of the Manyatseng Farmers'
Association of Ladybrand, whose members had provided it. However, the
cow did not appreciate her importance and made a break for freedom when
press photographers alarmed her with their flash pictures. Fortunately
the Chairman of the Farmers' Association showed he has a way with
distressed cows. He stroked her and whistled softly and calm was
restored.
Thabo Mbeki had been fined the cow for failing to attend the wedding of
King Letsie III. Although he had sent his wife to represent him, it was
considered that he should have attended himself, and for that reason, it
had been made known that he must make restitution by paying a
traditional fine. The fine was of course already more than a year late,
causing some to say that an additional calf must be paid as interest.
However, King Letsie III was happy that what was due to him had been
paid, and indeed interest was imminent because the cow was pregnant.
King Letsie did say, however, that he had to be harsh on the South
African president because Mbeki has 'strong Basotho blood running in his
veins'. (Thabo Mbeki's mother, Epainette Mbeki née Moerane, is a
Mosotho, and Thabo is of course a common Sesotho first name).
In a busy one day schedule, President Mbeki managed to fit in meetings
with the Interim Political Authority and with the Independent Electoral
Commission. A joint communiqué was issued and a joint press conference
was held with Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
Amongst issues discussed were border control mechanisms and study
permits, and it was agreed that in future the many Basotho studying in
South Africa would get permits for the whole period, and would not need
to renew them annually.
Three important agreements were signed during the visit, one of them
establishing a Joint Bilateral Commission of Cooperation. A new
Extradition Treaty was also signed and also a Treaty on Mutual Legal
Assistance. The latter treaty was designed so that South African
authorities would assist Lesotho in criminal investigations aimed at
suspected criminals who had absconded to South Africa and might
subsequently be deported.
Unfortunately the texts of Lesotho's treaties are not published in any
easily accessible form such as the Lesotho Government Gazette or the
Laws of Lesotho. Since South Africa does not have the death penalty,
while it still exists in Lesotho, although seldom applied, it seems
likely that the extradition treaty would not allow a person captured in
South Africa to be extradited for an offence such as murder, for which
capital punishment could theoretically be applied. Thus persons wanted
on murder charges in Lesotho could flee to South Africa without fear of
their being sent back to the country where the crime had been committed.
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As President Mbeki left for the airport on 19 April, he was
accompanied by a convoy of cars each carrying a different cabinet
minister. As usual under such circumstances, these cars travel at high
speed with flashing lights and sirens. It seems that at Lithabaneng some
5 km outside Maseru, another government vehicle, which had temporarily
stalled, was flashing its hazard warning lights, and failed to pull off
the roadway in time. The first car in the convoy, bearing the Minister
of Communications, 'Nyane Mphafi, was forced to brake. It was
immediately hit from behind by a car bearing the Minister of
Agriculture, Vova Bulane, which in turn was hit by another car bearing
the Minister of Health, Tefo Mabote. The four car pile-up was completed
by Tefo Mabote's car being hit by a car bearing the Government
Secretary, Kenneth Mohlabi Tsekoa. Although no one was hurt, and all
completed the journey to the airport in other cars, only one of the four
vehicles could leave the scene of the accident unaided, and the
privatised Imperial Fleet Services had to work overtime to remove the
cars for repairs.
This incident prompted an anonymous letter to Public Eye of 4 May 2001.
This letter was severely critical of the way that the chauffeurs of
cabinet ministers and accompanying police escorts break speed limits,
pass through red lights, and through the accompanying motor-cycle escort
require other road users to pull off the roadway, thus flouting the law
and indeed the Constitution which guarantees equality before the law. It
calls for public figures to be driven with dignity, and for their
drivers to observe the law. The letter is also extremely critical of a
relatively new phenomenon, less than two years old, by which funeral
companies equip hearses with sirens and flashing lights and similarly
believe they have the right to drive through red lights. It calls for
flashing lights and sirens to be reserved for genuine emergency services
such as ambulances.
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A new periodical, Mara, appeared in April describing itself at the
'official Lesotho Defence Force newspaper'. It is in fact in magazine
rather than newspaper format and the 24 pages of the first issue are in
full colour with one or more illustrations on each page. The first issue
covers the period January to March 2001, although the editorial states
the intention of publishing once every two months. The editor is Captain
Tanki Josias Mothae, Public Relations Officer of the LDF.
Amongst articles in the first issue are profiles of the Commander of the
LDF, Lt-Gen Augustinus Makhula Mosakeng and of the Deputy Commander, Maj-Gen
Anthony Rachobokoane Thibeli. There is also an article about troop
deployment along Lesotho's southern border, where members of the LDF
have been active since 1996 to combat cross-border crime and stock
theft. Another article describes the establishment of a Training Wing in
the army, something which had previously not existed. It originated with
'Operation Maluti' established with the help of the SADC forces in May
1999. Further training was expected soon with the arrival of instructors
from India, and the likelihood that some LDF personnel would be trained
in India. The 12 army reporters who have contributed towards the first
issue, also wrote about their own training in a Basic Journalism course
which ended at Ratjomose Barracks on 2 March 2001.
A more modest publication is Lesotho Post News published by the postal
department and edited by M. T. Mlanga. The 6 pages of its first edition
in April 2001 include pictures of postal staff, details of a stamp
design contest and news of workshops attended by postal staff.
Another publication which first appeared in Maseru in May 2001 is
Nutthouse, an A4 format free newspaper which originated in Ladybrand in
1997 as Madhouse Weekly. It later became a fortnightly serving the
eastern Free State as far as Clarens. The Maseru edition consists of
eight extra pages of mainly Lesotho advertisements wrapped around the
Free State paper. The newspaper contains very little local news, but its
'Regular Events' section does provide a cross-section of special
interest groups in Maseru ranging from the Maseru Hash Harriers (social
jogging), to the Rotary Club of Maseru, the Rainbow Toastmasters' Club
and the Maseru Bridge Club. Details are also given of church services,
including a service in Chinese held at the Maseru United Church at 2.30
p.m. each Sunday. It is not known why Nutthouse has a double t. Its
owner is Italian, and coming from the land of tutti frutti, he might
have felt that doubling the internal consonant added an extra zany touch
to his nutty masthead.
