|
SUMMARY
OF
EVENTS
IN
LESOTHO
Volume 12,
Number
2, (Second Quarter 2005)
Summary
of
Events
is
a
quarterly
publication
compiled
and
published
by
Prof.
David
Ambrose
since
1993
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
in
Roma.
Maseru
to
Teyateyaneng
Road
Reopened
along
Temporary
Diversion
Public
Eye
on
Monday
Suspends
Publication;
Family
Mirror
Emerges
Habitat
for
Humanity
Project
Helps
Build
Homes
Prince
Harry
Back
in
Lesotho
Controversial
New
Book
Launched
at
ISAS
on
Soil
Conservation
in
Lesotho
Death
of
Mrs
Jeanne
Jaques
(nee
Dieterlen)
Father
Monyau
has
Sentence
Reduced
Local
Elections
Result
in
30%
Turnout
Primary
School
Teachers
Killed
20
Cuban
Doctors
Arrive
in
Lesotho
Poverty
Reduction
Programme
Prints
Periodic
Table
Police
Impound
91
Vehicles
Suspected
as
Stolen
Letšeng
Mine
to
be
Listed
on
London
and
Johannesburg
Stock
Exchanges
Death
of
Morapeli
Motaung
MP
Death
of
Veteran
BCP
Politician
Mopshatla
Mabitle
Death
of
Dr
Martha
Sigmund
Leselinyana
Acquires
New
Editor
Mohale's
Hoek
to
Acquire
New
Sports
Arena
Columnist
Challenges
Lesotho
Defence
Force
Discrimination
against
HIV-Positive
Applicants
Severe
Food
Shortage
again
Predicted
for
Lesotho
New
National
Library
and
Archives
to
Open
in
September
Peace
Monument
Unveiled
at
Ha
Tsiu
British
High
Commission
Closes
Down
Chief
Seeiso
Bereng
Seeiso
to
be
next
Lesotho
High
Commissioner
in
London
Millennium
Challenge
Funds
to
assist
Metolong
Feasibility
Study
Civil
Servants
Retirement
Age
Increased
to
60
NUL
Law
Student
Charged
with
Impersonation
Lesotho
Defence
Force
Troops
in
Botswana
Exercises
Six
Ferry
Boats
Provided
for
Use
in
the
Maloti
Nine
Women
Sentenced
for
Exporting
Wild
Pelargonium
Parliamentarians
and
Senior
Officials
Receive
Large
Salary
Increases
NUL
Graduate
Becomes
Vice-President
of
South
Africa
South
African
Hospital
Refuses
Patients
after
Lesotho
Government
Fails
to
Settle
Bills
Semonkong
to
Ketane
Track
to
be
Completed
Secondary
School
Book
Rental
Scheme
Runs
into
Difficulties
for
Second
Year
Maseru
Northern
By-Pass
Gazetted
Maseru
City
Council
Elects
its
First
Woman
Mayor
Justice
Sector
Vision
and
Strategy
Document
Launched
Anti-Retrovirals
only
Reach
5
000
Patients
Major
New
Book
Appears
on
Medicine
Murder
in
Colonial
Lesotho
Inflation
Rate
Drops
but
is
Expected
to
Rise
Again
▲back
to top
On
17
January
2005,
the
tarred
road
between
Maseru
and
Teyateyaneng
had
been
washed
away
at
Ha
Souru
between
the
Palace
Hotel
and
Lekokoaneng
after
a
violent
storm.
Traffic
on
the
main
north
road
had
to
be
diverted
onto
a
much
longer
gravel
road
and
financial
constraints
within
the
Ministry
of
Public
Works
and
Transport
prevented
repairs
being
undertaken
until
after
the
end
of
the
financial
year.
By
early
April,
owners
of
minibus
taxis
and
others
were
becoming
concerned
at
the
extra
expenses
they
were
incurring
as
a
result
of
the
long
diversion,
which
added
some
5
km,
but
also,
because
of
the
state
of
the
gravel
road,
some
15
minutes
to
the
journey
time,
not
to
mention
passengers
missed
from
intermediate
bus
stops.
They
took
matters
into
their
own
hands,
collected
M150
000,
and
built
their
own
temporary
diversion
parallel
to
the
tarred
road,
and
it
was
operational
in
the
first
week
of
April.
Meanwhile
work
on
rebuilding
the
tarred
road
itself
at
the
washaway
was
still
incomplete
at
the
end
of
June.
▲back
to top
After
eight
issues,
Public
Eye
on
Monday,
which
had
first
appeared
on
31
January
2005,
suspended
publication.
Production
had
been
suspended
because
of
the
difficulty
in
recruiting
the
specialized
skills
needed
to
run
the
printing
press
at
Mohalalitoe
in
Maseru
where
the
new
newspaper
was
being
printed.
However,
a
new
glossy
magazine
made
its
debut
shortly
afterwards
from
the
same
Voice
Multimedia
stable.
Family
World,
edited
by'Mathabang
Fanyane
(profile
at
page
13
of
the
first
issue),
grew
out
of
two
earlier
supplement
to
Public
Eye,
called
Wedding
World.
The
first
issue,
June
to
September
2005,
selling
at
M10,
is
a
full
colour
60-page
magazine,
mainly
aimed
at
young
people
and
with
topics
(and
photographs)
devoted
to
bachelors,
weddings,
gays,
an
agony
column,
health,
divorce,
fashion,
pregnancy,
the
risks
of
using
condoms,
food
and
nutrition,
family
law
and
`How
to
keep
your
man'.
Meanwhile
the
local
price
of
Public
Eye,
Lesotho's
most
widely
read
English
newspaper,
went
up
to
M4
on
10
June
2005.
▲back
to top
The
international
NGO,
Habitat
for
Humanity,
has
recently
completed
the
first
phase
of
a
housing
project
at
Khubelu
near
the
by-pass
in
Maseru's
southern
suburbs.
To
be
eligible
for
the
project
prospective
home
owners
had
to
be
living
in
substandard
dwellings
and
earning
between
M700
and
Ml
100
per
month
in
order
to
pay
a
modest
mortgage
payment
for
the
two-roomed
houses.
Costs
were
reduced
by
international
voluntary
labour
as
well
as
labour
by
the
prospective
owners.
