|
SUMMARY
OF
EVENTS
IN
LESOTHO
Volume
11,
Number
2, (Second
Quarter 2004)
Summary
of
Events
is
a
quarterly
publication
compiled
and
published
by
Prof.
David
Ambrose
since
1993
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
in
Roma.
Lesotho
Electricity
Corporation
Privatization
Scheme
Published
Lahmeyer
Lose
Bribery
Appeal
Hotel
Victoria
Reopens
Feasibility
Study
on
LHWP
Phase
II
to
be
Undertaken
Mountain
Bike
Rally
in
Qacha's
Nek
District
Minimum
Local
Assets
Requirement
for
Banks
Dropped
to
10%
National
Identity
Cards
Act
2004
Gazetted
Inquest
Held
on
Death
of
Principal
Chief
of
Phamong
New
Statutory
and
Parliamentary
Salaries
Gazetted
President
of
Botswana
Visits
Lesotho
Death
of
Editor
of
Leselinyana
Ireland
Aid
Funds
Further
Footbridges
LCD
Wins
Motimposo
and
Mohobollo
By-Elections
Lesotho
Joins
South
Africa
to
Celebrate
10
Years
of
Freedom
with
a
Party
on
Maseru
Bridge
Fungi
of
Lesotho
Documented
New
Protected
Plants
Gazetted
FNB
Issued
with
Banking
Licence
Sexual
Offences
Act
Translated
into
Sesotho
but
the
Act
Remains
Little
Known
Fifth
Round
SACU-US
Free
Trade
Agreement
Talks
Held
in
Maseru
Lesotho
Qualifies
for
Millennium
Challenge
Account
Assistance
Makateng
Back
in
Lesotho
and
under
Arrest
Antiretroviral
Rollout
Begins
Concern
about
Shortage
of
Nurses
needed
for
HIV/AIDS
Campaign
National
AIDS
Commission
to
be
Established
Free
Movement
Agreement
to
be
‘Signed
Soon'
Death
of
Rev.
John
Diaho
Workshop
Held
on
Police
Brutality
and
Torture
Death
of
Tseliso
Rapitse
Police
Concerned
about
Medicine
Murders
in
Butha-Buthe
District
Heinz
Scharer
Retires
from
Morija
Printing
Works
Livestock
Registration
and
Marketing
Regulations
Gazetted
Form
A
Books
Arrive
in
Secondary
Schools
Workers
Hard
Hit
as
Three
Textile
Factories
Close
and
a
Fourth
Dismisses
Strikers
Law
Society
Successfully
Appeals
Against
Ban
on
Lawyers
in
Local
Courts
University
Transformation
Halted
by
Council
Letšeng
Mine
Gears
Up
for
Full
Scale
Production
30
New
Citizens
Take
Oath
of
Allegiance
Deaths
of
Tokela
Seitlheko
MP
and
Meshack
Belebesi
MP
Transit
of
Venus
Seen
Clearly
in
Lesotho
Chinese
Now
Largest
Ever
Expatriate
Community
in
Lesotho
High
Court
Orders
Fresh
Trial
for
President
of
Law
Society
Five
Soldiers
Guilty
of
the
Murder
of
Selometsi
Baholo
54
Stolen
Vehicles
Recovered
in
Joint
Operation
with
South
Africa
Downward
Trend
in
Inflation
Ends
South
African
Firearms
Case
Implicates
Metsing
Lekhanya
Ski
Resort
Set
to
Open
at
Mahlasela
▲back
to
top
In
a
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
Extraordinary
of
19
March
2004,
the
approved
privatization
scheme
for
the
Lesotho
Electricity
Corporation
(LEC)
was
published.
Currently
the
LEC
is
100%
owned
by
Government,
and
obtains
most
(72
MW)
of
its
power
from
the
'Muela
Hydropower
Station,
with
any
necessary
balance
in
peak
periods
(up
to
18
MW)
being
purchased
from
Eskom
in
South
Africa.
Total
LEC
customers
were
41
843
by
the
end
of
January
2004,
less
than
10%
of
the
households
of
Lesotho.
Total
LEC
staff
at
the
same
time
was
459,
with
21
unfilled
vacancies.
As
with
a
number
of
government
departments
and
parastatals,
the
management
of
the
LEC
has
neglected
to
take
account
of
inflation
and
to
adjust
tariffs
accordingly.
In
fact
at
the
end
of
2003,
there
had
been
no
tariff
increases
for
10
years,
and
it
was
hardly
surprising
that
the
LEC
is
no
longer
profitable.
Indeed
for
the
three
most
recent
financial
years
for
which
figures
are
available
(2000/1,
2001/2
and
2002/3)
there
have
been
losses
between
M25
million
and
M37
million
for
each
year.
The
matter
has
only
been
recently
redressed
with
an
18%
increase
in
tariffs
in
2004,
with
similar
increases
to
be
applied
in
2005
and
2006.
The
Privatization
Scheme,
as
published,
envisages
LEC
being
restructured
by
the
‘Public
Service
Concession'
approach,
whereby
the
Government
retains
long
term
control
over
electricity
assets,
but
LEC
is
restructured
into
a
private
company,
Lesotho
Electricity
Company
(Pty)
Ltd.
70%
of
the
shares
would
be
offered
to
investors
and
30%
of
shares
retained
by
the
Lesotho
Government
for
possible
divestiture
to
local
investors
and
employees.
The
actual
privatization
process
is
unlikely
to
be
completed
before
the
end
of
2004.
However,
it
has
received
considerable
media
coverage
in
South
Africa,
where
there
are
indications
that
the
state-owned
electricity
corporation
Eskom
may
itself
be
one
of
the
bidders
for
a
stake
in
the
privatized
LEC.
▲back
to top
In
a
hearing
at
the
Lesotho
Court
of
Appeal
in
April,
the
German
engineering
firm
Lahmeyer,
appealed
against
conviction
on
seven
counts
of
bribery.
The
firm
had
been
previously
found
guilty
in
the
High
Court
of
bribing
the
Chief
Executive
of
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Development
Authority,
Masupha
Sole,
and
had
been
fined
R10
650
000.
Lahmeyer
lost
its
appeal
and
the
Court
of
Appeal
increased
the
fine
to
M12
million.
This
was
the
second
appeal
against
High
Court
convictions
for
bribery.
An
earlier
appeal
by
the
Canadian
firm
Acres
International
resulted
in
having
its
fine
reduced
to
M15
million.
A
third
firm,
Impregilo,
has
yet
to
appeal
against
conviction,
while
a
fourth
firm
Spie
Batignolles,
through
its
successor
company
Schneider
Electric
SA,
pleaded
guilty
to
16
counts
of
bribery
and
paid
a
fine
of
M10
million.
▲back
to top
The
9-storey
Hotel
Victoria,
originally
government
owned,
was
reopened,
after
several
years'
closure,
under
new
privatized
management
early
in
April.
It
now
has
42
quality
rooms
and
a
conference
hall
holding
400,
and
refurbishment
was
achieved
at
a
cost
of
over
MS
million.
The
hotel
is
now
owned
by
Sobita
Investments,
whose
Chairman
is
Thabiso
Tlelai.
Present
at
the
reopening
were
the
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili;
the
Minister
of
Tourism,
Lebohang
Ntsinyi,
and
the
South
African
Tourist
Board
Chief
Executive,
Cheryl
Carolus.
▲back
to top
The
original
feasibility
study
for
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Project,
published
in
1986,
envisaged
four
phases
of
construction,
of
which
Phases
IA
(Katse
Dam)
and
IB
(Mohale
Dam)
are
now
complete.
It
had
been
expected
that
Phase
II,
which
was
envisaged
as
having
a
large
dam
at
Mashai,
might
go
ahead
as
soon
as
Phases
IA
and
IB
were
complete.
However,
by
the
late
1990s,
a
combination
of
circumstances
resulted
in
South
Africa
revising
downwards
its
estimates
of
the
growth
in
its
water
needs
for
Gauteng
and
neighbouring
provinces.
Amongst
major
factors
in
the
lowered
estimates
were
the
impact
of
HIV/AIDS
on
population
growth,
and
a
search
for
ways
of
reducing
water
consumption
by
eliminating
as
far
as
possible
the
very
large
number
of
leaks
in
the
systems
in
the
former
black
townships.
A
further
factor
must
have
been
the
fact
that
there
were
seven
exceptionally
wet
summers
between
1995
and
2002,
so
that
a
great
deal
of
expensively
purchased
water
was
not
in
fact
used
for
the
purpose
it
was
intended.
Surplus
to
requirements
and
in
excess
of
storage
capacity,
much
water
was
discharged
over
the
spillway
of
the
Vaal
Dam,
while
other
water
was
discharged
into
the
Mohokare
catchment
via
the
Phofong
or
Little
Caledon
River
at
Clarens.
There
have
now
been
two
dry
summers
in
2002-3
and
2003-4
and
South
Africa's
long
term
water
security
looks
perhaps
a
little
less
secure.
Moreover,
the
relative
costs
of
Phase
II
of
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Project
and
an
alternative
scheme
diverting
additional
water
from
KwaZulu-Natal
to
the
Vaal
catchment
are
imperfectly
known.
These
and
other
considerations
have
resulted
in
an
agreement
between
Lesotho
and
South
Africa
to
undertake
a
Feasibility
Study
for
Phase
II
of
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Project.
Newspaper
advertisements
appeared
early
in
April,
inviting
Basotho
owned
consultancy
companies
and
Basotho
professionals
to
register
to
attend
a
briefing
session
on
8
April
2004.
▲back
to top
Lesotho's
rough
tracks
offer
enormous
potential
for
mountain
biking,
a
sport
whose
enthusiasts
in
many
developed
countries
are
often
unable
to
find
suitably
rugged
terrain.
South
African
mountain
bikers
have,
however,
now
discovered
Lesotho.
The
Lesotho
Mountain
Bike
Challenge
2004
over
the
Easter
weekend
saw
about
100
South
African
mountain
bikers
taking
on
tracks,
some
of
which
had
never
before
seen
wheeled
vehicles.
The
four
day
event,
which
began
at
Qacha's
Nek
on
Friday
9
April,
went
via
Blouman's
Nek
to
Tsoelike
and
then
on
to
Ha
Chale
near
'Melikane.
The
second
day,
riders
tackled
a
long
abandoned
road
route
up
the
Senqu
valley
to
camp
at
Matebeng.
The
third
day
was
the
toughest
with
the
crossing
of
Ramaepho's
Pass,
a
bridle
path
route
rising
to
over
3000
metres
and
normally
only
used
by
pack
animals.
The
descent
on
the
far
side
was
to
the
large
sandstone
caves
of
the
village
of
Ha
Soloja
near
Sehlabathebe.
On
the
final
day,
a
comparatively
easy
route
was
taken
back
to
the
border
at
Ha
Ramatseliso.
Public
Eye
of
16
April
2004,
quoted
the
Secretary-General
of
the
Qacha's
Nek
Tourism
Organisation,
Mokuoane
Qacha,
as
saying
the
event
was
a
successful
‘true
adventure
of
tourism'.
He
stated,
however,
that
it
had
been
necessary
to
warn
herdboys
not
to
throw
stones
at
tourists.
Whereas
mountain
biking
in
Lesotho
is
mainly
without
problems,
it
is
true
that
stone
throwing
incidents
have
sometimes
occurred,
often
because
herdboys
want
to
draw
attention
to
themselves.
Another
problem
is
dogs,
which
herdboys
can
release
as
a
form
of
sport,
to
see
whether
the
poor
mountain
biker
can
outdistance
them.
Clearly
problems
like
this
have
to
be
addressed
if
mountain
biking
is
to
develop
its
undoubted
potential
in
Lesotho.