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A report in Moeletsi oa Basotho of 16 April 2001 quoted reliable
sources as saying that government was at last going to compensate the
families of the 16 soldiers killed at Katse on 22 September 1998, and
that each family would receive M200000. The soldiers were killed, most
of them incinerated in their bunks, when they refused to surrender to
the SADC intervention force, and their barracks was fire-bombed by South
African Defence Force helicopters.
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Judgment was given in April, by Mr Justice Maqutu in the case of the
four remaining accused who were being tried for the murder of an Irish
aid worker, 75-year old Irish national, Ken Hickey, who had been stabbed
to death and his vehicle stolen when he returned to his home close to
Hoohlo Primary School in Maseru West on the evening of 21 January 1999.
Sechaba Ramaema, a son of the former head of the Military Council,
Major-General Phisoana Ramaema (at whose residence the stolen vehicle
had been found), was sentenced to 20 years for armed robbery. Two of the
other three accused were sentenced for murder and armed robbery and were
given effective sentences of 12 years. The third accused was sentenced
to 5 years imprisonment for murder.
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The Honourable Kelebone Maope, who is both Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Finance and Development Planning, presented the Budget
Speech for the Year 2001/2002 to Parliament on 27 April 2001. By this
time, the new financial year was already nearly a month old.
In reviewing the performance during the previous financial year, the
Minister of Finance stated that the gross domestic product had (mainly
as a result of a growth of 9% in manufacturing industry) risen by 2.5%
in 2000, but further decline in migrant labour income had offset this,
and it was projected that the Gross National Product would not recover
to its 1998 level until 2003.
Amongst challenges facing the economy, poverty remained Lesotho's number
one enemy, with 50% of households estimated at living below the poverty
line, and 40% of the labour force in search of gainful employment. A
Poverty Reduction Strategy was being implemented which included direct
measures such as the progressive introduction of free primary education;
and indirect measures which include expanding the capacity of the
private sector to create more jobs. In this respect it was important to
ensure that advantage was taken of the United States Africa Growth and
Opportunities Act before investors turned to other countries in the
region. Lesotho was now (after South Africa and Mauritius) the third
largest sub-Saharan exporter of textiles to the USA.
Reference was made to South Africa's signing the Trade, Development and
Cooperation Agreement with the European Union, granting South Africa's
exports the same duty free access to the EU as Lesotho's exports. The EU
agreement requires South Africa in return to reduce tariffs on EU goods
entering the Common Customs Area, and this was expected to affect
Lesotho adversely through reduction in the amount paid to Lesotho
through the Customs Union Agreement. However, the ratification by
Lesotho of the SADC Trade Protocol would open up a SADC market of 170
million potential consumers for Lesotho goods.
A semi-autonomous Lesotho Revenue Authority was to be established by Act
of Parliament to 'introduce corporate culture in revenue collection'.
Value Added Tax (VAT) would be introduced on or around 1 April 2002
under the auspices of the Lesotho Revenue Authority.
Overall the Minister presented a budget total appropriation of M3 300
million together with loan repayments of M400 million. This was made up
of M2 900 000 from government resources, M300 million in grants, and
M300 million in loans. The overall deficit was estimated at 0.6% of
Gross National Product. Amongst revenue, tax was estimated to bring in
M2 300 million, of which M1 400 million was from Customs Union receipts,
M530 million from income tax, M365 million from sales tax, M167 million
from water royalties and M384 million from a variety of other sources.
Of the M3 300 million total appropriation, M2 500 million was for
recurrent expenditure (slightly over M1 000 million of this for
salaries) and M800 million for capital expenditure.
By sector, Education was receiving the largest allocation at M691
million, a rise of 15%, this being particularly provided for extending
free primary education which now covers the first two years of
schooling. Health at M236 million receives a 13.4% increase, and is the
second largest share. Defence at M195 million receives the third largest
share, it being noted that M25 million of the allocation was for the
purchase of helicopters.
Overall it was noted that the GNP had contracted by 11.5% since 1998,
and the projected growth for 2001/2 is only 1.7%. On the basis of this,
and consistent with the wage bill ceiling being 14.9% of Gross Domestic
Product, the increase in salaries of civil servants over the coming year
would be only 2%.
Conspicuously absent from the Budget Speech was mention of pensions for
the elderly, which had figured prominently in the budget speeches for
1997/8, 1998/9 and 1999/2000, but had disappeared from budget speeches
from 2000/1 onwards. In the budget speech of 1998/9 it had for example
been stated that a feasibility study had costed at M100 million per
annum a scheme to pay all persons over the age of 65 a pension of M100
per month. (This cost is considerably less than water royalties received
as a result of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.) Although there is
much in the 2000/1 Budget about poverty reduction measures, pensions for
the elderly do not seem to be among them. The only social welfare
pensions at present are paid to disabled persons and 'war veterans of
the two world wars and their widows' who receive M100.00 per month.
Those in the 'war veterans and widows' category apparently number about
1000 persons (and a lump sum for their future payments, which do not
seem to have kept pace with inflation, had in any case been given to the
Lesotho Government many years back by the British Government). The 1998
study had estimated the number of persons over 65 at 85413. It thus
seems that less than 1.5% of the elderly receive any form of social
welfare pension.
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The Budget announcement of a 2% salary rise for civil servants was the
first rise for three years, and follows two successive years when civil
servants received no rise in salaries at all, other than normal
increments. Following the disastrous disruption to the economy in 1998,
no salary increases were announced in the 1999 and 2000 budgets,
although university staff, who are on separate pay scales, managed to
negotiate a 4% rise during 2000.
Annual inflation in Lesotho over the last three years, as measured in
October 1998, October 1999 and October 2000, has been respectively 9.1%,
6.8% and 6.4%, which accumulates to a total of 24.0% (1.091 x 1.068 x
1.064 1.024). Most civil servants are on salary scales where the annual
increments are between 3% and 3.5% of salary. Even allowing for these
increments, and the 2% rise announced in the Budget, civil servants are
now receiving 10% less in real terms than they were three years ago.
Those civil servants who in 1998 happened to be already on the top notch
of any of the 20 different grades in the civil service salary structure,
and were not promoted to a higher grade in the following three years,
are worst off. Not having received any annual increments, they are more
than 20% worse off in real terms, even allowing for the 2% rise.