24
houses
have
now
been
completed
but,
as
reported
in
Public
Eye
of
8
April
2005,
two
remain
unoccupied
because
their
prospective
owners
had
lost
their
jobs
and
were
unable
to
pay
the
mortgage
payments.
Most
owners
of
the
houses
are
women,
but
according
to
one
of
the
occupants
interviewed
by
Public
Eye
there
is
no
feeling
of
ownership.
When
people
defaulted
on
mortgage
payments,
Habitat
could
lock
up
the
houses,
even
with
the
occupant's
furniture
inside
and
sell
them
on.
▲back
to top
Less
than
2
days
after
attending
his
father's
wedding
to
Camilla
Parker-Bowles
on
9
April
2005,
Prince
Harry
was
back
in
Lesotho
for
a
few
day's
stay.
His
visit
was
designed
to
follow
up
on
charity
work
initiated
during
and
after
his
visit
the
previous
year.
As
during
his
previous
visit,
he
was
hosted
by
Prince
Seeiso
Bereng
Seeiso,
younger
brother
of
King
Letsie
III.
▲back
to top
The
book,
Imperial
gullies:
soil
erosion
and
conservation
in
Lesotho
was
formally
launched
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
Institute
of
Southern
African
Studies
on
Thursday
14
April
2005.
The
author,
Kate
Showers,
both
spoke
about
the
book
and
presented
copies
to
a
number
of
institutions
and
individuals
who
had
assisted
her
in
her
work.
No
books
were
available
for
sale.
They
have
to
be
ordered
from
the
publisher,
the
Ohio
University
Press.
The
book
has
developed
from
the
author's
PhD
thesis,
based
on
research
undertaken
when
she
lived
from
1978
to
1980
at
Ha
Tsilo,
a
Lowlands
village
near
Matsieng
in
a
valley
enclosed
by
sandstone
cliffs.
The
book
essentially
repeats
her
thesis
findings
at
Ha
Tsilo
to
the
effect
that
there
was
no
gully
erosion
there
until
after
the
introduction
of
contour
ridges
as
part
of
the
soil
conservation
scheme
which
began
in
the
late
1930s.
The
dongas
of
Lesotho
were
`an
imperial
creation'.
However,
as
she
also
acknowledges,
this
is
an
oversimplification.
There
is
plenty
of
evidence
that
gully
erosion
was
a
problem
in
Lesotho
from
the
late
19th
century
onwards.
Her
argument
for
the
`imperial
gullies'
becomes
focused
on
duplex
soils
as
do
indeed
occur
at
Ha
Tsilo.
Formal
soil
surveys
had
not
begun
in
the
1930s,
and
the
soil
conservation
measures
consequently
took
little
cognisance
of
soil
type.
However,
duplex
soils
with
their
two
separate
components
are
the
ones
most
likely
to
suffer
when
contour
ridges
are
built.
Water
spills
round
the
ends
creating
dongas
easily
once
the
top
component
of
the
soil
has
been
penetrated.
Duplex
soils
occur
elsewhere
in
the
world,
such
as
Australia,
South
Africa
and
Zimbabwe.
In
these
countries,
such
soils
are
recognized
as
problem
soils
and
best
left
to
pasture.
But
pressure
on
land
in
Lesotho
has
resulted
in
their
being
used
for
agricultural
purposes.
However,
did
the
contour
ridges
really
do
so
much
damage?
One
chapter
is
devoted
to
Basotho
perceptions
of
soil
erosion.
Those
interviewed
at
Ha
Tsilo
did
indeed
say
that
the
dongas
had
formed
in
the
1930s,
but
cause
and
effect
are
not
completely
established.
For
example
Ntate
Piti
(p.
200)
suggested
that
they
formed
`after
the
dust'.
It
is
well-known
(although
perhaps
less
known
to
the
writer)
that
after
the
great
drought
of
1932-3,
the
land
was
bare
of
vegetation
and
there
were
devastating
dust
storms
the
following
spring
until
extremely
heavy
rains
began
to
fall
in
November
1933.
The
erosive
power
of
the
rains
was
exacerbated
by
the
lack
of
plant
cover.
In
the
first
week
in
January
there
were
heavier
rains
in
the
northern
and
central
Lowlands
of
Lesotho
than
at
any
other
time
in
the
whole
of
the
20th
century.
This
came
at
a
time
when
the
fields
had
finally
been
ploughed,
but
the
crops
had
hardly
emerged
sufficiently
to
bind
the
soil,
It
is
arguable
therefore
that
in
the
two
months
from
mid-November
1933
to
mid-January
1934,
there
may
have
been
as
much
donga
formation
as
in
the
previous
50
years,
and
that
the
creation
of
dongas
at
Ha
Tsilo
may
have
dated
largely
from
these
events,
rather
than
from
the
soil
conservation
measures
a
few
years
later
which
Kate
Showers
believes
to
be
solely
responsible.
In
`Conclusions',
the
writer
reiterates
her
belief
that
despite
technical
failure
from
the
outset,
soil
conservation
engineering,
mainly
based
on
contour
ridges,
continued
in
Lesotho
for
the
remaining
30
years
to
Independence
and
the
ideology
was
so
entrenched
that
it
drove
subsequent
development
assistance.
As
a
whole,
the
book
covers
much
useful
ground
and
is
much
less
narrowly
focused
than
the
thesis
it
is
based
on.
It
is
surprising
that
several
errors
in
the
introductory
pages
were
not
eliminated.
For
example
there
is
(p.
xxiii)
the
multiply
erroneous
statement
about
Sesotho
that
`clicks
are
represented
by
g,
c
and
x',
a
direct
quotation
from
Eldredge
(item
22.270),
who
equally
inexplicably
made
the
same
ignorant
statement.
[The
g
was
presumably
a
typographical
error
for
q,
but
c
and
x
as
clicks
are
not
part
of
the
Sesotho
sound
system.]
Then
again
under
19th
century
there
is
repeated
reference
to
the
Orange
Free
State
colony
(whose
colony?).
Finally
there
is
the
further
erroneous
statement
(p.
xxvii)
that
migrant
labour
did
not
begin
in
Lesotho
until
the
early
1900s.