▲back
to top
Investment
in
Lesotho
banks
has
been
severely
hampered
in
recent
years
because
interest
rates
on
savings
accounts
have
always
been
higher
in
banks
in
South
Africa.
One
of
the
main
reasons
has
been
the
difficulty
that
banks
experience
in
making
profitable
investments
in
Lesotho.
Nevertheless,
they
have
been
required
to
keep
a
minimum
of
25%
of
their
assets
inside
Lesotho,
and
this
has
affected
the
interest
rates
that
they
can
offer
to
savers.
Legal
Notice
No.
72
of
2004,
published
in
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
no.
39
of
15
April
2004,
relaxes
the
25%
requirement
and
substitutes
a
local
assets
ratio
of
10%.
Whether
or
not
this
will
result
in
Lesotho
interest
rates
coming
more
closely
in
line
with
those
in
South
Africa
remains
to
be
seen.
▲back
to top
The
National
Identity
Cards
Act
2004
which
had
been
recently
enacted
by
Parliament,
was
published
in
a
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
Extraordinary
no.
42
of
19
April
2004.
It
gives
power
to
‘the
Minister
responsible
for
National
Identity
Cards'
to
issue
identity
cards
to
Lesotho
citizens
and
also
to
noncitizens
with
temporary
or
indefinite
residence
permits.
For
the
time
being
the
legislation
is
dormant
because
the
date
when
the
Act
comes
into
operation
has
yet
to
be
gazetted,
and
consequently
the
regulations
which
can
be
made
under
the
Act
cannot
yet
be
made.
▲back
to top
The
unusual
circumstances
by
which
the
Principal
Chief
of
Phamong,
Bereng
Griffith,
met
his
death
on
the
evening
of
11
March
2002,
finally
became
the
subject
of
an
inquest
two
years
later.
The
Coroner,
Magistrate
Molefi
Makara,
as
reported
in
Mopheme
of
20
April
2004,
found
that
Chief
Bereng
had
died
after
a
shootout
with
the
police,
but
that
the
way
in
which
the
police
had
concealed
their
identity
had
contributed
to
the
tragedy.
The
Director
of
Public
Prosecutions
should
decide
whether
the
matter
should
be
taken
further.
The
tragic
incident
had
taken
place
in
the
suburbs
of
Maseru,
when
Chief
Bereng's
driver
had
had
a
quarrel
with
a
driver
in
another
car
which
was
allegedly
being
driven
carelessly.
This
second
car
was
a
police
car,
but
had
no
identification
marks,
nor
were
the
police
in
uniform.
A
shot
from
Chief
Bereng
to
warn
the
people
in
the
other
car
had
injured
a
policeman,
after
which
a
high
speed
chase
had
resulted
through
the
suburbs
of
Maseru,
resulting
in
Chief
Bereng
being
shot
and
killed
about
an
hour
later.
Chief
Bereng
had
succeeded
to
the
Principal
Chieftainship
of
Phamong
in
Mohale's
Hoek
District
on
30
October
1999,
taking
the
place
of
his
mother
'Masenate
Letsie
Bereng,
who
had
acted
as
Principal
Chief
since
the
death
on
31
August
1992
of
her
husband,
Chief
Letsie
Bereng.
Chief
Bereng
Griffith's
young
widow,
Chieftainess
Nthati
Bereng,
is
now
the
Acting
Principal
Chief.
▲back
to top
New
statutory
salaries
were
gazetted
as
Legal
Notice
no.
84
of
2004
and
came
into
force
on
1
April
2004.
The
Chief
Justice,
who
always
receives
the
highest
statutory
salary
now
receives
a
salary
of
M198
660,
per
annum
compared
with
M188
292
a
year
earlier.
This
and
other
statutory
salaries
have
all
increased
by
5.5%,
which
is
close
to
the
current
rate
of
inflation.
A
second
Legal
Notice
no.
85
of
2004
gazettes
new
parliamentary
salaries.
Contrary
to
the
belief
of
many,
the
Prime
Minister
is
not
the
most
highly
paid
person
from
the
public
purse.
The
Chief
Justice,
Judges
of
the
High
Court
and
the
Attorney-General
all
receive
higher
salaries.
The
new
salary
of
the
Prime
Minister
is
M179
964
a
year,
again
up
by
5.5%
compared
with
a
year
earlier.
Members
of
Parliament
now
receive
M94
428
per
annum,
and
Senators
M82
428
per
annum.
▲back
to top
The
President
of
Botswana,
Festus
Mogae,
accompanied
by
his
wife,
Mrs
Barbra
Mogae,
paid
a
three
day
State
Visit
to
Lesotho
arriving
on
Wednesday
14
April
2004.
On
the
following
day
President
Mogae
addressed
a
joint
meeting
of
the
two
Houses
of
Parliament,
and
in
the
evening
he
was
the
guest
at
a
State
Banquet,
where
he
was
invested
with
Lesotho's
highest
honour,
becoming
a
‘Knight
Commander
of
the
Most
Courteous
Order
of
Lesotho'.
In
a
crowded
itinerary,
on
Friday
President
Mogae
visited
by
helicopter
the
Tsehlanyane
and
Liphofung
Reserves,
and
also
the
Letšeng
Diamond
Mine.
At
Katse,
he
was
taken
on
a
tour
which
included
visiting
the
inside
of
the
dam
wall.
During
his
visit,
at
the
Royal
Village
of
Matsieng,
President
Mogae
was
presented
by
King
Letsie
III
with
a
stallion
and
four
head
of
cattle.
A
bilateral
economic
agreement
was
also
signed
between
Lesotho
and
Botswana
during
the
visit.
The
Botswana
Defence
Force
played
a
major
role
in
partnership
with
the
South
African
Defence
Force
in
the
restoration
of
order
after
the
army
mutiny
in
Lesotho
in
1998.
Newspapers
had
speculated
that
as
a
result
Lesotho
was
still
faced
with
a
massive
debt
to
be
paid.
However,
in
Parliament
on
20
April,
the
Prime
Minister
stated
that
Lesotho
had
not
in
fact
paid
anything
to
either
country
for
the
services
of
their
military
forces
in
the
intervention
to
restore
peace
and
stability
in
Lesotho.
Lesotho
had
in
fact
also
benefited
from
Botswana
aid
in
the
restructuring
of
both
the
army
and
the
Lesotho
Mounted
Police
Service.
Botswana
had
also
assisted
Lesotho
when
democracy
had
been
threatened
in
1994,
and
farther
back
in
1970,
it
had
made
a
large
contribution
by
allowing
many
Basotho
who
had
fled
from
Lesotho
to
stay
there.
▲back
to top
Mookho
Kobeli,
editor
of
Lesotho's
oldest
newspaper,
Leselinyana
la
Lesotho,
died
on
21
April
2004
after
a
short
illness.
She
had
recently
returned
from
a
study
tour
funded
by
the
US
government,
and
had
been
editor
of
the
newspaper
since
2002.
Mookho
Kobeli
was
the
youngest
and
the
first
woman
editor
to
be
appointed
to
the
newspaper.
As
a
twin,
in
accordance
with
custom,
she
was
buried
with
minimal
ceremony
at
dawn
at
her
home
village
of
Ha
Motloheloa
on
23
April
2004.
▲back
to top
At
Independence
in
1966,
footbridges
in
Lesotho
were
almost
non-existent.
There
were
in
fact
just
three
such
bridges.
One
was
at
Morija
over
the
Koapeng
stream,
which
had
been
built
by
the
Government
Engineer,
Harrison
Gibson,
when
he
was
courting
the
daughter
of
a
missionary
doctor.
He
was
successful,
and
the
bridge
still
stands
today.
A
second
bridge
over
the
Tsoelike
river
carried
the
main
bridle
path
from
Qacha's
Nek
to
Mokhotlong
and
was
opened
in
a
grand
ceremony
by
the
High
Commissioner
in
1930.
It
was
built
to
high
standards
and
was
wide
enough
so
that
today
is
also
used
by
vehicles.
The
third
bridge
had
no
such
opening
ceremony
and
was
a
modest
suspension
bridge,
built
in
the
early
1940s
over
the
upper
Mohokare
by
a
trader
who
owned
a
store
on
the
South
African
bank.
Its
existence
was
discovered
by
the
Assistant
Commissioner
at
Butha-Buthe
more
than
a
year
after
its
construction,
and
its
discovery
occasioned
a
rather
frantic
correspondence
with
Maseru
as
to
what
permission
should
have
been
sought
to
build
such
an
international
link
across
the
river.
This
bridge
(to
Steyn's
Store)
also
still
stands
today.
Footbridges
in
the
interior
of
Lesotho
are
particularly
important
for
schoolchildren,
who
very
often
attend
school
in
a
neighbouring
village
separated
from
their
home
by
a
stream
or
a
river.
In
summer,
afternoon
thunderstorms
may
bring
down
the
river
in
a
raging
torrent,
cutting
them
off
from
their
homes.
The
building
of
footbridges
has
been
one
of
the
more
successful
development
projects
since
Independence.
Funded
by
Danish
aid
and
more
recently
by
Ireland
Aid,
the
total
number
of
footbridges
is
now
about
200,
in
all
districts
of
Lesotho,
although
some
very
remote
areas
with
significant
rivers
are
still
without
them.
Nearly
all
the
footbridges
so
far
built
survive,
although
occasionally
they
have
been
swept
away
by
floods,
as
happened
with
the
first
footbridge
at
Semonkong;
the
bridge
across
the
Mjanyane
valley
in
Quthing
District;
and
the
first
bridge
across
the
Senqu
at
Sehonghong.
Footbridges
were
originally
constructed
as
projects
of
the
Civil
Works
Section
in
the
Ministry
of
Rural
Development.
This
has
now
become
the
Department
of
Rural
Roads
in
the
Ministry
of
Works
and
Transport,
and
under
its
auspices
the
latest
money
from
Ireland
Aid
is
funding
five
additional
footbridges:
two
near
Ha
Seboche
in
Butha-Buthe
District;
two
in
the
Lowlands
of
Leribe
District;
and
one
near
Corn
Exchange
in
Berea
District.
▲back
to top
Following
the
death
of
the
MP
for
Motimposo
in
a
car
accident,
a
by-election
was
held
in
the
Motimposo
Constituency
in
the
suburbs
of
Maseru
on
Saturday
24
April
2004.
The
seat
was
won
by
Ramatla
'Makong
of
the
ruling
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy
with
1273
votes,
about
74.4%
of
the
1712
votes
cast.
There
were
seven
other
candidates,
although,
Lesotho's
largest
political
party
the
Basotho
National
Party,
did
not
contest
the
by-election.
The
candidate
who
came
second
represented
the
National
Independent
Party
(NIP)
and
gained
183
or
10.6%
of
the
votes
cast.
In
a
second
by-election
at
Mohobollo
in
Leribe
District
on
Saturday
5
June
2004,
Sekobi
Molapo
of
the
LCD
won
with
1124
or
67.8%
of
the
1659
votes
cast.
Second
in
the
poll
was
the
Marematlou
Freedom
Party
candidate
with
13.4%
of
the
poll,
followed
by
the
NIP
candidate
with
9.1
%
of
the
votes.
The
BNP
again
did
not
contest
the
by-election.
Voter
turnout
has
been
low
in
recent
by-elections.
At
Motimposo
it
was
only
13.4%
and
at
Mohobollo,
16.9%.
The
cost
of
by-elections
is
not
insignificant.
As
reported
in
Mopheme
of
15
June
2004,
the
Independent
Electoral
Commission
has
spent
over
M9
million
on
six
by-elections
since
the
2002
General
Election.