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Four members of the 80-seat National assembly died within a few days
of each other in late April and early May.
Amongst them was a former minister, Lira Joseph Motete, aged 69, who had
declined ministerial responsibility in the present Parliament, because
he was suffering from diabetes, from which he eventually died. Lira
Motete had joined the BCP since 1959, and had been imprisoned in 1970-2
after the coup which suspended democracy. After working for many years
in an administrative position in the South African mines, he had
returned to Lesotho in 1985. He was elected MP for the Tsikoane
constituency when democracy was restored in 1993. In 1998 he was elected
to the Likhetlane constituency, which includes the town of Maputsoe. He
had held several different cabinet portfolios, having been successively
Deputy Minister of Finance, Minister of Information, Minister of Public
Works and Minister of Trade and Industry. At his funeral on 12 May,
speeches were given by representatives of both the ruling Lesotho
Congress for Democracy and of the Basutoland Congress Party. Speaking on
behalf of the BCP, Tšeliso Makhakhe said that Lira Motete's death had
united the parties and his own party's National Executive Committee was
working on a reunion with the LCD.
Three other MPs also died from natural causes. They were Motlalentoa
Joseph Mohlakola of Pulane constituency, Abednego Seisa Nqojane of
Mohale's Hoek constituency and Teboho Mohapeloa of Ketane constituency.
Although normally by-elections would be held to replace them in
Parliament, it is understood that with a General Election expected
within a year, their seats would remain vacant until that time.
Meanwhile the death was reported of a member of the Interim Political
Authority of Limakatso Ntakatsane. She had been representing the
Kopanang Basotho Party, the only Lesotho political party headed by a
woman. Limakatso Ntakatsane died of cancer in Bloemfontein on 27 April.
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Maluti Adventist Hospital in Mapoteng celebrated its 50th anniversary on
Friday 27 April 2001. The hospital was founded by the Seventh Day
Adventist Church and opened on March 1951 with 30 beds and one doctor
and six nurses. It now has 170 beds.
The Nurses' Training School graduated its first trainees in 1962, since
when a total of 450 nurses have graduated, 197 of them qualifying also
as midwives.
A maternity ward was built in 1970, and new students' hostel in 1974.Guest of honour at the celebrations was Queen Karabo, who had herself
been born at the hospital.
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The Member of Parliament for Hlotse Constituency, Sello Maphalla, was
hijacked on the evening of 29 April after he had given a lift to four
men near Mahobong. They assaulted him and his travelling companion,
seized Maphalla's pistol and left the MP and his companion beside the
road. The vehicle was later found overturned near the Phuthiatsana River
in Berea District. One of the hijackers died in the accident and the
others, who are reported to be from Mahobong, were arrested. The
surviving hijackers were due to appear before the Leribe Magistrate's
Court charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
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Lesotho first depicted butterflies on stamps in 1973 with seven
stamps depicting butterflies all of which can be found in Lesotho.
Now that most Lesotho stamps are designed in New York without the advice
of a local committee, almost any designs and themes appear on Lesotho's
stamps whether relevant to Lesotho or not. The latest stamps, issued on
30 April 2001, consist of 31 different butterflies and one bird, which
is not even an African bird.
Lesotho has over 80 different recorded species of butterfly, but only
two of them make it onto the stamps, these being the African Migrant,
Catopsila flavella, and the Broad-bordered Grass Yellow, Eurema brigitta.
Both of these butterflies have also appeared previously on Lesotho
stamps.
Three other butterflies depicted on the stamps are found in southern
Africa, the Wanderer, Bematistes aganice; the Crimson or Scarlet Tip,
Colotis danae; and the Mocker Swallowtail, Papilio dardanus. However
there are as yet no Lesotho records for any of these.
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World Press Freedom Day (Thursday 3 May) was marked in 2001 by the Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) by the release of its report, So
this is democracy. This chronicles 182 violations against the media in
southern African countries, and it will come as no surprise to many that
Zimbabwe heads the list with 46 of the listed incidents, followed by
Zambia with 31 incidents, Angola 24, Swaziland and Namibia 18 each and
Malawi with 16 incidents. Lesotho came bottom of the list with just two
incidents.
Although journalists had a tough time under the regime of Leabua
Jonathan and the following military regime, it is noteworthy that since
the restoration of democracy, the press has suffered relatively little
harassment. Its worst moments were in the troubles of 1998, when the
burning of Maseru's Central Business District led to several newspaper
offices being destroyed. However, there is no evidence that they were
targeted because they were newspaper offices. They were simply destroyed
as parts of conflagrations which engulfed whole buildings. Most
newspapers managed to survive the setback and were back on the streets
within a week or two.
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The Commission of Inquiry into the 1998 political disturbances which was
appointed on 3 April 2000 and began work on 25 April 2000, finally
completed its hearings on 8 May 2001. The Chairman of the Commission,
Judge R. N. Leon, as quoted in Likereke Ntlafatsong (no. 4 of 2001)
indicated that he hoped that the Commission would be able to release its
report in October 2001.
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The death occurred on 10 May 2001 of Gwendoline Mpokho Malahleha. She
died at her brother's home in Maseru after a long illness, but was still
teaching at the National University of Lesotho until a month before her
death.
Gwen Malahleha, known affectionately as 'Ausi Gwen' to her friends,
was born about 1943 at Mafube, the mission station founded by the Paris
Evangelical Missionary Society near Matatiele for Basotho who, like her
father, had emigrated from Lesotho into East Griqualand. Her parents
Ephraim and Motšelisi Malahleha had ten children of whom Gwen was the
seventh child and second daughter. Ephraim Malahleha was a teacher at
Mafube, and Gwen's early education was at Mafube and at Polela
Institution in Natal. She completed High School at Moeng College in
Botswana where her older brother 'GG' Malahleha held a teaching post.
Thereafter she proceeded to Lusaka to the Oppenheimer College for Social
Work, which became in time a part of the University of Zambia. As
Lesotho's then sole local qualified psychiatric social worker, she was
based at Mohlomi Hospital, proceeding from there to the University of
New South Wales in Australia where in 1974 she was awarded the degree of
Master of Social Work.