▲back
to top
Mrs
Jeanne
Jaques,
the
last
surviving
member
of
the
Dieterlens,
whose
connection
with
Lesotho
goes
back
130
years,
died
at
her
home
in
Ladybrand
on
18
April
2005.
She
had
been
born
at
Sebapala,
Lesotho
on
19
October
1911,
and
was
aged
93.
It
was
on
13
January
1875
that
her
grandfather
Hermann
Dieterlen,
a
native
of
Alsace,
had
arrived
in
Lesotho.
He
served
for
many
years
as
missionary
at
Hermon,
Morija
and
Leribe.
His
first
responsibility
at
Morija
in
1887
was
to
open
the
Theological
College,
and
to
have
in
his
care
the
first
three
Basotho
who
became
ordained
ministers
in
1890,
Jobo
Moteane,
Carlisle
Motebang
and
John
Mohapeloa.
In
1894
Hermann
Dieterlen
moved
to
Leribe
Mission
also
known
as
Maoanamasooana,
where
he
stayed
until
1913.
During
this
time,
his
wife
Anna
Dieterlen
(nee
Busch)
made
an
exhaustive
collection
of
the
plants
of
the
Leribe
Plateau,
a
work
which
secured
her
a
name
as
a
pioneer
botanist.
Her
information
is
even
today
frequently
cited
in
accounts
in
scientific
journals
of
species
distributions.
When
the
Botsabelo
Leper
Settlement
was
opened
on
the
outskirts
of
Maseru
in
1913,
it
had
a
population
even
larger
than
that
of
Maseru.
This
was
recognized
by
each
of
the
three
most
important
religious
denominations
in
Lesotho
building
large
churches
there.
It
was
Hermann
Dieterlen
who
was
chosen
for
the
French
Protestant
Mission
church
but
he
served
there
fairly
briefly
from
1913
to
1914,
when
there
was
a
leper
revolt.
His
last
years
in
Lesotho
were
at
Likhoele
before
the
Dieterlens
retired
back
to
Alsace
in
1919,
their
lives
overshadowed
by
the
fact
that
one
of
their
two
sons,
who
had
served
in
the
Great
War,
had
gone
missing
and
his
body
was
never
found.
Alsace,
formerly
part
of
France,
had
been
conquered
by
Germany
in
1871,
but
two
years
before
Dieterlen
and
his
wife
returned,
it
had
again
become
a
part
of
France.
In
his
retirement,
as
indeed
while
in
Lesotho,
Dieterlen
was
an
indefatigable
writer.
He
wrote
extensively
in
Leselinyana
on
many
subjects.
He
was
in
fact
the
first
person
to
describe
the
Morija
fossil
footprints
in
Leselinyana
la
Lesotho
of
1
July
1885,
the
first
ever
description
in
print
about
fossil
footprints
in
sub-Saharan
Africa.
He
was
also
the
author
of
9
books,
some
in
French
and
some
in
Sesotho,
including
several
which
were
biographies
of
his
fellow
missionaries.
He
continued
writing
extensively
in
France
and
although
he
died
in
1933
at
the
age
of
82,
he
left
behind
so
many
items
for
publication
that
the
missionary
magazine
L'Ami
des
Missions
was
still
publishing
new
items
by
Dieterlen
about
Lesotho
many
months
after
they
had
published
his
obituary
notice.
Amongst
Hermann
Dieterlen's
books
were
La
medecine
et
les
medecins
au
Lessouto
(Medicine
and
doctors
in
Lesotho)
which
is
about
both
traditional
and
western-trained
doctors.
He
is
also
remembered
for
his
contribution
to
Sesotho
lexicography.
The
pioneer
compiler
of
the
Sesotho-English
dictionary
was
Adolphe
Mabille
which
by
1893
had
reached
a
second
edition
with
144
pages.
Dieterlen
revised
and
greatly
enlarged
the
dictionary,
and
saw
it
through
its
3rd,
4th
and
5th
editions,
by
which
time
it
had
grown
to
535
pages.
Many
of
the
Sesotho
plant
names
were
in
fact
contributed
by
his
wife.
The
father
of
Jeanne
Jaques,
Georges
Dieterlen,
was
born
at
Morija
in
1879,
the
oldest
son
of
Hermann
and
Anna
Dieterlen.
He
studied
in
France,
where
he
met
his
wife
Suzanne
Audouin.
Returning
to
Lesotho,
Georges
Dieterlen
became
the
missionary
at
Sebapala
in
1909
and
amongst
his
many
later
responsibilities
was
editor
of
the
mission
newspaper,
Leselinyana
la
Lesotho
from
1935
to
1950,
the
year
that
he
died
in
his
place
of
birth
at
the
age
of
71.
Jeanne
Jaques
herself
was
born
at
Sebapala
in
the
Quthing
District
of
Lesotho
on
19
October
1911,
the
third
daughter
of
Georges
and
Suzanne
Dieterlen.
In
1914,
her
father
took
over
the
Industrial
School
at
Leloaleng,
while
the
Director,
Theophile
Verdier
was
on
leave
in
France.
When
war
broke
out
soon
afterwards,
both
Verdier
and
Georges
Dieterlen
enlisted
for
service
in
France,
and
life
at
Leloaleng
became
difficult,
with
the
school
surviving
under
the
direction
of
Jeanne
Jaques'
mother,
Suzanne
Dieterelen,
helped
by
her
sister
Violette
Audoin
and
by
the
veteran
missionary
Barthelemy
Pascal
at
Masitise
nearby.
It
was
from
her
Aunt
Violette
that
Jeanne
Jaques
first
learned
to
read
and
write
French.
In
1919,
now
that
the
war
was
over,
the
family
with
difficulty
managed
(with
a
bit
of
help
from
the
Resident
Commissioner,
Sir
Edward
Garraway)
to
secure
a
passage
on
a
boat
to
France
where
Suzanne
and
their
now
four
daughters
were
reunited
with
their
father.
Jeanne's
first
reaction
to
him
was
one
of
horror.
She
had
not
expected
him
to
have
a
beard
and
she
buried
her
face
and
burst
into
tears.