This
works
out
at
approximately
M1000
per
vote
that
was
cast.
▲back
to top
The
new
South
Africa's
successful
third
elections
were
followed
by
the
inauguration
of
President
Thabo
Mbeki
for
a
second
term
of
office
at
the
Union
Buildings
in
Pretoria
on
Tuesday
27
April
2004.
Amongst
some
40
Heads
of
State
at
the
inauguration
were
Lesotho's
King
Letsie
III
and
Queen
'Masenate.
In
Maseru,
Maseru
Bridge,
which
both
physically
and
symbolically
unites
Lesotho
and
South
Africa,
became
the
focus
for
speeches
and
a
party
celebrated
by
the
citizens
of
both
countries.
The
bridge
was
closed
from
midday
until
late
in
the
afternoon,
and
a
marquee
and
tents
were
erected
in
the
middle
of
the
bridge.
The
South
African
High
Commissioner,
Mr
William
Leslie,
spoke
of
the
many
achievements
of
South
Africa
during
its
10
years
of
freedom,
including
the
attainment
of
universal
franchise,
and
the
promotion
of
democratic
principles
underpinned
by
non-racialism,
non-sexism,
transparency
and
accountability.
He
thanked
Lesotho
for
the
role
it
had
played
in
the
freedom
struggle,
protecting
South
Africans
and
lobbying
for
their
freedom
amongst
the
international
community.
The
Acting
Foreign
Minister
of
Lesotho,
Dr
Rakoro
Phororo,
also
spoke
at
the
occasion,
emphasizing
the
common
bonds
of
origin,
language,
culture
and
history
shared
by
the
countries.
The
bridge,
or
rather
its
predecessor
(which
now
takes
only
rail
traffic),
was
once
a
gateway
to
a
different
world
where
impoverished
Basotho
men
crossed
by
train
to
live
in
compounds
and
through
their
sweated
labour
to
dig
the
gold
which
was
the
main
source
of
South
Africa's
wealth.
They
went
for
periods
up
to
18
months
at
a
time,
and
when
they
finally
returned
after
several
contracts,
often
came
back
to
families
that
hardly
knew
them.
They
came
back
without
pensions
and
often
in
a
poor
state
of
health.
While
they
were
away,
their
wages
barely
supported
their
families,
and
did
little
but
to
reinforce
Lesotho's
then
status
as
an
impoverished
labour
reserve.
Some
has
changed,
but
not
all.
Migrant
workers,
now
about
half
as
numerous
as
20
years
ago,
still
travel
to
the
mines,
not
by
train,
but
by
minibus
taxi,
and
some
even
in
their
own
cars.
Their
wages
(stagnant
until
the
early
1970s)
have
improved
in
real
terms,
and
working
conditions
are
better,
with
opportunities
for
frequent
home
visits.
Some
migrant
workers
have
permanently
settled
in
South
Africa
and
their
families
have
joined
them,
something
which
was
impossible
under
the
apartheid
regime.
However,
mineworkers
are
now
only
a
part
of
a
large
workforce
of
Lesotho
citizens,
with
a
wide
variety
of
qualifications,
who
now
work
or
have
settled
in
the
new
South
Africa,
attracted
for
the
most
part
by
higher
wages.
This
migration
of
skilled
manpower
often
results
in
severe
manpower
shortages
back
in
Lesotho.
Doctors
are
amongst
the
very
varied
professions
suffering
from
migration.
In
the
May
2004
issue
of
the
Lesotho
Medical
Association
Journal,
the
editor,
Dr
'
Musi
Mokete,
refers
to
the
serious
situation
resulting
from
the
fact
that
over
100
Lesotho
doctors
are
now
working
in
South
Africa
or
farther
afield.
To
replace
them,
Lesotho
has
had
itself
to
import
more
than
50
foreign
doctors.
There
is
no
simple
answer
to
these
problems
other
than
the
equalization
of
national
wealth,
and
that
is
hardly
easy
to
accomplish.
On
average,
the
Gross
National
Income
of
South
Africa
per
person
is
more
than
five
times
that
of
Lesotho.
(World
Bank
figures
for
2002,
the
most
recent
available,
show
GNI
per
capita
to
be
US$2600
for
South
Africa
and
US$470
for
Lesotho.)
South
Africa
still
has
areas
of
great
poverty
and
deprivation,
but
these
are
alleviated
because
with
greater
wealth,
the
country
can
afford
to
provide
everyone
with
basic
social
services
such
as
education,
health
services
and
pensions.
For
those
in
work,
South
Africa
can
also
afford
to
pay
much
higher
wages
than
Lesotho
to
everyone
from
unskilled
workers
to
university
lecturers.
The
large
extent
to
which
the
two
countries
are
interlinked
was
illustrated
by
a
2003
survey
undertaken
in
Lesotho
and
sponsored
by
the
Cape
Town
based
Institute
for
Democracy
in
South
Africa
(IDASA).
It
found
that
37%
of
people
contacted
in
Lesotho
had
a
family
member
working
in
South
Africa,
26%
had
a
family
member
permanently
living
there,
21
%
had
sought
medical
care
there,
and
18%
had
South
African
identification
documents.
On
the
other
hand,
IDASA
found
that
Lesotho
nationalism
remained
comparatively
strong.
Only
30%
of
those
interviewed
wanted
Lesotho
and
South
Africa
to
be
one
country,
a
similar
figure
to
the
2000
survey
(29%),
but
considerably
lower
than
1997
(41
%).
There
had
been
a
major
swing
in
public
opinion
on
this
issue
after
the
events
of
1998,
and
only
a
relatively
slow
swing
backwards.
▲back
to top
Fungi
of
Lesotho:
an
annotated
checklist
by
Sumitra
Talukdar
and
David
Ambrose
was
published
in
April
2004,
the
latest
from
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
based
House
9
Publications.
It
is
no.
13
in
the
Lesotho
Miscellaneous
Documents
series
which
‘has
been
created
in
order
to
make
available
in
small
editions
a
variety
of
documents
on
Lesotho
containing
information
which
might
otherwise
not
become
readily
accessible'.
Earlier
publications
in
the
series
have
been
devoted
inter
alia
to
trees,
flowers
and
fossil
trackways.
As
the
authors
point
out,
very
little
has
been
written
on
Lesotho
fungi
previously,
and
their
list
of
121
species
includes
89
species
for
which
Lesotho
records
are
published
for
the
first
time.
Most
of
the
work
on
fungi
was
done
on
the
Roma
campus,
which
yielded
no
less
than
105
of
the
species
described.
Although
the
booklet
has
illustrated
covers,
and
describes
each
species
briefly,
it
is
designed
to
be
used
with
two
coloured
field
guides
which
are
available
for
South
African
fungal
species.
The
authors
note,
however,
that
several
of
the
species
they
list
are
not
actually
found
in
either
field
guide,
and
for
these
they
normally
provide
more
detailed
descriptions.
Lesotho's
fungi
include
some
extraordinary
species
such
as
the
mushroom
Podaxis
pistillaris,
which
the
writers
call
the
Termite
Mound
Chimney.
This
grows
out
of
termite
mounds
and
from
a
distance
even
suggests
a
snake's
head.
Another
unusual
and
rare
species
is
the
Star
Stinkhorn,
Aseroe
rubra,
with
radiating
red
arms
resembling
the
claws
of
the
crab.
There
are
many
edible
species
and
many
deadly
poisonous
species,
including
the
Death
Cap,
Amanita
phalloides,
the
deadliest
mushroom
known,
responsible
for
90%
of
mushroom
deaths
in
Europe.
The
well
known
red-capped
Fly
Agaric,
Amanita
muscaria,
is
also
found
in
Lesotho.
It
is
also
deadly
poisonous,
but
in
small
quantities
hallucinogenic,
and
it
is
recorded
that
in
some
parts
of
Lesotho,
small
portions
of
the
mushroom
are
added
to
the
brew
when
making
joala
(traditional
beer).
Of
the
edible
species,
the
writers
note
some
ten
species
which
they
regularly
eat.
These
include
the
familiar
Field
and
Horse
Mushrooms
and
also,
as
illustrated
on
the
cover,
the
Shaggy
Ink
Cap
or
Lawyer's
Wig,
Coprinus
comatus,
‘delicious
fried
in
butter
on
toast'.
Another
mushroom
which
‘makes
very
good
eating'
is
Termitomyces
umkowaani,
also
known
as
I'kowe
or
the
Natal
Beefsteak.
This
is
commonly
eaten
in
KwaZulu-Natal,
but
little
known
in
Lesotho
where
it
is
comparatively
rare.
This
huge
mushroom
emerges
from
the
nests
of
subterranean
termite
species,
and
a
Roma
Campus
specimen,
which
provided
enough
to
feed
several
people,
had
a
mass
of
600
g,
a
diameter
of
27
cm,
and
a
stalk
22
cm
long.
▲back
to top
Under
the
Historical
Monuments,
Relics,
Fauna
and
Flora
Act
1967,
the
Minister
responsible
for
Environment
and
Cultural
matters
can
proclaim
protected
fauna
and
flora.
One
such
proclamation
was
made
in
1969,
and
it
has
taken
until
2004
for
there
to
be
a
second
such
proclamation.
Normally
such
proclamations
would
be
on
the
advice
of
the
Commission
for
Preservation
of
Natural
and
Historical
Monuments,
Relics
and
Antiques
and
the
Protection
of
Fauna
and
Flora.
This
Commission,
commonly
known
as
the
Protection
and
Preservation
Commission
(PPC),
was
set
up
by
the
1967
Act,
but
in
the
past
15
years
has
ceased
to
exist
because
the
responsible
Minister
has
not
nominated
any
members,
and
the
five
year
terms
of
office
of
previous
nominees
have
long
expired.
Pressure
to
add
to
the
list
of
protected
plants
has
thus
come
from
other
bodies
such
as
the
National
Environment
Secretariat,
and
the
list
was
not
vetted
by
the
PPC
before
being
gazetted
as
Legal
Notice
no.
93
of
2004
dated
28
April
2004.
The
new
list
adds
18
species
(or
in
two
cases
whole
genera)
to
the
list
of
protected
flora.
Some
of
these
are
indeed
threatened
because
of
widespread
medicinal
use,
and
the
fact
that
it
is
the
roots
which
are
harvested,
thus
destroying
the
plant.
Particularly
threatened
is
Alepedia
amatymbica
(lesoko
in
Sesotho)
which
only
grows
in
the
Maloti
and
is
much
sought
after
because
an
infusion
from
the
roots
is
effective
against
colds,
chest
pains
and
asthma.
Lorry
loads
of
the
plant
have
been
known
to
have
been
exported
to
South
Africa.
Some
species
of
Pelargonium
(khoara)
are
similarly
known
to
have
been
exported
from
Quthing
District.
Infusions
made
from
the
tubers
of
species
of
Pelargonium
are
widely
known
as
a
cure
for
dysentery.
However,
two
species
of
Pelargonium
which
come
from
Lesotho
are
also
rather
interestingly
used
in
Germany
as
a
medicine,
Umckaloabo,
a
registered
proprietary
name
made
to
look
as
if
it
comes
from
an
African
language.
Umckaloabo
is
a
prescription
medicine
for
treating
bronchitis
in
children
and
the
leaflet
inside
the
packet
written
in
German
traces
its
origin
to
use
by
a
consumptive
Englishman,
C.
H.
Stevens,
who
had
been
prescribed
it
by
a
Zulu
traditional
doctor
in
Lesotho
in
1897.
Amongst
plants
on
the
list
is
one
known
and
used
by
almost
all
Basotho
villagers,
hloenya,
or
Hairy
Thistle,
Dicoma
anomala.