In 1975, Gwen Malahleha worked as a part-time lecturer in the Department
of Sociology/Social Anthropology of the newly created National
University of Lesotho. She became a full-time lecturer in 1976 and was
head of department from 1978 to 1981. She followed her older sister, who
was a social worker in South Africa, to the University of Surrey in
England, where she completed her PhD in 1984, her dissertation having
the title, An ethnographic study of shebeens in Lesotho. Part of the
participant research for this study was undertaken as a barmaid in
Thibella, a suburb of Maseru where drinking establishments and friendly
women were skilled at inducing newly returned migrant workers to part
with their money.
Gwen was later appointed Director of the Institute of Southern African
Studies and also Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Roma. In 1990
she became the first Mosotho woman Associate Professor (there are now
two others). In 1994, Gwen was a Fulbright Research Fellow at the
University of California Los Angeles, and from 1995 to 1997 she was
Lesotho's High Commissioner to Canada. She was the last person to hold
this post, the High Commission being closed down as an economy measure
in 1997.
Gwen Malahleha, already stricken with cancer, returned to Roma in 1997
to teach. She was able, despite spells in hospital, to continue until
April 2001, when the disease finally incapacitated her.
Her friends remember Gwen as a person of cultured taste, urbane manners
and wide international experience. Although she never married, she had
two adopted daughters, Pontšo and Tšepiso, who had travelled widely
with her and are now students respectively at Wits University and
Machabeng.
A memorial service for Gwen Malahleha was held at the Roma Campus of the
National University of Lesotho on 17 May 2001. Her funeral, which was
attended by a large number of her friends and relatives, was held at
Machabeng College in Maseru on Saturday 19 May, followed by interment at
Maseru West Cemetery.
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The house in Maseru West of the late Evaristus Retšelisitsoe Sekhonyana,
former leader of the Basotho National Party, and a former Minister of
Finance and Foreign Minister in the Military Government and its
predecessor BNP government, was advertised for sale by public auction in
the Lesotho Government Gazette of 6 April 2001. The sale was in
execution of a judgment in favour of Standard Chartered Bank against two
wives of E. R. Sekhonyana and Sekhonyana's estate.
The large house, situated in the same road and adjoining the British
Council Representative's house, includes six bedrooms, three bathrooms,
two lounges, two kitchens, sauna, swimming pool, roof garden, guest
accommodation with two bedrooms, accommodation for four servants and a
number of offices. In its heyday, the house always flew the BNP flag,
and it also housed the offices of the BNP newspaper, Mohlanka.
The auction was on 12 May 2001, and there was an undisclosed reserve
price. It was not immediately apparent who might have bought the house,
if anyone. In the present economic situation in Lesotho, very few
Basotho would have the required capital for such a purchase. Lesotho law
does not permit non-citizens to purchase property, except through a
company, at least 51% of the shareholders of which are Lesotho citizens.
The late E. R. Sekhonyana is known to have been indebted to
commercial banks in Lesotho to the extent of many millions of maloti. At
least partly offsetting these debts, he had considerable assets in the
form of property. Apart from the house in Maseru West, he owned a modern
hotel in Moyeni, and a luxurious modern house at Fort Hartley in Quthing
District.
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A report in Moeletsi oa Basotho of 20 May 2001, told the sad story of a
17-year old youth from Mauteng Ha Sanaha, who was faced with the problem
of a flat PP10 radio battery. In his naïvety, he climbed a metal pylon
of the new 33 kW line from Mazenod to Mafeteng, hoping to recharge the
battery. Unfortunately his lack of knowledge of physics cost him his
life. He literally burned his fingers, fell from the pole and although
he managed to crawl home, he died soon afterwards.
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Sentencing took place on 15 May 2001 in the case in which three persons
had been charged with the murder of two Ministry of Education officials,
'Mamolulela Mofolo and Sekoli Moeketsi in 1995. The two officials had
been abducted and their car stolen, and their bodies had later been
found at Ha Lumisi on the northern outskirts of Mafeteng.
Under the Motor Vehicle Theft Act 2000, the penalties for armed theft of
motor vehicles are now very severe and mandatory, and when accompanied
by murder, they can be very long indeed. Mr Justice Mahapela Lehohla
sentenced Refiloe Mokalanyane to 56 years imprisonment, of which he will
serve an effective 31 years, while Mokherane Tsatsanyane and Andreas van
der Merwe who were on lesser charges of car theft were each given 6
years imprisonment, an effective 3 years for Tsatsanyane and just 18
months for Van der Merwe, who had already been detained for 18 months.
Originally, there had been five persons charged in the case, but
Moeketsi Mofihli is still at large, while a second of those charged,
with the name Mosoeu, turned crown witness. Mokalanyane apparently
escaped the death sentence only because he was aged 19 at the time of
the crime, which was held to be a mitigating circumstance.
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As reported in Southern Star of 15 June, a statement from the Ministry
of Public Works and Transport deplored incidents on the evening of
Wednesday 16 May 2001, when buses belonging to the Lesotho Freight and
Bus Corporation and Mr George Kou were shot at several times. No-one was
hurt and no-one was arrested, but the buses were damaged.
The incident occurred at Thetsane, the terminus of one of the most
lucrative minibus taxi routes in Lesotho, because at peak periods
thousands of factory workers need transport to get home. The taxi owners
are known to be resentful that larger buses have been licensed to meet
transport demands at peak hours. There is also the problem for the taxi
owners that the prescribed fares for buses are less than those for taxis
so that on the same route, commuters may prefer to pay less, even if the
journey takes rather longer.
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A judge of the Lesotho High Court, Mr Justice Churchill Maqutu, left
Lesotho in May to serve on the International Criminal Tribunal in Arusha,
Tanzania. The Tribunal was set up by the United Nations to try those
alleged to be perpetrators of the 1994 massacres in Rwanda.
The appointment of Justice Maqutu and of a Malagasy judge to serve on
the Tribunal were both approved by the United Nations Security Council.
It is not clear how long he will be serving in Arusha, nor whether a
replacement judge will be appointed during his absence from Lesotho.
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One of Lesotho's best known and most useful shops, Wool Wagon, was
destroyed by fire on the evening of Wednesday 16 May. The cause of the
fire is not known, and the fire fortunately did not spread to other
shops in the same complex, which is owned by Phomolo Investments on a
site owned by the Lesotho Evangelical Church, and is located not far
from the LEC Church in Maseru.