Jeanne
attended
school
for
the
first
time
in
France,
although
only
briefly,
and
she
also
had
the
opportunity
to
meet
her
grandfather
and
grandmother,
Hermann
and
Anna
Dieterlen.
When
the
family
returned
to
Lesotho
and
were
stationed
at
Berea
Mission
for
the
years
1920
to
1925,
the
Dieterlen
girls
had
their
parents
as
teachers.
The
piano
lessons
and
the
lessons
on
Geography,
History,
Latin
and
French
Grammar
were
apparently
more
successful
than
the
English
lessons,
because
when
Jeanne
was
sent
to
St
Michael's
High
School
in
Bloemfontein
at
the
age
of
13,
she
knew
hardly
a
word
of
the
language
which
was
the
medium
of
instruction.
At
Berea,
the
Dieterlen
daughters
were
equally
fluent
in
Sesotho
and
French,
and
apart
from
Basotho
friends
to
play
with,
there
was
a
good
friend,
Dorothy
Rhind,
the
daughter
of
the
trader
at
Berea
Hills
Store,
who
was
English
speaking,
but
with
whom
the
girls
always
conversed
in
Sesotho.
The
early
1920s
were
years
when
locust
swarms
still
visited
Lesotho.
The
children
learned
from
their
Basotho
friends
how
to
make
a
tasty
meal.
The
locusts
were
cooked
over
the
fire,
and
then
their
wings
and
legs
were
removed
and
they
were
eaten
hot
with
a
little
salt.
Public
transport
did
not
exist
in
those
days.
When
the
Dieterlen
sisters
wanted
to
attend
meetings
of
the
Girl
Guides,
Jeanne
and
her
younger
sister
would
walk
the
10
miles
[
16
km]
to
Maseru
and
then
the
same
distance
back
again
after
the
meeting.
Eventually
Jeanne
Jaques
succeeded
to
pass
matriculation
at
St
Michael's,
by
which
time
her
parents
were
living
at
Thaba-Bosiu.
However,
she
soon
left
home
again
to
train
as
a
nurse
at
the
Johannesburg
General
Hospital.
It
was
there
that
she
met
Auguste
Jaques,
the
son
of
Swiss
missionaries
working
at
Elim
in
the
Transvaal,
who
was
training
to
be
a
doctor.
Their
engagement
was
announced
in
the
weekly
Basutoland
News
of
17
October
1933,
in
the
same
issue
which
contained
reports
of
severe
dust
storms.
Darkness
fell
in
daytime
and
the
raging
storms
were
described
by
the
paper
as
`the
most
appalling
phenomenon
in
Maseru's
known
history'.
The
Jaqueses
were
not
married
until
30
March
1937,
when
Dr
Jaques
had
completed
his
basic
medical
training,
which
he
followed
by
beginning
a
practice
at
Carolina
in
the
eastern
Transvaal.
Meanwhile,
Jeanne's
parents
had
moved
to
Morija,
where
a
hospital
was
under
construction,
funded
largely
through
a
large
sum
donated
by
the
trader
William
Scott
of
Mafeteng,
a
Presbyterian
from
Scotland.
Dr
Jaques
accepted
an
invitation
to
become
the
founder
medical
superintendent
at
the
hospital.
However,
when
Auguste
and
Jeanne
Jaques
arrived
at
Morija
on
2
March
1938,
the
buildings
were
still
under
construction.
Meanwhile,
the
colonial
administration
approached
Dr
Jaques
and
reported
that
they
had
an
emergency
at
Mokhotlong,
where
the
Edinburgh-trained
Mosotho
doctor,
Dr
Calvin
Motebang,
who
had
been
District
Surgeon
at
Mokhotlong
since
1930,
was
very
ill.
Could
Dr
Jaques
help?
As
a
result,
Dr
Jaques
left
his
wife
in
Morija,
when
their
first
child
Philippe
was
then
less
than
a
month
old,
and
rode
via
Butha-Buthe
to
Mokhotlong.
Unfortunately
he
could
not
save
Dr
Motebang
who
died
shortly
afterwards,
but
he
was
able
to
provide
medical
services
for
the
district
for
the
next
three
months.
On
his
return
to
Morija,
medical
services
at
Scott
Hospital
were
initiated,
but
the
Second
World
War
intervened,
and
Dr
Jaques
was
away
serving
as
a
military
doctor
in
Egypt
for
the
years
1940
to
1945,
while
Jeanne
stayed
with
their
two
infant
sons
at
Morija.
Jeanne
Jaques
was
left
in
a
similar
situation
to
that
of
her
mother
a
generation
and
a
war
earlier.
From
1946
to
1950,
the
Jaques
family
were
together
at
Morija,
after
which
Dr
Jaques
was
invited
to
become
the
Director
of
the
Botsabelo
Leper
Settlement.
As
a
result,
Jeanne
Jaques
found
herself
living
at
the
institution
where
her
grandfather
had
served
briefly
at
the
time
of
its
inauguration.
There
followed
a
period
from
1957
to
1960
when
the
Jaques
family
were
at
Mohale's
Hoek
and
Dr
Jaques
was
the
medical
officer
for
the
Mohale's
Hoek
Hospital.
In
1960
they
moved
to
Maseru
where
Dr
Jaques
was
Medical
Superintendent
of
Queen
Elizabeth
II
Hospital
but
also
combined
this
with
the
Directorship
of
Botsabelo,
where
thankfully
as
a
result
of
new
drugs,
the
number
of
leprosy
patients
was
declining
rapidly.
He
also
combined
it
with
acting
as
the
flying
doctor,
when
there
was
no
other
person
available
to
fill
this
arduous
and
sometimes
hazardous
occupation.
He
was
awarded
the
Order
of
Mohlomi
for
his
medical
work.
Dr
Jaques
or
'Ngaka
Jaka'
as
he
was
known
in
Lesotho,
became
one
of
the
best
known
doctors
in.
Lesotho,
not
least
because
he
regularly,
when
the
need
arose,
saw
150
patients
or
more
per
day.
Although
he
formally
retired
in
1972,
he
was
re-employed
by
Government
until
1987.
Meanwhile
Dr
and
Mrs
Jaques
had
moved
to
a
retirement
house
in
Ladybrand,
designed
by
Dr
Jacques
himself.