The
roots
are
mainly
used,
and
its
range
of
uses
is
impressive.
For
example,
mixed
with
Scabiosa
columbaria
(selomi),
hloenya
is
drunk
as
a
tea
to
alleviate
painful
menstruation.
A
decoction
with
Cannabis
sativa
is
drunk
to
cure
headaches
and
painful
neck
muscles.
Cooked
with
fat,
hloenya
is
used
as
an
unguent.
It
is
also
used
as
a
medicine
to
cure
colic
and
toothache,
and
also
used
for
wounds,
colds,
back
pain,
venereal
disease
and
diabetes!
However,
damaging
or
removing
this
useful
medicinal
plant
is
now
illegal,
putting
every
Mosotho
herbalist
in
breach
of
the
law,
and
making
him
or
her
liable
to
a
fine
of
up
to
M200.
(At
the
time
of
the
passing
of
the
Act
in
1967
this
was
a
severe
penalty,
but
its
severity
has
now
been
eroded
by
inflation.)
Plants
where
only
the
leaves
are
harvested
are
obviously
less
threatened
than
others.
An
interesting
case
is
moseha
or
Broom
Grass,
scientifically
Merxmuellera
drakensbergensis
or
MM
macowanii.
Both
species
are
common
in
the
Maloti,
but
curiously
it
is
only
MM
drakensbergensis
which
appears
on
the
new
protected
plants
list.
While
MM
macowanii
has
sharp-tipped
leaves
up
to
650
mm
long,
the
leaf
blades
of
the
other
species
do
not
exceed
300
mm.
The
shorter-leaved
species
is
sometimes
used
as
the
framework
for
Basotho
hats,
but
it
is
MM
macowanii
which
is
most
vigorously
harvested
for
making
brooms,
and
at
times
bundles
of
the
grass
are
seen
along
Lesotho's
mountain
roads
waiting
for
vehicles
whose
drivers
will
buy
them
to
be
taken
to
the
Lowlands
or
to
South
Africa.
The
grass
is
extremely
common
on
Lesotho's
eastern
summit
plateau
where
it
is
also
cut
and
taken
by
donkey
load
down
Namahali
Pass
to
Qwaqwa.
A
commercial
enterprise
in
Qwaqwa
even
exports
cut
bundles
of
the
grass
to
Australia.
Despite
all
of
this
exploitation,
it
is
only
the
leaves
which
are
cut,
and
the
plant
soon
grows
more,
so
moseha
is
not
really
a
threatened
plant.
The
list
has
other
curiosities.
The
Wild
Mint,
Mentha
longifolia,
koena
in
Sesotho,
was
King
Moshoeshoe's
favourite
beverage,
and
is
not
particularly
rare,
but
is
now
a
protected
plant.
Considerably
rarer
in
Lesotho
are
the
various
species
of
Hypoxis
or
African
potato.
They
have
recently
received
much
media
coverage
following
reports
(at
one
point
even
endorsed
by
the
South
African
Minister
of
Health,
herself
a
medical
doctor)
that
African
potato
could
boost
the
body's
immune
system
and
was
therefore
important
in
fighting
AIDS.
The
reality
is
apparently
the
opposite,
and
the
plant
can
even
have
toxic
side
effects,
but
this
has
not
prevented
the
plant
being
exploited
to
the
point
of
extinction
in
some
areas.
It
seems
odd
that
several
not
particularly
endangered
species
on
the
list
have
been
included.
The
plant
Euphorbia
clavarioides
or
sehloko
which
forms
hemispherical
cushions
in
mountain
areas
is
neither
rare
nor
obviously
threatened
with
exploitation.
Also
the
tree
Rhamnus
prinoides
or
mofifi
is
amongst
the
commoner
trees,
and
whilst
sprigs
from
the
tree
are
believed
by
some
to
be
a
lightning
deterrent,
its
use
for
this
purpose
hardly
places
it
under
threat.
The
publication
of
the
list,
and
its
discussion
in
Parliament,
does
at
least
bring
some
problems
of
over-exploitation
of
wild
plants
to
the
fore.
The
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Project
through
its
very
successful
botanical
garden
at
Katse
might
perhaps
be
encouraged
to
help
villagers
to
develop
nurseries
where
some
of
the
rarest
and
most
sought
after
medicinal
plants
could
be
grown
commercially.
The
list
itself
is
just
that,
a
list
of
18
plants,
with
scientific,
English
and
Sesotho
names.
There
are
no
descriptions,
illustrations
or
justifications
for
the
inclusion
of
each
plant.
Those
who
benefit
from
harvesting
and
selling
the
plants
are
mainly
poor
people
in
the
remoter
areas
of
Lesotho,
as
well
as
traders
in
the
informal
sector
in
urban
areas,
who
have
outdoor
stalls
on
street
corners
in
Maseru
and
elsewhere.
None
of
these
plant
sellers
are
readers
of
the
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
and
hence
are
so
far
blissfully
unaware
that
their
livelihoods
are
threatened.
Policemen
are
probably
equally
unaware
that
they
now
have
to
police
these
stalls
for
protected
medicinal
plants,
and
even
if
they
do
become
aware,
special
botanical
training
will
be
necessary
before
they
can
identify
which
of
the
many
different
similarly
looking
kinds
of
roots
on
sale
are
actually
those
of
protected
plants.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Public
Eye
of
30
April
2004,
the
Central
Bank
of
Lesotho
has
issued
First
National
Bank
of
South
Africa
with
a
banking
licence.
Few
details
are
yet
available,
but
it
is
thought
that
FNB
might
provide
services
complementary
to
those
of
Standard
Bank
(which
now
controls
Lesotho
Bank)
and
Nedbank,
particularly
in
rural
areas.
A
branch
on
Kingsway
in
Maseru
is
also
envisaged.
Given
the
long
queues
that
still
occur
at
Maseru
branches
of
the
two
existing
commercial
banks,
any
bank
which
can
offer
a
fast
and
efficient
service
would
seem
likely
to
succeed
in
Maseru.
Commercial
banking
in
Lesotho
was
initiated
during
the
Anglo-Boer
War,
and
the
Standard
Bank
(later
known
as
Standard
Chartered
Bank)
began
operations
in
July
1901
when
Alfred
Ellenberger
provided
the
service
by
riding
on
horseback
from
Ladybrand.
By
1902
Standard
Bank
had
a
resident
manager
in
Lesotho,
and
its
first
purpose-built
building
by
1904.
For
some
years
the
Bloemfontein
Board
of
Executors
also
provided
some
banking
services
in
Maseru,
but
the
company
collapsed
in
1932
leaving
many
investors
impoverished.
Barclays
Bank
DCO
(later
Barclays
Bank
International)
was
first
established
in
Maseru
in
1957,
and
eventually
had
seven
branches
and
agencies
in
Lesotho.
It
survived
in
Lesotho,
even
after
Barclays
Bank
in
South
Africa,
under
severe
pressure
from
the
AntiApartheid
Movement,
announced
it
was
selling
its
operation.
The
assets
of
Barclays
Bank
in
South
Africa
were
purchased
by
mining
interests
to
establish
First
National
Bank,
which
took
over
the
buildings
and
staff
of
Barclays.
Eventually,
Barclays
in
Lesotho
also
sold
its
assets.
They
were
bought
by
the
Standard
Bank
Investment
Corporation
(Stanbic)
of
South
Africa
in
1995,
and
the
bank
became
known
as
Stanbic
to
avoid
confusion
with
the
similarly
named
Standard
Chartered
Bank.
However,
this
name
was
fairly
short-lived,
because
the
Lesotho
assets
of
the
rival
and
similarly
named
Standard
Chartered
Bank
were
bought
by
Nedbank
in
1997.
Stanbic
was
then
able
to
call
itself
Standard
Bank
Lesotho
without
confusion.
Meanwhile,
since
1971,
the
government-sponsored
Lesotho
Bank
had
provided
a
third
commercial
banking
service
in
Maseru.
It
eventually
got
into
severe
financial
difficulties
and
its
negative
assets
were
in
1999
taken
over
(at
a
substantial
cost
to
the
Lesotho
Government
to
make
good
the
deficit)
by
Standard
Bank
Lesotho,
of
which
it
is
now
effectively
a
subsidiary
known
as
Lesotho
Bank
1999.
From
this
rather
complex
history,
one
can
see
that
Barclays
Bank
has
two
different
successor
banks,
of
which
Standard
Bank
is
a
direct
successor
in
Lesotho.
The
South
African
successor,
FNB,
may
soon
also
be
represented
in
Lesotho.
▲back
to top
The
Sexual
Offences
Act
2003
makes
it
a
capital
offence
for
a
person
knowing
he
or
she
is
HIV-positive
to
have
sex
with
another
person
without
telling
them
their
status.
It
also
provides
draconian
penalties
for
other
sexual
misbehaviour.
However,
it
was
originally
published
with
little
publicity
and
only
in
English.
This
has
now
been
corrected,
and
a
little
over
a
year
after
the
original
Act
came
into
force,
a
Sesotho
version
has
been
published
as
Supplement
no.
1
to
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
no.
50
of
30
April
2004.
The
translator,
while
using
elegant
Sesotho,
has
avoided
direct
translation
and
resorted
to
circumlocution
for
some
of
the
sexual
practices
described
more
explicitly
in
the
English
version
of
the
Act.
When
it
comes
to
translating
Human
Immunodeficiency
Virus
(HIV)
he
hesitates
over
a
translation,
and
puts
the
English
and
the
Sesotho
koatsi
ea
bosolla-hlapi
side
by
side.
This
Sesotho
name
for
HIV/AIDS
is
regarded
by
many
as
unsatisfactory,
meaning
literally
the
'anthrax-type
disease
from
overseas'.
In
Sesotho,
AIDS
is
often
used
unchanged
or
even
occasionally
respelled
as
eitse
imitating
the
English
pronunciation.
Even
with
a
Sesotho
translation
now
available,
it
is
unlikely
that
few
Basotho
are
yet
familiar
with
the
provisions
of
the
Sexual
Offences
Act.
Unlike
other
countries,
Lesotho
does
not
have
a
Government
Bookstore,
even
in
Maseru,
let
alone
with
branches
in
the
district
headquarters
towns.
The
National
Library
Service
might
be
fulfilling
the
role
of
disseminating
useful
and
important
information
by
stocking
reference
copies
of
government
publications.
However,
the
National
Library
building
in
Maseru
has
been
demolished
and
not
yet
replaced,
while
the
four
small
district
headquarters
libraries
provide
only
a
minimal
service.
Several
district
headquarters
towns
have
no
library
facilities
whatsoever.
Even
lawyers
have
difficulty
obtaining
and
using
Lesotho's
laws,
which
undoubtedly
has
an
adverse
impact
on
the
speedy
and
fair
delivery
of
justice.
A
recent
book,
In
search
of
justice:
where
do
women
in
Lesotho
go?,
reported
on
a
survey
of
courts
in
which
the
Basotho
Court
Presidents
complained
that
they
had
not
been
provided
with
copies
of
recent
laws.
Magistrates
also
complained
that
they
had
a
lack
of
reference
materials
including
even
the
Lesotho
Government
Gazette.
The
reality
is
that
there
has
not
been
a
published
consolidation
of
Lesotho's
laws
since
1960,
and
whereas
an
annual
compilation
of
the
Laws
of
Lesotho
was
in
the
past
a
routinely
executed
task,
the
last
year
for
which
this
has
been
done
is
1991,
and
even
that
volume
appeared
ten
years
late.
For
all
the
laws
enacted
since
the
restoration
of
democracy
in
1993,
lawyers
and
laymen
alike
are
dependent
on
the
Lesotho
Government
Gazette,
published
almost
exclusively
in
English,
and
for
which
there
is
neither
an
annual
bound
compilation
nor
an
index.