It is estimated that M6 million of stock including dressmaking material,
sewing machines, knitting machines and made-up clothes was destroyed in
the blaze.
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Newspapers in late May and early June gave much space to a story that an
unmarried 19-year-old girl had given birth to a snake at Queen Elizabeth
II Hospital on 18 May. The story was carried by both Sesotho and English
newspapers, and the Catholic newspaper, Moeletsi oa Basotho in its issue
of 10 June 2001 even made it the lead story. However, Dr N. Rathabaneng,
of the 'Maliako Maternity Ward, when confronted with the story,
dismissed it as likely to have originated from hallucinations during
delivery: the young mother had given birth only to a baby boy. However,
this did not stop the story being embroidered further by journalists,
and the young mother being now described as having given birth to twins,
one of which was a snake.
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Security fences in Lesotho are seldom very effective, but one of their
undoubted uses is to provide local inhabitants with sources of wire for
their own fencing and for other purposes. However, in the case of
Lesotho's Moshoeshoe I International Airport it is obviously important
that the security fence is maintained and that grazing animals are not
allowed to stray near the runway.
According to reports in the various weekly newspapers (for example
Mopheme of 22 May 2001 and Moeletsi oa Basotho of 27 May 2001), the
Director of Civil Aviation, Mr Ketso Moeketsi had spoken at the airport
with reporters on 18 May, and had taken them on a tour to see damage
which included broken doors on the equipment store, cutting of electric
cables, parts taken from the equipment used for unloading aircraft and
from equipment used to service aircraft. Moreover some 6 km of the 14 km
perimeter fence had been damaged and even the poles taken on a 5 km
stretch. Animals were freely grazing inside the perimeter fence and cow
dung had been found on the runway. The cost of replacing the fencing
with more effective razor wire would be around M300 000. Mr Moeketsi put
the blame on soldiers whose guard house immediately adjoined the
equipment store and said that the airport authorities had been forced to
install their own private security guards.
The Public Relations Officer of the Lesotho Defence Force, Captain Tanki
Mothae, when approached by Moeletsi oa Basotho, denied that soldiers
were responsible for the damage and blamed the airport security guards.
Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent 'Mamotlatsi Mapetlane reported that
various items of airport equipment had been recovered from surrounding
villages and that when it had been gathered together, appropriate steps
would be taken.
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Lentsoe la Basotho of 31 May reported that an agreement had been
signed between Lesotho and the Government of India under which 16
members of the Indian Army would come to Lesotho to train the Lesotho
Defence Force. Their salaries for one year would be met by the Indian
Government, but if Lesotho wished to extend their contracts beyond one
year, then it would have to meet the salary for the additional period.
India has had earlier experience in providing military training in
southern Africa. The Botswana Defence Force in Gaborone at one time
benefited from its expertise.
Speaking at a press conference on 12 June, the Commander of the Lesotho
Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Makhula Mosakeng said that the Indian
team would assume duty on 1 July 2001 and would be assisting in further
restructuring and retraining of the LDF. This was a second stage in
retraining following the SADC training after the 1998 insurrection.
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Writing in the Mountain Echo, a Himeville newspaper which circulates
along Lesotho's eastern border and also in Mokhotlong, Arthur Champkins
gave an account of his visit to the 2001 Tourism Indaba in Durban. His
account was very critical of the Lesotho stall, because it was staffed
by people who could not provide answers to questions people were always
asking him. Did they have information on Sehlabathebe National Park and
how could you book accommodation there? Again how could you book at
Katse Lodge? No one on the stall had relevant brochures or answers. His
own view was that Lesotho had many attractions particularly to the 4 x 4
driver, its attractions being the sense of adventure and remoteness,
whereas he felt that the tourism people thought that development was
tarring all the roads and 'putting up Holiday Inns at every bend or
viewsite'.
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As reported in the police newspaper Leseli ka Sepolesa of 7 June 2001, a
policeman, Lesala Makopoi, who had disappeared at the same time as a
vehicle was stolen from police headquarters in Maseru, was arrested when
he turned up to collect his monthly paycheck. The vehicle meanwhile had
been found dismantled in a garage in Butha-Buthe, with some of its parts
already sold. The garage owner, Nthebere Pholosa, was also arrested on a
charge of car theft. Those charged face many years in gaol under the
very severe penalties now provided for under the Motor Vehicle Theft Act
2000 (Act no. 13 of 2000). Even for a first offence, a person convicted
receives a sentence of not less than eight years without the option of a
fine.
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A report in Leseli ka Sepolesa of 7 June 2001, described the finding of
two corpses at Qoqolosing on the Leribe Plateau on Sunday 27 May 2001.
The corpses were of two men aged about 44 and 54. Parts found to be
missing included ears, windpipes, eyes and one corpse had had the brain
removed. Although the report did not name the victims, it quoted one of
their work mates as saying that he had last seen the two men at
Lithabaneng, Maseru when they were present for a ceremonial removal of
mourning cloth. Such ceremonies take place on Saturdays, and presumably
the report means that they had been seen the day before their bodies
were found over 100 km away.
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The new Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly is Peter 'Nau Khali. On
this occasion, there was no objection to the Deputy Clerk standing for
election, and also, since he was a member of Parliament, there was no
objection to Litšitso Tjaoane MP, the other candidate, being allowed to
vote, giving him an obvious one vote advantage over Khali. The final
vote was 38 to 36, and the Speaker, Ms Ntlhoi Motsamai, will now have
some relief from non-stop occupation of the Speaker's Chair.
Khadi (his surname spelled thus) was profiled by Southern Star of 1
June 2001. He is aged 63, and hails from Mokhotlong, but completed his
education in Matatiele, Morija and at Basutoland High School in Maseru.
He has worked in a number of civil service positions and also served
with Lesotho overseas missions in Rome and London.
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The Ambassador of the United States to Lesotho, Katherine Peterson, left
Lesotho at the end of May, after two years and nine months service. She
had arrived in 1998 amidst political turmoil, but was leaving in more
peaceful times. A farewell party for Kathy Peterson was given at the
Lesotho Sun hotel.