Their
daughter
Marceline,
who
had
married
into
the
Rosset
missionary
family,
was
also
living
by
this
time
in
Ladybrand.
We
relate
Dr
Jaques'
activities
to
provide
the
background
to
when
and
where
Jeanne
Jaques
lived.
Her
own
activities
were
quite
different
but
equally
remarkable.
Like
her
paternal
grandmother,
she
developed
a
great
interest
in
the
environment
and
in
plants
and
animals.
At
Botsabelo,
she
had
a
pet
bullfrog,
Cuthbert,
whom
she
observed
protecting
its
tadpoles
from
cattle
that
might
want
to
drink
in
pools
behind
the
contour
ridges.
In
Maseru,
a
pet
was
a
rare
Lesotho
snake,
the
Rhombic
Egg-Eater,
which
was
fed
with
budgerigar
eggs
which
it
swallowed
whole.
She
also
began
to
keep
leopard
tortoises,
some
of
which,
now
in
Ladybrand,
have
grown
to
enormous
sizes
and
are
over
50
years
old.
Eventually
looking
after
sick
animals
became
a
common
concern
of
the
Jaqueses,
and
their
menagerie,
when
they
moved
from
Europa
in
Maseru
to
Ladybrand
expanded
so
that
at
different
times
they
looked
after
all
manner
of
creatures
from
platannas
to
exotic
birds.
On
two
occasions
injured
lammergeyers
lived
with
them,
one
surviving
for
many
years
until
it
was
unfortunately
killed
in
a
lightning
strike.
However,
Jeanne's
biggest
contribution
to
science
was
her
discovery
of
many
fossil
footprint
tracks.
A
major
site
close
to
the
Phuthiatsana
river
near
Ha
Makhoathi
was
discovered
when
she
was
walking
out
with
her
dogs
from
Botsabelo.
In
Maseru
itself
she
and
her
husband
found
new
trackways
near
the
race
course,
the
airfield
and
the
polo
field.
This
polo
field
has
now
been
converted
into
the
Bambatha
Tsita
Stadium,
but
remarkably
the
fossil
footprints
are
still
there
just
outside
the
edge
of
the
arena.
The
palaeontologist,
Paul
Ellenberger,
considered
this
trackway
to
have
been
made
by
a
primitive
crocodile
or
turtle.
He
named
it
Dijaquesopus
obliquus
in
a
new
genus
named
after
the
Jaqueses.
It
is
so
far
the
only
species
in
the
genus.
Several
other
species
bear
the
names
of
the
Jaqueses,
including
the
Phuthiatsana
four-toed
dinosaurs
Pseudotetrasauropus
augustus
and
Pseudotetrasauropus
jaquesi.
As
a
member
of
the
third
generation
of
a
missionary
family,
Jeanne
Jaques
was
well
placed
to
document
the
histories
of
the
missionary
families
and
of
the
mission
establishments
themselves.
This
she
did
by
collecting
all
she
could
find,
published
or
unpublished,
about
each
family
or
mission.
The
result
was
two
volumes
of
Notre
famille
missionnaire
(Our
missionary
family)
on
each
missionary
who
served
in
the
French
Protestant
Mission,
and
a
third
volume
Stations
et
departements
(Mission
stations
and
institutions).
Although
these
volumes
run
to
nearly
a
thousand
pages,
and
although
they
were
never
published,
copies
of
them
have
been
made
and
can
be
consulted
at
the
Morija
Museum
&
Archives
and
outside
Lesotho
at
the
Northwestern
University
Library
in
Evanston,
Illinois,
in
the
USA.
There
is
one
group
in
Lesotho
that
owes
a
great
debt
to
Jeanne
Jaques
and
that
is
the
blind
community.
She
worked
tirelessly
for
many
years
turning
books
into
Braille,
so
that
they
could
be
read
by
Basotho
who
had
lost
their
sight.
Dr
Jaques
died
in
Ladybrand
on
17
December
1991,
but
Mrs
Jaques
continued
to
live
in
the
same
house
and
to
provide
the
same
and
very
successful
service
to
sick
animals.
She
was
a
great
reader
with
a
wide
knowledge
of
the
biological
and
geological
sciences,
and
when
given
something
to
read,
even
in
her
90s,
she
was
amazingly
good
at
spotting
errors
that
other
people
had
missed.
Her
death
followed
two
falls
in
quick
succession,
from
which
she
was
unable
to
recover.
The
funeral
was
held
at
the
Methodist
Church
in
Ladybrand
on
Saturday
23
April
2005
attended
by
family
and
friends
from
all
over
southern
Africa.
The
four
Jaques
children
all
followed
medical
professions.
The
two
sons
Philippe
and
Etienne
both
became
doctors.
They
now
live
respectively
in
Cape
Town
and
Johannesburg.
The
two
daughters,
Marceline
and
Christine,
both
became
nurses,
Marceline
working
in
Ladybrand,
while
her
sister
lives
in
California.
Apart
from
4
children,
Jeanne
Jaques
is
survived
by
10
grandchildren
and
7
great-grandchildren.
▲back
to top
Father
Anthony
Thabo
Monyau,
a
Catholic
priest
of
the
Cathedral
of
Our
Lady
of
Victories
in
Maseru,
had
on
28
September
2004
been
sentenced
by
the
High
Court
to
15
years
in
prison
on
two
counts
of
high
treason
and
conspiracy
in
contravention
of
the
Internal
Security
Act
1984
and
Criminal
Procedure
and
Evidence
Act
1981.
The
long
running
court
case
arose
from
the
1998
political
disturbances
during
which
Father
Monyau
had
associated
with
dissident
soldiers
and
illegally
supported
the
overthrow
of
the
Lesotho
Government.
As
reported
by
Lentsoe
la
Basotho
of
28
April
2005,
the
Lesotho
Court
of
Appeal,
on
reviewing
the
case,
reduced
the
sentence
to
10
years
in
prison.
▲back
to top
The
arrangements
for
the
long-awaited
local
government
elections
were
contested
as
unconstitutional
because
of
the
positive
discrimination
in
favour
of
women
for
whom
one-third
of
the
electoral
divisions
were
reserved.