All
of
this
tends
to
slow
the
judicial
process
and
to
contribute
to
the
horrendously
large
number
of
prisoners
who
have
been
awaiting
trial,
some
for
many
years,
and
who
now
represent
30%
of
the
total
prison
population.
Prisons
as
a
result
are
chronically
overcrowded.
At
the
same
time,
as
the
recent
White
Commission
Report
revealed,
prisons
are
so
underfunded
that
most
buildings
are
unfit
for
habitation,
recreational
and
training
facilities
are
hopelessly
inadequate,
morale
is
low,
and
AIDS
and
malnutrition
are
contributing
to
high
prisoner
mortality.
▲back
to top
The
countries
of
SACU,
the
Southern
African
Customs
Union
(Botswana,
Lesotho,
Namibia,
South
Africa
and
Swaziland),
have
for
some
time
been
anticipating
with
concern
what
might
happen
when
the
new
World
Trade
Organisation
agreement
on
textiles
and
clothing
comes
into
force
in
January
2005.
The
new
agreement
abolishes
global
quotas
on
African
textiles,
and
will
result
in,
for
example,
Lesotho
manufactured
clothing
at
present
extensively
exported
to
US
markets,
being
in
competition
with
Chinese
and
other
Asian-manufactured
goods,
which
it
is
feared
might
be
produced
at
lower
prices
and
destroy
a
major
sector
of
Lesotho's
economy.
Although
under
the
recently
extended
United
States
African
Growth
and
Opportunity
Act
(AGOA),
SACU
goods
can
already
gain
tariff-free
access
to
the
USA,
goods
from
outside
Africa
will
have
this
same
advantage
in
2005,
and
as
a
result
the
SACU
countries
are
attempting
to
negotiate
a
trading
regime
which
will
provide
some
competitive
advantage.
Negotiations
on
a
Free
Trade
Agreement
between
the
USA
and
the
SACU
countries
began
in
Pretoria
on
2
June
2003,
and
the
Fifth
Round
of
these
talks
were
held
in
Maseru
from
4
to
7
May
2004,
following
the
Fourth
Round
which
had
been
held
in
Namibia
from
23
to
26
February.
The
Lesotho
delegation
at
the
talks
was
led
by
the
Minister
of
Trade
and
Industry,
Mpho
Malie,
who,
as
quoted
in
Public
Eye
of
7
May
2004,
warned
that
resolute
and
timely
intervention
was
necessary
in
order
to
avoid
a
socio-economic
catastrophe.
‘Mr
Malie
cautioned
that
the
principles
of
asymmetry
and
special
and
differential
treatment
have
to
be
consciously
and
contextually
upheld
at
all
times
during
the
negotiations
for
a
balanced
agreement
containing
mutual
benefits
for
the
two
parties'.
The
talks
clearly
involved
some
hard
bargaining.
The
US
wants
investment
guarantees
for
its
companies,
SACU
wants
an
anti-dumping
clause.
Liberalisation
of
agricultural
trade
and
industrial
goods
tariffs
were
also
on
the
agenda,
while
the
US
was
seeking
an
end
of
discriminatory
barriers
to
trade
in
service
markets
in
SACU
countries.
The
talks
were
wide
ranging
and
environment,
intellectual
property
and
labour
conditions
were
all
matters
which
the
United
States
delegate,
Florizelle
Lister,
insisted
were
included
in
the
discussions.
In
parallel
with
the
SACU
talks,
the
USA
is
also
having
talks
on
a
Free
Trade
Agreement
with
the
Americas.
SACU
in
turn
is
also
negotiating
an
agreement
with
this
Latin
American
block,
Mercosur.
It
is
also
negotiating
with
the
European
Free
Trade
Association,
India
and
China.
The
Mercosur
agreement
is
apparently
the
most
advanced
and
may
be
ready
for
signature
by
July
2004.
Lesotho
is
the
largest
clothing
exporter
to
the
USA
amongst
the
SACU
countries,
with
exports
having
grown
from
US$140
million
in
2000
to
US$322
million
in
2002
and
US$393
million
in
2003.
Over
the
period
2000
to
2003
employment
in
the
manufacturing
sector
rose
from
20
000
to
over
50
000.
However,
Lesotho's
ability
to
maintain
these
exports
had
recently
become
precarious
because
AGOA
was
requiring
an
increasingly
large
local
sourcing
of
fabric.
Before
the
Maseru
Round
of
Talks,
the
Minister
of
Trade
&
Industry
had
gone
to
the
USA
to
attend
a
public
hearing
before
the
US
Congress
Sub-Committee
on
Trade
on
the
AGOA
Acceleration
Act.
He
did
not
come
back
entirely
empty-handed,
and
his
main
achievement
seems
to
have
been
retaining
for
two
more
years
the
requirement
for
using
local
fabric
at
the
present
level,
after
which
50%
local
fabric
would
be
required
for
exported
manufactured
clothes.
The
massive
new
Nien
Hsing
denim
factory
in
Maseru
(the
largest
of
its
kind
in
Africa),
which
has
gone
into
production
in
2004,
does
in
fact
go
some
way
to
ensuring
that
some
locally
made
cloth
is
available
for
Lesotho
factories.
However,
it
fails
to
meet
the
total
demand,
which
until
recently
was
expanding
rapidly
as
new
factories
were
opened.
▲back
to top
The
Millennium
Challenge
Account
is
a
sum
of
money
($1000
million
in
2004)
approved
by
the
United
States
Congress
to
be
made
available
to
certain
countries
who
qualify
in
terms
three
categories:
‘ruling
justly',
‘investing
in
people'
and
‘economic
freedom'.
A
further
qualification
is
that
the
average
per
capita
income
must
be
less
than
US$1415
per
year,
which
eliminates
Botswana,
Namibia
and
South
Africa
from
the
competition.
The
Millennium
Challenge
Corporation
in
Washington
which
administers
the
account,
on
6
May
voted
16
countries
to
be
eligible
in
2004.
Eight
of
the
countries
are
in
Africa,
and
Lesotho
is
on
the
list
along
with
Benin,
Cape
Verde,
Ghana,
Madagascar,
Mali,
Mozambique
and
Senegal.
A
delegation
from
the
MCC
gave
a
press
conference
in
Maseru
on
Friday
28
May.
As
reported
in
Lesotho
Today
of
3
June
2004,
the
head
of
the
delegation,
Clay
Lowery,
said
that
Lesotho
now
had
to
focus
on
priorities
to
spend
the
money.
MCC
could
invest
M
1000
million,
but
only
if
there
is
a
clear
proposal
submitted
to
the
MCC
identifying
the
priorities
for
accelerating
economic
growth.
The
proposal
should
address
measurable
goals,
the
policies
and
interventions
needed
to
achieve
them,
and
the
means
of
maintaining
financial
accountability.
MCC
encouraged
citizens
from
the
private
sector,
civil
society
and
academia
to
participate
in
building
up
the
proposal.
▲back
to top
Former
Sergeant
Thabang
Makateng
of
the
Lesotho
Mounted
Police
Service,
who
had
long
been
sought
in
connection
with
the
murder
of
police
officers
and
the
police
mutiny
in
1995,
was
apprehended
at
Caledonspoort
border
post
on
Friday
30
April.
According
to
a
report
in
Lesotho
Today
of
6
May
2004,
he
was
captured
after
being
deported
by
the
South
African
Department
of
Home
Affairs.
Ironically,
although
Makateng
is
now
in
custody,
his
fellow
policeman,
Second
Lieutenant
Phakiso
Molise,
is
apparently
at
liberty
in
South
Africa.
He
was
given
a
long
sentence
for
his
part
in
the
murders
of
policemen
as
well
as
the
police
mutiny,
but
subsequently
escaped
from
custody
on
7
August
2003.
▲back
to top
The
long
awaited
rollout
of
antiretroviral
drugs,
which
bring
hope
to
AIDS
sufferers,
finally
went
into
action
on
7
May
2004,
when
the
Prime
Minister
opened
the
Senkatana
Clinic
on
the
site
of
the
old
leper
hospital
at
Botsabelo
near
Maseru.
The
project
is
funded
by
Secure
the
Future,
a
foundation
set
up
by
the
drug
company
Bristol
Meyers
Squibb,
and
the
Senkatana
Clinic
is
the
fifth
such
centre
to
be
established
by
the
foundation
which
has
been
working
in
southern
Africa
for
five
years.
In
accordance
with
the
foundation's
principles,
the
Tripartite
HIV/AIDS
Care
and
Support
Project
is
managed
by
the
Bristol
Meyers
Squibb
Company
together
with
the
Ministry
of
Health
and
Social
Welfare
and
the
Lesotho
Medical
Association.
Its
pilot
project
in
Maseru
District
involves
the
Queen
Elizabeth
II
Hospital
in
Maseru,
Scott
Hospital
at
Morija
and
St
Joseph's
Hospital
at
Roma.
The
Senkatana
Clinic
is
also
a
first
element
of
the
Botsabelo
Communicable
Diseases
Complex,
for
which
further
elements
are
planned
including
appropriate
laboratory
services
and
a
tuberculosis
ward.
At
the
opening
ceremony,
the
Executive
Vice-President
of
Bristol
Meyers
Squibb,
Mr
McGoldrick
handed
over
a
cheque
for
over
M27
million
as
three
year
support
for
the
new
clinic.
The
new
clinic
is
named
after
Senkatana
(also
known
as
Sankatana),
the
hero
who,
in
a
well
known
Sesotho
fable,
slew
the
monster
Kholumolumo
and
rescued
his
people
from
its
belly
after
it
had
devoured
them.
AIDS
is
often
likened
to
such
a
monster
which
is
today
devouring
the
population,
and
the
clinic
will,
it
is
hoped,
play
the
part
of
Senkatana.
▲back
to top
The
Senkatana
Clinic
at
Botsabelo,
now
operational,
is
a
small
step
in
providing
for
the
massive
infrastructure
needed
if
antiretroviral
drugs
are
to
be
made
available
to
everyone
who
needs
them.
However,
for
the
project
to
be
replicated
countrywide,
not
only
will
large
financial
resources
be
required,
but
also
additional
nurses,
counsellors
and
laboratory
staff.
Nurses
in
particular
are
now
becoming
increasingly
hard
to
recruit.
A
few
Basotho
nurses
have
themselves
already
died
of
HIV/AIDS.
However,
although
it
is
difficult
to
quantify
the
numbers,
it
seems
that
much
greater
numbers
have
been
lost
because
qualified
Basotho
nurses
have
left
for
South
Africa,
the
United
States,
the
United
Kingdom
and
elsewhere.
As
given
by
W.
F.
Deedes
in
the
Weekly
Telegraph
of
19
May
2004,
figures
show
that
of
80
000
new
nurses
registered
in
Britain
since
2001,
half
have
come
from
overseas
(although
of
course
only
a
very
small
number
of
these
will
be
from
Lesotho).
It
is
commented
that
although
the
British
National
Health
Service
in
theory
does
not
recruit
from
150
of
the
world's
poorest
countries,
independent
health
providers
are
free
to
do
so.
In
the
same
issue,
the
medical
correspondent
of
the
newspaper
quotes
a
US
nurse
recruitment
adviser,
as
saying
that
some
United
States
agencies
are
paid
US$25
000
(over
M150
000)
for
every
nurse
they
recruit.
Deedes
comments
that
although
nurses
are
attracted
to
Britain
by
the
higher
rates
of
pay,
‘there's
a
whiff
of
humbug
about
lamenting
the
plight
of
HIV/AIDS
victims
in
Africa
and
then
taking
every
nurse
we
can
lay
hands
on'.