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Much media speculation about splits within the ruling Lesotho Congress
for Democracy (LCD) was given some substance when a group calling itself
LCD-National Executive Committee 2000 (LCD-NEC 2000) held a press
conference on 16 May 2001 at the Hotel Victoria in Maseru. A statement
was released by Pashu Mochesane MP, assisted by Dr L. V. Ketso MP and
Liau Nooe MP citing irregularities in the 26-28 January Annual General
Meeting and asking for a repeat conference. The press conference had
been called because Radio Lesotho had refused to broadcast the
statement. A number of the office bearers elected at the January meeting
had been elected by very small margins so that various irregularities
could have influenced the outcome.
Just over a week later, there was an unusual announcement on Radio
Lesotho that a planned vigil at the late Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle's
tomb in Teyateyaneng would not be permitted because the tomb was
government property.
As reported in The Mirror of 30 May 2001, the vigil had been planned by
the Lesiba faction to be held on Sunday 27 May 2001, following an
all-night party at Teyateyaneng's Olympic Hotel. However, the vigil was
in the end cancelled at the request of the Mokhehle family.
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Lesotho's Minister for Environment, Gender and Youth Affairs, Mrs 'Mathabiso
Lepono, met her South African counterpart, the Minister of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism, Mr Valli Moosa, in Lesotho's Sehlabathebe National
Park, Qacha's Nek District, on Monday 11 June 2001. A signing ceremony
was held for a memorandum of understanding which is the first stage in a
M120 million Maloti/Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Project. The
project is funded by the Global Environmental Facility, a mechanism for
international cooperation providing grant (as in this case) or
concessional funding to achieve global environment benefits. GEF
operates as a collaborative partnership with three implementing
agencies, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations
Environment Programme and the World Bank.
The total area for project activities is extensive, being defined on the
Lesotho side as including Sehlabathebe National Park and a 'study area'
within 20 km of the international boundary from Qacha's Nek to the point
where the south-western extremity of the Golden Gate National Park meets
the Mohokare (Caledon) River, and also including the Upper Bokong and
Tšehlanyane Nature Reserves and adjacent areas. On the South African
side, the area includes the Royal Natal National Park and the very much
larger and more recently created uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park which
stretches along the Lesotho border from the source of the Senqu to
Sehlabathebe. Outside these is included a Special Conservation Area
including land in KwaZulu-Natal up to approximately 40 km from the
border and also including as 'study areas' areas adjoining Lesotho
towards the headwaters of the Mohokare in the Free State and to the
south-east of Qacha's Nek in the Eastern Cape.
The signing ceremony was high profile with a number of cabinet
ministers from both sides present. Also present was Dr Anton Rupert of
the Rembrandt Foundation, who was also the founder of the Peace Park
Foundation in South Africa. The Maloti/Drakensberg Transfrontier
Conservation Project envisages the creation of southern Africa's third
'Peace Park', a park which crosses an international boundary. The
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Conservation Area between Botswana and South
Africa was formally agreed in 2000, and the 'Gaza-Kruger-Gonarezhou
Tranfrontier Park between South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe is
expected to be opened in 2002. In the case of the project area, it seems
likely that the transfrontier park would consist of the Sehlabathebe and
uKhahlamba Drakensberg Parks which already share a common boundary,
although access between them is only by bridle path.
The Ukhahlamba Drakensberg conservation area was declared by UNESCO in
December 2000 to be a World Heritage Site, and the signed agreement
might make it possible for this site to be extended into Lesotho. At
present Lesotho has no World Heritage Sites.
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Possibly because several senior members of Government were in
Sehlabathebe, there was a relatively small turnout on Monday 11 June at
the National Convention Centre for the launching of the Vision 2020
report. The report derives from a three-day gathering at the same venue
in January, which had been held to draft the Vision 2020 statement.
Present at the January meeting had been over 500 participants,
representative of government, the civil service, political parties,
professional associations, educational institutions, youth groups,
non-governmental organizations and others. Its stated objectives were to
identify successes and failures of Lesotho's past development strategies
and to initiate processes towards developing a National Vision. Five
particular resource persons from within and outside Lesotho had made
presentations.
As stated in the report, the vision statement adopted by the Dialogue
was as follows:
By 2020, Lesotho shall be a stable democratic, united, prosperous nation
at peace with itself and its neighbours. It shall have a healthy and
well developed human resource base. Its economy will be strong, its
environment well managed and its technology well established.
Amongst recommendations in the report are that whereas other reports
normally gather dust on the shelves of government offices, this report
should be widely disseminated in English and Sesotho. One of the major
recommendations, was that a committee should be established after the
conference to facilitate development of the National Vision. The
Government Secretary, Mr Kenneth Mohlabi Tsekoa announced at the
launching that cabinet had indeed approved a steering committee with
wide representation to implement the Vision 2020 report.
The report on the National Dialogue is the work of a 'Vision 2020
Facilitation Partnership Committee' which consisted of the Government
Secretary as Chairman, the Government Task Force (mainly Principal
Secretaries), and a 'NIL Consortium Forum Facilitating Team', whose
membership was drawn from the National University of Lesotho, the
Institute of Development Management and the Lesotho Institute of Public
Administration and Management.
The report is printed at Morija Printing Works and consists of two
separate volumes, the second of which contains eleven annexes which
range from the papers of resource persons to a summary of group work
discussions and the names of the participants.
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A mining agreement was signed on Tuesday 12 June between the Lesotho
Government and Liqhobong Mining Development Company (LMDC). This permits
the Company to mine diamonds at Liqhobong, a remote point in the
Malibamatšo valley in Butha-Buthe District. The Liqhobong Project will
initially investigate a satellite pipe of the main kimberlite pipe at a
cost of US$7 million, providing employment for some 90 people, including
expatriates. Earlier investigations in the area had cost some US$60
million.
Liqhobong pipe has been known for some three decades, but for most of
that time it has been worked only by individual diggers, unable to dig
more than a few metres below the surface.
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Kenneth Mohlabi Tsekoa, who until the day before had been Government
Secretary, was on 14 June 2001 sworn in as a Member of the Senate. Also
appointed to the Senate was Dr Pontšo Sekatle, a Senior Lecturer in the
Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the National
University of Lesotho. Newspapers speculated that their appointment to
the Senate might be in preparation for their appointment to the Cabinet,
much in the way that the present Deputy Prime Minister, Kelebone Maope,
had entered Parliament originally through the Senate.