Judgment
was
not
given
until
four
days
before
the
elections
on
30
April
2005,
when
the
High
Court,
sitting
as
a
bench
of
three
judges,
upheld
that
a
justifiable
discrimination
in
a
democratic
society
is
allowable,
and
therefore
dismissed
the
application
to
declare
the
Local
Government
Elections
(Amendment)
Act
2004
as
unconstitutional.
Consequently,
the
elections
went
ahead
as
planned
at
a
cost
of
M94
million
(as
reported
in
Lesotho
Today
of
21
April
2005),
but
with
a
turn-out
of
only
some
30%
of
voters
(237
363
out
of
783
768
registered
voters)
in
contested
electoral
divisions.
The
lowest
turnout
in
Maseru
City
where
only
9
282
out
of
111
802
(i.e.
8.3%)
registered
voters
bothered
to
vote.
In
102
of
the
electoral
divisions,
only
one
candidate
was
nominated
and
was
returned
unopposed.
Most
of
these
candidates
were
from
the
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy
(LCD),
but
4
were
Independents,
2
were
from
the
Basotho
National
Party
(BNP)
and
one
was
from
the
Basutoland
Congress
Party
(BCP).
The
affirmative
action
which
had
been
built
into
the
electoral
process
so
that
one
in
three
electoral
divisions
were
reserved
for
women
candidates
was
scarcely
necessary.
As
in
the
Village
Development
Councils
which
the
Community
Councils
are
supposed
to
replace,
women
were
widely
elected
on
their
own
merit,
and
the
affirmative
action
resulted
in
a
large
majority
of
the
councils
having
more
women
than
men.
Possibly
men
will
be
seeking
the
affirmative
action
next
time
round.
From
the
point
of
view
of
political
parties,
the
LCD
easily
won
most
seats,
but
it
did
not
control
all
councils.
For
example,
7
out
of
10
electoral
divisions
for
the
Lipelaneng
Urban
Council
at
ButhaButhe
were
won
by
Independent
candidates,
and
Independents
were
also
in
the
majority
in
several
other
councils.
The
Kanana
Community
Council
area
is
virtually
the
same
as
the
Seqonoka
Constituency
which
has
an
elected
Lesotho
People's
Congress
Member
of
Parliament,
Kelebone
Maope.
Most
of
the
council
members
elected
were
fighting
on
the
LPC
ticket.
In
most
rural
areas,
the
total
numbers
of
votes,
even
for
successful
candidates,
was
often
very
low,
as
low
as
16
votes
in
some
electoral
divisions.
With
such
low
numbers
of
votes,
ties
were
not
uncommon,
resulting
in
the
need
for
fresh
elections,
which
were
held
on
28
May
in
18
constituencies,
10
because
of
ties,
and
in
other
cases
because
of
election
irregularities
or
the
death
of
candidates
after
nominations
had
closed.
10
of
these
fresh
elections
went
to
the
LCD,
7
to
Independents
and
1
to
a
BNP
candidate.
Although
the
election
of
Community
Councils
is
a
great
step
forward,
problems
are
already
being
encountered.
The
delimitation
commission
took
an
easy
route
out
and
made
most
Community
Councils
in
the
Lowlands
to
coincide
nearly
or
exactly
with
parliamentary
constituencies,
with
a
consequent
politicization
of
the
electoral
process,
so
that
while
there
were
many
Independent
candidates
fighting
on
local
issues,
the
vast
majority
were
representatives
of
political
parties.
Another
problem
is
that
Community
Councils
represent
areas
far
too
large
to
deal
with
many
local
issues
such
as
village
water
supplies
and
land
allocation.
Many
Village
Development
Councils,
although
officially
discontinued,
continue
to
exist
because
there
is
local
need
for
them.
Within
time,
they
may
have
to
be
recognized
again
as
having
a
useful
role
to
play.
Subsequent
to
the
elections,
Local
Government
Regulations
2005
were
published
as
a
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
Extraordinary
and
only
in
English.
If
candidates
had
had
the
opportunity
to
read
and
understand
these
before
the
election,
some
might
have
declined
to
stand.
The
regulations,
issued
by
the
Minister
of
Local
Government,
Pontso
'Matumelo
Sekatle,
require
all
Councillors
to
declare
all
assets
in
a
register
to
be
kept
by
the
Council
Secretary.
Councillors
are
required
to
attend
all
meetings,
which
are
to
be
held
monthly,
and
non-attendance
can
result
in
a
fine.
Failure
to
declare
assets
within
three
months
or
to
attend
three
consecutive
meetings
leads
to
the
loss
of
one's
seat
on
the
Council,
and
presumably
therefore
a
bye-election.
Bye-elections
could
become
quite
numerous
and
therefore
expensive.
Any
breach
of
a
Code
of
Conduct
set
out
in
the
Regulations
can
lead
to
a
formal
warning,
a
reprimand,
a
fine,
or
a
request
to
the
Minister
to
suspend
the
Councillor
for
3
months
or
to
remove
the
Councillor
from
office
altogether.
However,
a
Councillor
can
appeal
to
the
Minister
against
the
formal
warning,
reprimand
or
fine,
which
seems
to
suggest
that
Councils
have
little
Independence
even
in
minor
matters
such
as
issuing
a
warning.
Worse
still
are
the
provisions
for
making
bye-laws.
A
Council
wishing
to
make
a
bye-law
must
first
publish
it
for
a
month
on
a
noticeboard
locally,
which
is
reasonable,
but
must
also
publish
it
in
the
Lesotho
Government
Gazette.
If
all
129
Community
Councils
(not
to
mention
the
10
District
Councils
and
Maseru
Municipal
Council)
get
busy
making
bye-laws
on
minor
matters
of
local
interest,
the
Gazette
seems
likely
to
become
enormously
voluminous.
However,
there
is
a
further
constraint.
Before
coming
into
force,
the
bye-law,
and
any
written
representations
relating
to
it,
has
to
be
sent
to
the
Minister
who
can
then
approve,
alter
or
reject
it.
So
much
for
devolving
power
to
local
authorities.
There
will
apparently
be
some
financial
compensation
for
being
a
Councillor.
The
Regulations
refer
obliquely
without
details
to
a
seating'
(sitting)
allowance.
The
exact
amount
has
yet
to
be
gazetted.