At
the
Lesotho
end,
there
are
a
number
of
overlapping
problems,
which
will
need
a
major
national
effort
to
solve.
Firstly,
although
there
is
no
shortage
of
high
school
girls
who
express
an
interest
in
nursing,
only
a
few
leave
school
with
the
necessary
prerequisites
to
enter
a
College
of
Nursing.
A
College
of
Further
Education
on
the
University's
Institute
of
Extra-Mural
Studies
Maseru
campus
could
certainly
help
to
meet
the
need
for
such
students
to
reach
the
required
standard,
but
IEMS
seems
to
have
got
itself
locked
into
providing
degrees
in
Adult
Education
to
the
detriment
of
providing
the
vitally
needed
adult
education
itself.
A
second
problem
is
the
National
Manpower
Development
Secretariat,
which
in
recent
years
has
been
more
concerned
with
what
its
applicants
want
to
study
than
with
what
the
nation
needs.
Interviews
with
first
year
students
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
indicate
that
many
of
them
had
originally
wanted
to
study
nursing,
but
changed
their
minds
when
they
found
that
they
could
more
easily
enter
the
university
to
read
law,
a
subject
which
they
have
now
convinced
themselves
will
lead
to
a
much
more
opulent
lifestyle.
The
third
problem
is
the
Colleges
of
Nursing
themselves.
There
seems
to
be
no
realisation
that
nursing
has
become
the
new
form
of
migrant
labour.
Such
migrant
labour
cannot
be
stopped,
but
it
can
be
provided
for
by
training
sufficient
additional
persons.
Yet
the
colleges
are
small,
only
four
in
number,
of
which
three
belong
to
churches
and
are
linked
to
mission
hospitals
with
varying
abilities
to
raise
funds.
Only
one
of
them
has
recently
been
comparatively
successful,
the
Seventh
Day
Adventist
Maluti
Hospital
at
Mapoteng,
which
has
secured
funds
from
Japanese
sources
for
a
new
wing
for
its
Nursing
School.
But
staffing
the
colleges
is
already
a
problem
and
amongst
the
brain
drain
are
nurse
educators.
For
example
the
Principal
of
the
Roma
College
of
Nursing
is
one
of
those
who
have
recently
left
Lesotho
to
work
in
Britain.
Government
is
apparently
serious
about
providing
funds
for
the
AIDS
crisis,
but
providing
2%
in
the
budget
of
each
ministry
for
AIDS
work
may
need
to
be
paralleled
by
providing
20%
or
more
to
the
Ministry
of
Health
capital
and
recurrent
budgets
to
expand
nurse
training.
▲back
to top
Anew
300-page
book
became
available
in
Lesotho
in
May
2004,
Turning
a
crisis
into
an
opportunity:
strategies
for
scaling
up
the
national
response
to
the
HIV/AIDS
pandemic
in
Lesotho.
It
is
edited
by
Scholastica
Sylvan
Kimaryo
(United
Nations
Resident
Representative),
Joseph
O.
Okpaku
Sr,
Anne
Githuku-Shongwe
and
Joseph
Feeney;
and
published
in
New
York
by
Third
Press
Publishers
for
Partnership
of
the
Government
of
Lesotho
and
the
Expanded
Theme
Group
on
HIV/AIDS.
The
book
looks
at
the
appropriate
national
response
to
HIV/AIDS
in
Lesotho,
and
a
draft
was
in
October
2003
adopted
by
cabinet
as
an
official
working
document.
As
recorded
in
the
introductory
pages
of
the
book,
Cabinet
decided
at
the
same
time
to
set
up
a
new
broad-based
National
AIDS
Commission
of
which
the
existing
Lesotho
AIDS
Programme
Coordinating
Authority
(LAPCA)
will
act
as
secretariat.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Mopheme
of
11
May
2004,
according
to
the
Lesotho
Minister
of
Home
Affairs
and
Public
Safety,
Tom
Thabane,
an
agreement
on
free
movement
between
Lesotho
and
South
Africa
has
been
completed
and
will
soon
be
signed.
The
agreement
will
apparently
provide
for
Lesotho
and
South
African
citizens
to
pass
through
the
border
by
showing
their
passports,
and
without
the
need
for
formal
stamping.
In
the
meantime,
a
partial
relaxation
in
border
controls
has
been
the
issuing
of
six
month
border
passes
to
Basotho
as
a
right
rather
than
privilege.
Previously
it
had
been
necessary
to
prove
frequent
travel
through
the
border
to
qualify
for
the
six
month
concession.
The
demand
for
these
six
month
passes
at
Maseru
Bridge,
however,
has
recently
put
an
enormous
strain
on
both
border
officials,
and
the
public,
who
often
have
had
to
wait
for
3
to
4
hours
to
get
the
six
month
stamp,
which
is
only
issued
during
the
morning
hours.
Over
300
passes
a
day
have
been
issued
in
recent
weeks,
resulting
in
probably
some
30
000
people
now
having
these
passes.
▲back
to top
John
Monaheng
Diaho,
a
veteran
minister
of
the
Lesotho
Evangelical
Church,
died
on
11
May
2004.
Born
at
Whitehill
in
Qacha's
Nek
District
in
1918,
John
Diaho
served
in
the
Second
World
War
and
was
subsequently
an
ordained
minister
of
the
Paris
Evangelical
Missionary
Society
and
Lesotho
Evangelical
Church
for
47
years.
He
only
formally
retired
in
2003
at
the
age
of
85.
In
the
Lesotho
Evangelical
Church,
John
Diaho
was
for
many
years
President
of
the
Synod.
He
also
served
for
a
while
in
Barotseland.
He
was
known
to
many
Parliamentarians
from
his
role
as
chaplain
to
Parliament,
where
his
role
was
to
provide
the
opening
prayer.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Mopheme
of
11
May
2004,
a
workshop
on
Police
Brutality
and
Torture
was
held
at
Mmelesi
Lodge,
Thaba-Bosiu
from
5
to
7
May
2004.
It
was
apparently
the
first
workshop
of
its
kind
ever
to
have
been
held
in
Lesotho.
Transformation
Resource
Centre
Coordinator,
Motseoa
Senyane
described
torture
methods
used
to
extract
information
from
people
in
police
detention,
including
sexual
assaults,
electric
shocks,
use
of
tyre
tubes
and
strangulation.
She
pointed
out
that
suspects
are
ignorant
of
their
constitutional
rights.
The
Constitution
of
Lesotho
at
Section
8(1)
states
‘No
person
shall
be
subjected
to
torture
or
to
inhuman
or
degrading
punishment
or
other
treatment'.
Amongst
those
who
spoke
were
persons
who
had
been
victims
of
police
brutality.
Also
speaking
was
the
Chief
Facilitator
and
Inspector
at
the
Police
Training
College,
Advocate
Thabang
Letsie.
He
confirmed
that
it
was
a
criminal
offence
for
police
to
use
torture.
Police
were
only
entitled
to
use
the
force
necessary
to
arrest
a
person
who
was
resisting
them.
Victims
of
police
torture
could
institute
criminal
cases
against
the
police.
▲back
to top
Tseliso
Rapitse,
a
co-founder
of
the
Lesotho
Liberation
Army,
died
at
Queen
Elizabeth
II
Hospital,
Maseru,
on
17
May
2004.
Rapitse,
born
on
21
April
1942,
came
to
prominence
when
the
Basutoland
Congress
Party
(BCP),
of
which
he
was
a
staunch
supporter,
was
denied
the
opportunity
to
rule
Lesotho
after
it
had
won
the
General
Election
in
1970.
With
democratic
change
ruled
out,
Rapitse
left
Lesotho
and
underwent
military
training
abroad
in
Libya,
where
Basotho
were
disguised
as
trainees
for
the
military
wing
of
the
Pan
African
Congress.
Shortly
thereafter
‘Raps'
was
stationed
in
Botswana.
As
first
Deputy
Political
Commissar
of
the
newly
formed
Lesotho
Liberation
Army
(LLA),
he
was
in
effect
its
chief
recruiting
officer
and
also
had
a
liaison
role
between
the
LLA
and
the
BCP.
As
reported
by
his
close
comrade
in
arms,
Naleli
Ntlama,
in
Public
Eye
of
28
May
2004,
Rapitse
set
up
an
operational
network
in
Botswana
stretching
from
there
to
bases
in
Lesotho
itself.
When
the
Chief
Political
Commissar
of
the
LLA,
Bahlakoana
Mafela,
was
captured
by
the
Lesotho
security
forces
(his
final
fate
has
never
become
known),
Rapitse
took
his
place,
although
he
later
yielded
it
to
Ntlama.
A
full
and
objective
history
of
the
LLA
has
yet
to
be
written,
but
anyone
who
takes
on
the
task
will
have
the
advantage
that
Rapitse
documented
an
extensive
portion
of
this
history,
even
though
much
of
it
contained
unsavoury
details
that
some
members
of
the
BCP
would
rather
have
forgotten.
Beginning
in
its
issue
of
9
August
1996,
Rapitse
told
in
the
newspaper
Moafrika
of
how
after
1980
the
BCP
leader
had
in
effect
‘supped
with
the
devil'
on
the
farm
Vlakplaas,
and
how
later
the
BCP
had
created
its
own
death
squad
to
eliminate
dissidents.
Rapitse
returned
to
Lesotho
in
1986,
when
the
Basotho
National
Party
had
been
overthrown
and
the
Military
Council
had
outlawed
politics.
He
began
spilling
the
beans
when,
with
the
return
of
democracy
to
Lesotho
in
1993,
he
found
himself
sidelined.
Indeed,
even
though
he
was
Chairman
of
the
Mafeteng
constituency
committee,
he
was
denied
the
opportunity
to
stand
for
Parliament
because
his
committee
was
suspended
by
the
BCP
National
Executive
Committee.
It
was
from
the
consequent
political
wilderness
that
he
broke
silence
and
used
the
media
to
chronicle
the
turbulent
past
of
the
BCP
in
exile.
The
funeral
of
Tseliso
Rapitse
at
the
village
of
Matholeng
on
the
outskirts
of
the
town
of
Mafeteng
was
remarkable
in
that
all
factions
of
the
now
divided
BCP
were
there.
It
was
held
on
Saturday
18
June
2004,
and
amongst
older
persons
present,
there
were
those
who
remembered
that
Rapitse
was
born
into
the
same
village
that
had
nurtured
Potlako
Leballo,
the
Mosotho
who
rose
to
the
leadership
of
the
Pan
African
Congress
of
South
Africa.
Despite,
or
perhaps
because
of,
the
presence
of
the
Deputy
Prime
Minister,
Lesao
Lehohla,
himself
also
from
Matholeng,
the
speeches
included
attacks
on
the
present
LCD
leadership.
These
concentrated
on
the
neglect
of
the
former
members
of
the
LLA,
fighters
who
had
been,
as
one
speaker
said,
used
and
then
discarded
‘like
condoms'.
The
BCP
had
debts
which
were
owed
to
these
combatants
who
were
now
living
in
hunger
and
want.
These
debts
had
yet
to
be
paid.
Lehohla
listened
and
he
himself
spoke.
He
promised
to
convey
to
the
government
the
demands
of
the
speakers.
▲back
to top
A
report
from
the
Lesotho
News
Agency
(LENA),
published
in
Lesotho
Today
of
27
May
2004,
quoted
Detective
Senior
Inspector
David
Motlomelo
of
the
Butha-Buthe
police.
He
stated
that
since
the
beginning
of
2004,
more
than
6
people
had
been
found
dead
in
the
district,
and
that
in
four
cases,
the
police
suspected
that
they
had
been
victims
of
medicine
murder,
because
when
found,
certain
body
parts
were
missing.