In place of Kenneth Tsekoa, Semano Sekatle (husband of Pontšo Sekatle),
the Principal Secretary to the Ministry of the Public Service, was
appointed Acting Government Secretary.
The appointments to Senate had been made possible by the vacancies
created by the deaths of two of the 11 appointed Senators, the veteran
politician, B. M. Khaketla, and Chieftainess 'Maqajela Lebona of
Thaba-Tšoeu, one of the two independent chiefs from Mohale's Hoek, who
although not entitled like principal chiefs to ex officio membership,
had since the restoration of democracy in 1993 in practice both been
appointed to the Senate. Only one of these independent chiefs is now a
senator. 'Maqajela Lebona had died in August 1999 and Khaketla in
January 2000.
Senators are appointed by the King on the advice of the Council of
State, a body whose membership consists of the Prime Minister, the
Speaker of the National Assembly, two Judges, the Attorney-General, the
Commander of the Defence Force, the Commissioner of Police, a Principal
Chief, two MPs, three nominees of the Prime Minister and a nominee of
the Law Society.
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Southern Star of 15 June 2001 carried a report on the Maseru Private
Hospital, which despite rumours that it was about to close, wished to
make the point that it was indeed very much still open. The
Administrator, Mrs E. M. Maieane, admitted that the hospital had been
forced to go into liquidation because of debts of M17 million, but it
was nevertheless appealing to the public to use its services. To
encourage more extensive use, it had reduced the consultation fee from
M120 to M50, and had reduced inpatient charges from M500 to M250 per
day. The inpatient charges compared favourably with the Ladybrand
Hospital where the charges were M800 per day.
Situated at Ha Thetsane 5 km from the centre of Maseru, the hospital
began operating in December 1996 with advanced modern equipment, 32
beds, an outpatients department, two delivery rooms, two operating
theatres, a pharmacy, and a staff of 40. There are two full-time doctors
and one part-time doctor. The Lesotho National Development Corporation
holds 60% of the shares in the hospital, while 25% are held by Med
Investment Group, a group of doctors and local people. A South African
group, Time Controlling Investment, holds the remaining 15% of the
shares.
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The former Chief Executive of the Lesotho Highlands Development
Authority, Masupha Sole, lost his appeal in the Lesotho Court of Appeal
early in April 2001 against a judgment in which the Lesotho Highlands
Development Authority had successfully been awarded M7.7 million as a
result of a civil action heard in the High Court the previous year. A
single claim for M21 000 was set aside by the Court of Appeal, leaving
almost the whole of the M7.7 million to be paid. One consequence, as
reported in Public Eye of 15 June 2001, was that the Sheriff of the
Lesotho High Court froze Sole's entire assets leaving him destitute. The
assets seized included his luxury home at Lower Thetsane and his bank
accounts.
Meanwhile, Sole (who now needed legal aid to pay his defence counsel)
pleaded 'not guilty' when charged with sixteen charges of bribery and
fraud in a High Court case which opened on Monday 11 June. The case is
before Mr Justice Brendan Cullinan, a former Chief Justice of Lesotho.
The bribes came allegedly from a list which reads like a Who's Who of
high profile construction and engineering firms. If in cases which will
follow the Sole case, they are also found guilty of bribery, they are
likely to be blacklisted by the World Bank and European Union, and
unable to be granted any future contracts where World Bank or European
Union finance is a part.
Business Week of 17 June 2001, reporting on the first week of the trial,
described evidence led by the prosecution that Sole had amassed M10.4
million over 10 years, the equivalent of 2600 years of wages for the
average Lesotho citizen. Money had been paid into an account in Union
Bank of Switzerland from which Sole transferred some of it to bank
accounts in Ladybrand and Maseru. 18 deposits and transfers could be
traced to companies that were involved with the Lesotho Highlands Water
Project, and these included Sogreah, a French engineering firm (Ff808
270); Spie Batignolles, a French construction firm (Ff941 882); a
consortium including Impregilo of Italy, Bouyges of France, Stirling and
Kier International of UK, and Concor and Group 5 of South Africa (US$375
000 over the period 1991 to 1993); and a further consortium consisting
of Spie Batignolles, Balfour Beatty of the UK, Campenon Bernard of
France, ED Zublin of Germany and LTA of South Africa (varying amounts
from Ff4.6 million to £140 000). A consortium with similar composition
to the last had been involved in irregular tendering which had resulted
in the African Development Bank pulling out of the 'Muela Hydropower
Contract, with the result that Lesotho lost concessional finance, and
the hydroelectricity ultimately cost more to generate than it would have
cost to buy power from South Africa. Mention was also made of allegedly
corrupt payments made by Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) of Germany, Lahmeyer
International of Germany, Acres International of Canada, Sir Alexander
Gibb and Partners of UK, and Cegelec, Coyne et Bellier and Dumez of
France, who had deposited into Sole's account amounts ranging from $7
978 to Ff6 539 840 over a seven year period. Some payments were
one-offs, others were paid in monthly instalments or retainers.
Amongst the fraud charges are an allegation that Sole was paid by the
Lesotho Highlands Development Authority to go to a conference in Vienna
in June and July 1991 but he visited Paris instead, where the contractor
Dumez paid expenses directly into Sole's Swiss account. In Paris, Dumez
renegotiated an earlier memorandum of understanding and ultimately LHDA
ended paying some M40 million over and above the original tender. Party
to the Paris meeting was Martin Schutte, an engineer employed by Van Wyk
and Louw, who was later dismissed by them for admitting receiving $20
000 from Dumez.
Evidence was also led of the mechanisms by which the payments were made,
described as a money laundering technique using middlemen, who in turn
for making the transfers deducted an amount that 'varied from 40 to
60%'. Those implicated as alleged middlemen were a Maseru-based
engineer, the late Zalisiawonga (Wonga) Bam; his wife, Margaret; Mikael
du Plooy of Bloemfontein; and a Mr Cohen.
The case continues and is expected to take several months. Separate
cases against the engineering firms may subsequently take many more
months.