The
newly
elected
councillors
were
formally
sworn
in
on
Friday
17
June
2005.
▲back
to top
According
to
reports
in
several
newspapers,
the
principal,
Soulo
Nkonyana,
his
wife
and
another
teacher
were
killed
at
about
7
p.m.
on
Thursday
28
April
2005
by
gunmen
at
a
house
belonging
to
Seleso
Primary
School,
situated
at
the
village
of
Ha
Seng
in
a
remote
area
north-east
of
Semonkong.
While
other
newspapers
did
not
provide
further
background
or
developments,
Moafrika
of
27
May
2005
reported
that
three
men
had
been
arrested,
and
that
it
was
suspected
that
what
had
occurred
was
a
revenge
killing.
Soulo
Nkonyana
had
himself
been
arrested
and
charged
with
murder
following
the
death
of
the
mother
of
one
of
those
now
arrested.
The
unfortunate
lady
who
was
killed
had
been
accused
of
witchcraft.
Nkonyana
had
been
released
on
bail
and
after
two
years
the
case
had
yet
to
be
heard
in
court.
As
many
observe,
the
failure
of
the
Lesotho
justice
system
to
act
timeously
results
in
further
crime.
▲back
to top
A
group
of
20
Cuban
medical
personnel,
who
had
been
previously
reported
as
having
arrived
in
Lesotho
in
March
(see
Summary
of
Events,
First
Quarter
2005),
in
fact
arrived
only
in
the
first
week
of
May.
As
reported
in
Lesotho
Today
of
12
May
2005,
Lesotho
is
providing
the
salaries
and
accommodation
for
the
doctors
who
include
surgeons,
obstetricians,
gynaecologists
and
paediatricians.
In
welcoming
the
doctors,
Dr.
Makhetha
Mosotho,
Medical
Superintendent
of
Queen
Elizabeth
II
Hospital,
noted
that
less
than
20%
of
Basotho
doctors
are
currently
working
in
Lesotho.
He
said
that
the
Cuban
doctors
would
be
grouped,
with
six
doctors
going
to
Qacha's
Nek
together
with
one
technician,
six
going
to
Butha-Buthe,
four
going
to
Mokhotlong
and
three
to
Maseru,
where
the
leader
of
the
team
would
be
stationed
together
with
his
wife,
who
is
a
biomedical
engineer,
and
the
personal
doctor
to
the
team
as
a
whole.
He
also
stated
that
equipment
and
buildings
had
recently
been
upgraded
in
the
hospitals
to
which
the
Cuban
doctors
were
being
sent.
▲back
to top
The
Poverty
Reduction
Programme
(Prep)
is
a
donor-funded
initiative
which
falls
under
the
Prime
Minister's
Office.
It
has
recently
issued
a
series
of
posters,
one
of
which
contains
its
Mission
Statement,
which
`is
to
fulfil
the
wishes
of
Basotho
and
Government
on
the
eradication
of
poverty,
diseases
and
enhancing
job
creation.
This
we
will
do
through
manufacturing
of
products
in
accordance
with
good
manufacturing
practices
code
[sic]
using,
in
the
main,
the
abundant
natural
resources
the
country
is
endowed
with
and
continue
to
carry
on
research
and
development
on
new
raw
materials
and
products.'
It
goes
on
to
state
that
`Prep
will
meet
Basotho's
expectations
by
eradicating
poverty,
unemployment
and
disease
through
individual
and
collective
accountability,
best-in-class
service
and
support,
flexible
customisation
capability,
superior
programme
citizenship
and
financial
stability'.
These
are
all
laudable
aims,
but
since
manufacturing
industry
in
Lesotho
has
largely
been
devoted
to
textiles
and
clothing,
the
raw
materials
for
which
come
from
outside
Lesotho,
the
mission
statement
clearly
needs
some
realistic
examples
of
how
it
might
be
implemented.
Other
posters
provide
details
of
the
Prep
Association
Structure
and
Communication
Structure,
the
second
poster
showing
communication
downwards
from
Members
of
Parliament
through
five
stages
to
Community
Members,
with
no
upward
arrows,
nor
any
indication
of
the
role
of
Community
Councils.
A
fourth
poster
provides
a
surprise.
It
is
a
brightly
coloured
`Periodic
Table
of
Elements',
of
the
kind
that
is
commonly
found
on
the
walls
of
high
school
science
classrooms
or
laboratories.
Like
the
other
posters
it
contains
the
Prep
logo
a
red
letter
e,
surmounted
by
a
Basotho
hat
(the
e
perhaps
deriving
from
an
earlier
version
of
the
programme
which
was
to
eradicate
poverty).
Perhaps
the
idea
of
printing
the
periodic
table
is
that
improved
education
helps
reduce
poverty.
The
table,
however,
is
unfortunate
in
that
not
only
is
it
a
version
some
80
years
out
of
date
based
on
Bohr's
theory
of
the
atom,
but
it
also
includes
a
number
of
misprints
and
quite
serious
errors.
For
example
there
is
the
statement
that
`The
element
Oxygen
is
number
8
because
it
has
8
Oxygen
atoms'.
Eight
is
in
fact
the
number
of
electrons.
The
diagram
showing
the
hydrogen
bonding
in
the
structure
of
water
is
also
wrong.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
The
Mirror
of
4
May
2005,
a
joint
campaign
by
the
police
forces
of
Lesotho,
South
Africa,
Swaziland,
Mozambique
and
Zimbabwe,
styled
Operation
Morogoro,
resulted
in
91
vehicles
suspected
as
stolen.
The
Assistant
Commissioner
of
Police
heading
operations,
Bofihla
Makhalane,
at
a
press
conference
stated
that
60
of
the
vehicles
were
suspected
to
have
been
stolen
in
South
Africa
and
one
in
Swaziland,
while
26
others
were
found
to
have
had
their
chassis
and
engine
numbers
tampered
with.
4
cars
turned
out
not
to
have
been
stolen
and
were
returned
to
their
owners.
Amongst
those
highly
aggrieved
by
the
operation
was
a
Catholic
priest,
the
Oblate
Superior,
Father
Augustinus
Bane
OMI.