Investigations
were
still
continuing
into
these
murders,
and
no
arrests
had
yet
been
made.
▲back
to top
A
man
who
has
been
linked
with
the
Morija
Printing
Works
for
over
40
years,
Heinz
Scharer,
was
given
a
traditional
farewell
party
at
Morija
on
Thursday
27
May
2004.
Scharer
first
came
to
Lesotho
from
Switzerland
as
a
technical
adviser
at
the
Morija
Printing
Works
in
1963.
It
was
in
Lesotho
that
he
met
his
wife
to
be,
Adeline,
and
also
encountered
difficulties.
A
senior
missionary
even
wrote
to
Switzerland
asking
that
he
be
recalled
or
dissuaded
from
marriage.
In
the
history
of
the
Paris
Evangelical
Missionary
Society
in
Lesotho,
marriages
between
expatriate
missionaries
or
their
children
and
Basotho
had
been
taboo
for
the
past
130
years.
Despite
the
PEMS
formally
coming
of
age
and
devolving
its
missionary
activities
to
the
independent
Lesotho
Evangelical
Church
(a
process
called
Thuthuho
the
40th
anniversary
of
which
was
celebrated
this
year),
some
church
members
were
apparently
still
more
equal
than
others.
Heinz
Scharer
was
not
deterred
and
he
and
his
wife
did
indeed
get
married
and
went
to
Switzerland,
where
Adeline
became
fluent
in
German.
Meanwhile
back
in
Lesotho,
the
Morija
Printing
Works
hardly
prospered.
Although
the
Technical
Manager
was
Swiss,
a
local
General
Manager
had
been
appointed
who
suffered
from
drinking
problems
and
eventually
had
to
be
dismissed.
Contracts
and
customers
in
the
meantime
had
been
lost,
and
the
MPW
had
fallen
deeply
into
debt.
The
Chairman
of
the
LEC
Press
Board
(which
is
responsible
for
the
MPW,
the
newspaper
Leselinyana
la
Lesotho
and
the
Morija
Sesuto
Book
Depot)
travelled
to
Switzerland
in
1971
looking
for
someone
to
help
to
rescue
the
MPW.
He
met
Heinz
and
Adeline
Scharer,
as
a
result
of
which
they
returned
to
Morija
in
1972,
with
Heinz
Scharer
assuming
the
post
of
General
Manager.
Getting
things
put
right
and
restoring
the
confidence
of
lost
customers
was
at
first
an
enormous
struggle,
alongside
which
it
was
necessary
to
modernize
the
operations
by
introducing
offset
printing.
The
MPW
eventually
recovered,
and
with
help
from
donors
in
the
Netherlands,
Germany,
Switzerland
and
France,
it
became
possible
to
build
a
completely
new
and
attractive
printing
works
building
which
was
inaugurated
in
1982.
Later
developments
included
computer
typesetting,
a
modern
bindery
and
four
colour
machines,
so
that
colour
printing
could
be
undertaken
in
a
single
operation.
MPW
managed
to
serve
not
only
Lesotho,
meeting
a
wide
range
of
printing
needs
including
school
textbooks,
but
it
also
printed
for
many
publishers
elsewhere
including
particularly
several
in
South
Africa,
Botswana,
Mozambique
and
Zambia.
At
the
Scharers'
farewell,
much
was
said
about
the
successful
management
of
the
printing
operations,
but
tribute
was
also
paid
by
the
Chief
of
Morija,
Chief
Ranthomeng
Matete
to
the
landscaping
and
neat
and
tidy
surroundings
of
the
MPW.
Chief
Ranthomeng
hoped
that
with
the
Scharers'
departure
these
would
be
maintained.
The
Scharers
hope
to
retire
in
South
Africa
near
Cape
Town
where
their
daughter
is
a
nurse.
Their
son
is
an
engineer,
currently
working
on
a
project
in
Mozambique,
although
for
many
years
he
ran
the
Morija
Garage
and
Electric
Light
Company.
At
the
time
of
their
farewell,
the
Press
Board
had
made
no
announcement
about
the
new
Manager
of
the
Morija
Printing
Works.
However,
it
seems
certain
that
for
the
first
time
since
October
1861,
when
Adolphe
Mabille
first
installed
a
hand
press
in
the
vestry
of
the
church
at
Morija,
there
will
no
longer
be
a
Swiss
printer
at
Morija.
▲back
to top
A
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
Extraordinary
of
27
May
2004
contains
the
Stock
Theft
(Livestock
Registration
and
Marketing)
Regulations
2004
made
under
the
Stock
Theft
Act
2000.
They
came
into
force
on
the
date
of
publication
in
the
Gazette,
27
May
2004.
In
terms
of
the
regulations,
a
Registrar
of
Livestock
is
appointed
who
is
required
(in
a
passage
with
rather
curious
phraseology
and
punctuation)
to
keep
‘a
register
of
livestock,
marks
livestock
numbers
and
groups,
their
identification,
their
location
and
movements,
grazing
areas,
as
well
as
particulars
of
livestock
owners
and
herdsmen
and
any
other
relevant
matter
pertaining
to
livestock'.
The
exact
definition
of
‘livestock'
is
not
given,
but
it
is
presumably
the
same
as
the
definition
of
‘stock'
in
the
Stock
Theft
Act
2000,
where
it
is
stated
that
"‘stock"
means
a
horse,
donkey,
mule,
cattle,
sheep,
goat,
pig,
domesticated
ostrich,
any
domesticated
game
or
its
young
one'.
Thus
chickens,
cats
and
dogs
are
excluded.
Domesticated
ostriches
also
at
present
do
not
exist
in
Lesotho.
Under
the
regulations,
the
Minister
has
to
prescribe
marks
for
each
group
of
livestock
and
the
parts
of
the
body
on
which
they
have
to
be
made,
and
within
3
months,
owners
of
livestock
then
have
to
apply
for
a
registered
livestock
mark,
which
must
then
be
branded,
tattooed
or
embedded
in
microchip
form
on
their
livestock
together
with
other
marks
showing
country,
district,
ward
and
area.
Livestock
are
spared
from
being
branded
more
than
once.
If
twenty
head
of
cattle,
for
example,
are
driven
to
a
new
owner
as
bohali,
what
happens
is
that
both
the
person
disposing
of
them
and
the
person
receiving
them
must
provide
the
Registrar
with
the
appropriate
particulars.
Equally,
if
one
slaughters
a
pig,
or
kills
a
goat
or
sheep
for
a
traditional
ceremony,
it
has
to
be
reported
to
the
Registrar
of
Livestock.
Similarly
whenever
one
of
one's
sheep
or
goats
gives
birth
or
dies,
it
has
to
be
reported.
Herdsmen
and
herdboys
also
have
to
appear
on
the
register,
with
a
long
list
of
details
about
each
(including
gender!)
and
about
the
animals
they
are
herding.
Amongst
regulations
governing
them,
any
absence
from
work
for
more
than
14
days
at
a
time
has
to
be
notified
to
the
Registrar
of
Livestock.
‘The
Registrar
shall,
upon
payment
of
a
prescribed
fee
by
the
livestock
owner
concerned,
issue
each
herdsman
or
herdboy
with
a
licence
or
certificate'.
The
regulations
will
render
unemployed
those
who
hold
the
long-established
position
of
bewyswriter.
The
bewys
(Sesothoized
as
babeisi)
has
long
been
a
kind
of
passport
used
for
cattle,
particularly
when
moved
from
one
area
or
ownership
to
another,
and
the
chief
s
bewys-writer
has
long
occupied
an
important
position
in
village
government.
There
are
serious
penalties
for
any
infringement
of
the
new
regulations
(a
fine
not
exceeding
M30
000
and
imprisonment
not
exceeding
14
years).
However
like
the
Building
Control
Act
1995
which
made
it
an
offence
to
construct
any
building
anywhere
in
Lesotho
without
permission,
it
would
seem
that
it
will
be
some
time
and
involve
considerable
cost
before
sufficient
bureaucracy
can
be
developed
to
handle
the
regulations.
In
the
meantime
the
thought
might
occur
that
it
would
be
more
appropriate
and
practicable
to
devolve
such
matters
to
local
government
institutions,
even
to
those
at
village
level,
where
the
skills
and
knowledge
of
the
village
bewys-writer
might
still
play
a
useful
role.
The
Regulations
have
not
yet
been
made
available
in
Sesotho.
▲back
to top
A
scheme
by
which
Form
A
pupils
in
secondary
schools
would
be
able
to
receive
government-funded
textbooks
in
return
for
a
nominal
rental
fee
had
been
first
announced
nearly
a
year
ago.
It
was
at
first
welcomed,
but
then
criticized
when
the
school
year
began
in
January
and
no
books
appeared.
Books
finally
reached
schools
late
in
May,
shortly
before
they
broke
up
for
the
long
winter
holiday.
As
a
result,
except
for
those
whose
parents
had
bought
them
with
their
own
money,
pupils
had
been
without
textbooks
for
nearly
half
the
school
year.
Any
innovation
has
its
beneficiaries
and
its
losers.
Teachers
no
longer
have
the
individual
right
to
choose
appropriate
textbooks.
Also,
bookshops
in
Lesotho
have
depended
on
the
school
textbook
trade
for
most
of
their
turnover.
A
large
part
of
this
turnover
disappeared
when
a
similar
primary
book
scheme
was
implemented
some
15
years
ago.
The
bookshops
are
now
faced
with
diminishing
profits
as
the
secondary
school
textbook
scheme
works
its
way,
a
year
at
a
time,
up
the
five-year
secondary/high
school
course.
Bookstores
in
Lesotho
are
mostly
confined
to
the
district
headquarters
towns,
and
nearly
all
of
them
are
branches
of
either
the
Catholic
Church's
Mazenod
Book
Centre
or
the
Church
of
Lesotho's
Morija
Sesuto
Book
Depot.
Given
that
few
people
buy
secular
books
other
than
textbooks,
the
main
bookstore
trade
will
now
be
in
religious
books.
▲back
to top
Whereas
jobs
in
the
textile
industry
had
a
year
ago
been
growing
by
1000
a
month,
the
future
now
seems
increasingly
uncertain.
As
reported
in
Public
Eye
of
4
June
2004,
three
factories
were
closed
and
placed
under
provisional
liquidation
at
the
end
of
May
leaving
over
a
thousand
workers
without
their
monthly
wages
for
May
and
with
an
uncertain
future.
A
second
group
of
672
workers
lost
their
jobs
at
Baneng
Lesotho,
a
textile
factory
at
the
Thetsane
Industrial
Estate,
after
participating
in
what
the
management
regarded
as
an
unlawful
strike.
The
strike
apparently
occurred
following
a
decision
by
management
to
delay
May
salary
payments,
while
an
Automatic
Teller
Machine
(ATM)
card
system
was
being
implemented
for
the
workers.
Following
the
dismissal
of
the
workers,
there
was,
as
reported
in
Mopheme
of
15
June
2004,
an
unsuccessful
attempt
to
set
fire
to
the
factory
on
Thursday
10
June.
▲back
to top
A
direct
confrontation
between
the
Lesotho
Law
Society
and
Government
developed
after
Cabinet,
through
the
Government
Secretary,
Tlohang
Sekhamane,
directed
on
10
May
2004
that
the
use
of
lawyers
should
not
be
allowed
in
local
courts.
The
Law
Society
then
filed
papers
with
the
High
Court
seeking
that
the
directive
be
declared
null
and
void.
The
Law
Society
maintained
that
the
directive
seriously
impeded
the
rights
of
litigants.
Government's
action
was
probably
prompted
by
awareness
that
local
courts
play
an
important
role
in
the
speedy
dispensing
of
justice.