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The Interim Political Authority in June took the Government to court
following an 80% cut in its salaries and allowances. The cut, apparently
authorised by the Minister of Finance, Kelebone Maope, in effect pays
for the IPA to meet for the equivalent of one day a week instead of five
until its term of office finally runs out two days after the next
General Election. Presumably the reasoning is that since the legislation
and procedures for the election are now all in place, and the matter is
in the hands of the Independent Electoral Commission, there is little
further work for the IPA to do. However, the cutting of its salaries and
allowances has in fact given the IPA something to talk about. It bases
its legal case in part on the fact that under the Interim Political
Authority Act it is an offence to prevent or interfere with the
functions of the Authority, and cutting the Authority's finances might
be regarded as transgressing this section of the Act.
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The Comrades' Marathon, an 'ultramarathon' of 89.9 km, is run annually
in June between Durban and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. On 16 June
2001, altogether 21 Lesotho nationals competed, 14 of them sponsored by
Vodacom Lesotho, 3 by the Lesotho Amateur Athletics Association and
others by South African companies. Moses Lebakeng, sponsored by Harmony
Gold Mines, placed eighth, was the best Lesotho athlete with a time of 5
hours 50 minutes and 40 seconds. 14 Lesotho athletes, including the two
female athletes, were awarded medals for their performance in the race.
They included Dr Mohlalefi Moteane, a well-known Maseru veterinary
surgeon, who was competing for the third time, and finished in 8 hours
54 minutes, thereby beating 9 hours, the time taken by the very first
winner of the Comrades' Marathon in 1921. Such athletes received a medal
named after this first winner.
The race was won by a South African, Andrew Kelehe, of Mafikeng in a
time of 5 hours 25 minutes and 51 seconds. His prizes included R120 000,
together with an ounce of gold. He won a further half ounce of gold for
being the first South African to finish the race.
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According to a report in Mopheme of 19 June 2001, an orphanage for
babies and children under 5 years living with HIV/AIDS is to open in
Maseru on 25 June 2001, close to the Lesotho Save the Children site in
Maseru West. Known as Little Feet Orphanage it will initially
accommodate 12 children. The orphanage will operate under the Youth With
A Mission (YWAM) Organization which is a branch of the US-based
Interdenominational and International Christian Mission Movement.
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As reported in Moeletsi oa Basotho of 1 July 2001, Roan Kruger, an
employee of WBHO, which is the company constructing new tarred roads in
the Lowlands, was killed on 21 June at the crossroads on the main south
road at 'Mantšebo between Mazenod and Morija. The dead man and another
construction worker were turning onto the main road, when three
attackers opened fire on the vehicle, killing the driver and causing the
vehicle to hit a roadside electricity pole and soft drinks stall. The
police later caught a suspect from Ha Khitione village, and were seeking
two others to help with their enquiries.
The same newspaper also reported a second hijacking on 17 June in
which a driver, Moleleki Letšoala of Tšenola, Maseru was killed and
his body dumped near the Maqalika Dam. The stolen vehicle was recovered
the next day abandoned and with many bloodstains near the Fika-le-Mohala
Primary School south of Mazenod. The vehicle in question was what is
called a 4+1, meaning a vehicle used as a taxi with a driver and four
passengers. On the day it had been hijacked the vehicle had been plying
the route along the main north road out of Maseru when shots were heard
near the National Abattoir. No suspects had been arrested for this crime
at the time of going to press.
A third report in Moeletsi oa Basotho related to a well-known Mazenod
trader and bus owner, Vincent Masoabi, whose store at Setibing on the
Mountain Road was attacked on the night of 11 June resulting in the
death of a security guard, while a woman employee was assaulted with an
axe and later died in hospital. It seems that in this case, Masoabi,
dissatisfied with the slowness of the police in dealing with the matter,
himself undertook investigations and was able himself to capture five
out of eight suspects, one of whom confessed to the axe attack, while
another confessed that this was not the first time he had committed a
murder and that two guns which he possessed had been acquired from SADC
troops in 1998 in return for 12 bags of marijuana. The five captured
suspects are named in the newspaper and are men aged between 22 and 27.
At the time of going to press, the newspaper reported that police
comment on the matter was not yet available.
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The Lesotho national football team, Likoena, or as they are
affectionately called, 'The Crocs' were defeated 2-1 by the Zambia side,
Chipolopolo, in the Cosafa Castle Cup quarter final match at Setsoto
Stadium, Maseru, on Sunday 24 June. In 2000, Lesotho had managed to beat
Zambia in the quarter finals and Angola in the semi-finals, and had
finally capitulated to Zimbabwe in the finals. Their best ever
performance in 2000 had entitled them to enter the 2001 competition at
quarter final stage, but unfortunately there was no repeat of 2000. The
2000 match had been played in a freezing wind which probably favoured
the home side more used to such conditions. The 2001 match, by way of
contrast, was played in weather unusually mild for the time of year.
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The British High Commissioner to Lesotho, Miss Kaye Wight Oliver, was
awarded a CMG (Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George) in
the Queen's Birthday Honours announced in June. Kaye Oliver has been
British High Commissioner to Lesotho since March 1999, and amongst
earlier appointments had served as British Ambassador in Kinshasa and
Rwanda.
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Effective 1 July, Lesotho Bank (1999), as the privatised Lesotho Bank is
now called, announced that customers with savings accounts containing
less than M1000 would in future have to pay M10 per withdrawal at all
branches in Maseru, Roma, Teyateyaneng, Maputsoe, Leribe and Butha-Buthe.
Customers were urged to convert their accounts so that they could be
operated on an Automatic Teller Machine card, for which the withdrawal
charge would be far less at M1.50 per withdrawal. The announcement
stated that ATMs were now available at three points in Maseru and in
Teyateyaneng, Leribe and Butha-Buthe. Quite why Maputsoe customers were
going to be surcharged when there was no ATM available there was not
made clear. Many Maputsoe residents already bank in Ficksburg which is
within walking distance and gives considerably better interest than the
1% (more than 5% below inflation) which is paid on balances in Lesotho
Bank savings accounts.
The increasing use of ATM cards has led to long queues at peak times
at ATM machines, comparable to those at bank counters. Although it
follows a global trend, it has led to the employment of less staff in
Lesotho banks.
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[updated to 30 June 2001]
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