This
is
in
direct
contrast
to
the
higher
courts,
whose
procedures
have
become
protracted
as
a
result
of
legal
formalism,
resulting
in
major
delays
in
the
administration
of
justice,
and
a
very
large
number
of
awaiting
trial
prisoners.
The
matter
reached
the
High
Court
on
17
June,
when
the
Law
Society's
demand
for
the
nullification
of
the
cabinet
directive
was
heard
before
Justice
Baptista
Molai,
assisted
by
Justices
Winston
Churchill
Maqutu
and
Thamsanqa
Nomngcongo.
Argument
was
presented
that
even
though
exclusion
of
legal
practitioners
from
local
courts
was
enshrined
in
the
Native
Courts
Proclamation
1938,
these
courts,
known
as
Local
and
Central
Courts
since
1950,
were
no
longer
‘small
claims'
courts.
They
had
been
granted
enhanced
jurisdiction
in
1995,
with
civil
jurisdiction
raised
from
M500
to
M
10
000,
equal
to
that
of
the
court
of
the
Chief
Magistrate.
To
deny
litigants
legal
representation
in
local
courts
constituted
discrimination
which
violated
constitutional
rights.
The
High
Court
ruled
in
favour
of
the
Law
Society
and
the
Cabinet
directive
was
put
aside.
▲back
to top
A
transformation
process,
which
had
been
underway
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
for
the
past
two
years
was
brought
to
an
abrupt
halt
by
the
meeting
of
the
University
Council
on
Monday
31
May
2004.
The
Council
required
that
the
University
reverts
to
the
structures
which
were
in
place
in
2002.
The
Council
decision
followed
an
earlier
directive
from
the
Ministry
of
Education
that
no
further
money
should
be
spent
on
the
transformation
process.
Under
transformation,
major
structural
changes
had
been
under
way,
including
the
amalgamation
of
faculties,
the
replacement
of
departments
with
programmes,
and
the
expansion
of
student
numbers
by
admitting
otherwise
unqualified
entrants
to
a
bridging
course.
However,
the
process
had
become
costly,
because
it
had
been
accompanied
by
the
creation
of
a
number
of
new
posts,
including
those
of
Executive
Deans,
a
Director
of
Human
Resources,
a
Corporate
Secretary,
and
a
Director
of
Transformation.
None
of
these
posts
nor
the
new
structures
were
provided
for
in
the
existing
statutes,
and
Government
had
indicated
that
the
University
had
to
adhere
to
the
law
as
it
stood,
and
should
not
implement
illegal
structures.
A
notice
from
the
Office
of
the
Vice-Chancellor
stated
that
the
university's
Strategic
Plan
2002/07
was
frozen
rather
than
abandoned.
It
should
be
costed,
and
management
should
work
on
ensuring
that
the
National
University
Act
1992
was
amended
so
that
it
could
incorporate
the
transformation
structures
provided
for
in
the
Strategic
Plan.
▲back
to top
The
diamond
mine
at
Letšeng-la-Terae
is
situated
on
the
bleak
eastern
summit
plateau
of
Lesotho
at
about
3000
metres
above
sea
level.
Its
name
reflects
its
remoteness,
meaning
‘at
Draai's
pool'.
The
pool,
now
replaced
by
a
‘big
hole'
was
the
marshy
area
formerly
situated
at
the
top
of
the
main
Letšeng
kimberlite
pipe.
Draai
was
an
unfortunate
individual
who
some
50
years
ago
was
walking
from
Mokhotlong
to
Qwaqwa
and
whose
body
was
found
near
the
pool
weeks
after
he
had
perished
in
a
snowstorm.
The
original
Letšeng
Mine
was
operated
by
De
Beers
from
1977
to
1982,
but
closed
when
profits
dwindled.
It
is
now
being
prepared
for
reopening
for
full
production
in
the
spring.
Meanwhile,
production
has
already
begun
as
a
result
of
the
activities
of
a
firm
of
‘alluvial'
contractors
who
are
reworking
kimberlite
already
mined.
Diamonds
worth
US$5.6
million
were
sold
in
Antwerp
in
November
2003,
and
a
further
US$3.3
million
worth
of
diamonds
were
sold
in
May
2004.
The
current
labour
force
at
the
mine
is
291,
including
220
miners
and
71
caterers
and
cleaners
who
are
predominantly
women.
The
mine
also
has
46
expatriate
staff
and
11
police
officers.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Lesotho
Today
of
10
June
2004,
thirty
foreigners
of
nineteen
different
nationalities
were
sworn
in
as
Lesotho
citizens
in
a
ceremony
at
the
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
on
Friday
4
June
2004.
Those
who
became
new
citizens
were
from
Bangladesh,
China,
Congo,
Ghana,
India,
Malawi,
Mozambique,
Myanmar,
Nigeria,
Pakistan,
Portugal,
Russia,
Singapore,
South
Africa,
Sudan,
Uganda,
United
Kingdom,
Zambia
and
Zimbabwe.
▲back
to top
The
death
of
two
further
Members
of
Parliament
occurred
at
the
end
of
May
2004.
One
was
Tokela
Seitlheko,
representing
the
Lesotho
People's
Congress
as
a
proportional
representation
member
of
the
National
Assembly.
He
died
after
a
short
illness
and
his
funeral
was
held
at
Lekokoaneng
in
Berea
District
on
Saturday
5
June
2004.
Another
death
was
that
of
the
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy
MP
for
Qhoali
Constituency,
Meshack
Belebesi,
who
had
won
the
seat
of
the
late
Vova
Bulane
in
a
by-election
as
recently
as
23
August
2003
with
a
record
89.9%
of
the
votes
cast.
Belebesi
died
in
hospital
at
Moyeni
on
30
May,
and
was
buried
in
his
constituency
on
Saturday
12
June
2004.
He
was
the
eighth
MP
to
have
died
since
the
General
Election
in
2002.
Seven
of
those
who
have
died
were
representing
the
LCD.
▲back
to top
The
planet
Venus
has
an
orbit
inclined
at
3.4°
to
that
of
the
Earth,
and
most
times
when
she
moves
past
the
Sun,
she
passes
above
or
below
its
disk.
However,
on
rare
occasions
(the
last
was
1882),
Venus
actually
passes
directly
between
the
Earth
and
Sun
and
can
be
seen
making
a
transit
across
the
face
of
the
Sun.
This
occurred
on
Tuesday
8
June
and
the
event
was
widely
visible,
weather
permitting,
in
Africa,
Asia
and
Europe.
In
Lesotho,
unusually
for
June
which
enjoys
more
than
90%
of
possible
sunshine,
the
morning
was
cloudy.
However,
the
clouds
parted
soon
after
sunrise
at
7.15
a.m.,
which
was
almost
exactly
the
time
of
the
external
contact
of
ingress,
the
time
when
Venus
crossed
the
edge
of
the
Sun.
Between
clouds,
she
was
visible
moving
from
right
to
left
across
the
upper
part
of
the
Sun
until
the
external
contact
of
egress
shortly
before
1.30
p.m.
At
the
university
at
Roma,
the
event
could
 be
viewed
safely
through
a
projection
of
the
Sun's
image
through
a
telescope
onto
a
card.
Occasionally
when
the
Sun
was
dimmed
by
cloud
on
its
face,
but
still
visible,
a
direct
view
was
also
safely
possible.
In
Maseru,
a
dentist,
Dr
Thami
Thelejane,
manufactured
goggles
from
old
x-ray
film,
and
workers
at
Mothamo
House,
where
his
surgery
is
situated,
were
able
to
see
the
speck
crossing
the
Sun.
In
Sesotho,
Venus
is
known
as
Sefalabohoho,
‘the
pot
scraper',
when
she
is
the
Evening
Star.
Sefalabohoho
had
in
fact
been
a
brilliant
object
in
the
western
sky
for
the
whole
of
the
early
part
of
2004,
until
early
June.
She
then
moved
with
increasing
haste
towards
the
setting
Sun,
although
still
dimly
visible
behind
the
setting
Sun
until
3
June.
She
was
not
missing
for
long.
After
the
transit
on
8
June,
she
was
already
visible
rising
before
the
Sun
on
13
June
as
the
Morning
Star,
Mphatlalatsane,
‘the
one
spread
out
in
full
view'.
(The
verb
phatlalatsa,
‘to
publish'
is
etymologically
cognate.)
The
next
transit
of
Venus
will
be
in
2012,
but
it
seems
that
(as
in
the
case
of
the
present
transit
in
eastern
North
America)
only
the
end
of
the
transit
will
be
visible
in
Lesotho.
After
that
the
next
transit
is
in
the
year
2117.
▲back
to top
The
Chinese
community
in
Lesotho,
according
to
His
Excellency
Mr
Qiu
Bohua,
now
numbers
between
4
000
and
5
000
individuals,
which
makes
it
the
largest
ever
expatriate
community
in
Lesotho.
The
Chinese
Embassy
regards
all
Chinese
as
belonging
to
a
single
nation,
but
in
reality
there
are
large
numbers
of
factory
owners
from
Taiwan,
who
in
turn
employ
large
numbers
of
mainland
Chinese
as
managers
and
technical
staff
in
their
factories.
The
Nien
Hsing
Denim
Mill,
for
example,
the
largest
of
its
kind
in
Africa,
is
believed
to
have
some
500
Chinese
staff
as
well
as
3
000
Basotho
employees.
A
phenomenon
of
the
past
few
years
has
been
the
spread
of
Chinese
into
retail
trading.
Small
shops
throughout
Lesotho,
even
in
Mokhotlong,
Semonkong
and
Qacha's
Nek
are
now
largely
run
by
Chinese.
The
mechanism
by
which
this
is
achieved
seems
to
be
that
the
trading
licences
are
actually
owned
(as
required
by
law)
by
Basotho,
and
the
Chinese
pay
them
a
regular
sum
to
use
the
licences.
Chinese
construction
companies
are
now
also
a
main
feature
of
Lesotho,
and
the
contracts
for
most
new
buildings
seem
to
be
given
to
Chinese
firms.
Apart
from
a
large
resident
Chinese
community,
Lesotho
has
a
substantial
group
of
Chinese
who
commute
from
Ladybrand.
Many
married
Chinese
live
there,
and
Ladybrand
has
a
large
Chinese
medium
school,
which
has
just
celebrated
its
10th
anniversary
by
offering
free
Chinese
lessons
to
anyone
who
wants
to
learn
the
language.
▲back
to top
A
high
profile
case
involving
the
President
of
the
Law
Society,
Zwelakhe
Mda,
began
as
a
trial
within
a
trial,
when
Mda
was
defending
persons
charged
with
the
murder
on
11
February
2001
of
Maile
Mosisili,
son
of
the
Prime
Minister.
It
was
alleged
that
Mda
and
Limakatso
Ralitlhare
had
enticed
crown
witnesses
to
sign
false
statements
or
affidavits
to
give
false
testimony
at
the
trial,
conduct
aimed
at
weakening
the
Crown's
case
and
detrimentally
affecting
its
prospects
for
conviction.
Mda
and
Ralitlhare
were
charged
in
the
Maseru
magistrate's
court,
but
acquitted
by
the
magistrate,
'Matankiso
Nthunya.
Government
then
appealed
against
this
acquittal,
resulting
in
a
High
Court
hearing
before
Mr
Justice
Brendan
Cullinan.
This
resulted
in
a
finding
that
there
was
in
fact
a
prima
facie
case
against
the
two
accused
and
that
a
new
trial
should
be
held.
According
to
the
report
in
Public
Eye
of
11
June
2004,
the
judge
noted
that
the
accused
had
clearly
acted
unlawfully.
Moreover
the
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