His
car,
as
reported
in
its
lead
story
by
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
of
8
May
2005,
was
one
of
those
seized
on
26
April
for
having
had
its
chassis
number
tampered
with.
When
Father
Bane
remonstrated
with
the
police,
a
white
South
African
told
him
`Don't
tell
me
a
lie,
you
are
a
culprit'.
The
matter
was
a
mystery
because
the
car
had
been
bought
new
from
a
garage
five
years
earlier.
The
car
was
returned
to
Father
Bane
on
10
May.
▲back
to top
The
Letšeng
Mine,
at
Letšeng-la-Terae
in
Mokhotlong
District,
is
at
3000
metres
altitude
which
makes
it
the
highest
diamond
mine
in
the
world.
The
Kebble
family's
JCI
company
and
the
Black
Empowerment
Group,
Matodzi
Resources,
each
hold
38%
of
the
equity
of
the
mine,
with
the
Lesotho
Government
holding
the
remaining
24%.
As
reported
in
Business
Day
of
3
May
2005,
it
is
planned
over
the
next
few
months
to
secure
a
listing
for
the
Letšeng
Mine
on
both
the
London
and
Johannesburg
Stock
Exchanges
with
the
view
to
raising
an
additional
R200
million
capital
to
enable
a
doubling
of
production
at
the
mine.
The
Chief
Executive
of
Matodzi
Resources,
Sello
Rasebatha
was
quoted
as
saying
`The
Letšeng
project
has
already
exceeded
profit
projections
by
80%,
and
has
an
even
more
profitable
future
ahead
with
the
proposed
expansion....
This
is
a
modem,
well-run
operation
operating
in
a
stable
political
environment
that
will
be
profitable
for
many
years
to
come.'
The
Letšeng
Mine
is
known
for
producing
some
of
the
largest
pure
gem
quality
diamonds
in
the
world.
In
terms
of
carats
per
1
000
tons
of
kimberlite
ore
mined,
it
ranks
amongst
the
lowest
in
the
world,
but
it
makes
up
for
it
by
producing
diamonds
with
the
greatest
value
per
carat
of
any
mine.
In
the
past
18
months,
nine
diamonds
of
over
100
carats
have
been
recovered,
and
The
Mirror
of
22
June
2005
reported
a
recently
found
diamond
of
186
carats.
It
also
reported
that
10
recently
found
diamonds
had
been
sold
on
the
Antwerp
market
for
M152
million.
Letšeng
is
reported
to
be
producing
currently
some
3000
carats
per
month,
selling
at
more
than
M6
100
per
carat,
very
much
higher
than
the
global
average
of
M420
per
carat.
▲back
to top
The
death
occurred
on
7
May
2005
at
the
age
of
61
of
Morapeli
Motaung,
a
proportional
representation
Member
of
Parliament
for
the
Basotho
National
Party.
He
died
at
Maseru
Private
Hospital
after
collapsing
at
the
wheel
of
his
car
the
previous
day.
Arnold
Morapeli
Motaung,
familiarly
known
as
'Tau',
was
educated
at
Butha-Buthe
Secondary
School
and
Lesotho
High
School
after
which
he
joined
the
newly
created
Radio
Lesotho
as
an
engineer
in
1967.
A
year
later
he
had
already
become
an
announcer
and
by
1975
had
risen
to
become
Director
of
Programmes.
After
further
training
in
Botswana
and
Australia,
he
became
Director
of
Broadcasting
in
1984.
In
1985
he
became
Assistant
Principal
Secretary
in
the
Department
of
Information
and
Broadcasting,
and
the
following
year
became
Principal
Secretary.
He
changed
ministries
and
became
Director
of
Sports
in
1990,
and
eventually
in
1993
was
made
Principal
Secretary
for
Tourism,
Sports
and
Culture.
Amongst
other
offices
he
was
the
second
President
of
the
Lesotho
Football
Association
(LEFA),
assuming
office
after
the
death
of
the
first
president,
Bambatha
Tsita.
Tributes
to
the
late
Morapeli
Motaung
were
paid
at
his
funeral
on
21
May
2005
by
prominent
politicians
from
the
major
political
parties.
Many
knew
him
from
his
earlier
career
as
a
radio
presenter,
and
he
was
lauded
as
a
multi-talented
person
and
great
communicator.
He
leaves
a
wife
who
is
an
Assistant
Registrar
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho,
and
three
daughters.
▲back
to top
A
veteran
member
of
the
Basutoland
Congress
Party
and
later
of
the
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy
Mopshatla
Mabitle,
also
known
as
`Se
ja-mollo'
(the
fire-eater),
died
on
9
May
and
was
buried
at
his
home
Liphakoeng
Ha
Lijo
in
Butha-Buthe
District
on
the
same
day
as
Morapeli
Motaung,
Saturday
21
May
2005.
He
had
suffered
from
sugar
diabetes
and
died
after
a
long
illness
during
which
he
was
nursed
by
his
only
daughter,
'Makolisang
Mabitle.
Mopshatla
Mabitle
was
born
at
Makhunoane,
Butha-Buthe
District
on
14
January
1930
and
was
educated
at
the
French
Protestant
schools
at
Makhunoane,
Qholaqhoe
and
Qalo
after
which
he
trained
in
motor
mechanics
at
the
Leloaleng
Technical
School
in
Quthing
District.
It
was
while
he
was
later
working
as
a
clerk
in
Gauteng
in
1953
that
he
joined
the
Germiston
Branch
of
what
was
then
the
Basutoland
African
Congress.
He
was
later
Secretary
and
Chairman
of
the
Germiston
District
Branch.
Returning
home
to
Lesotho,
he
successfully
fought
the
1965
and
1970
General
Elections
for
the
BCP.
However,
after
the
coup
which
followed
the
1970
election
he
was
imprisoned.
With
the
restoration
of
democracy,
he
was
elected
to
Parliament
for
the
BCP
in
the
Qalo
constituency,
and
in
July
1993
he
was
appointed
Minister
of
Agriculture,
Co-operatives,
Marketing
&
Youth
Affairs.
In
March
1996,
he
was
appointed
to
succeed
the
veteran
journalist
Mohaila
Mohale
as
editor
of
the
party
newspaper,
Makatolle.
Following
the
1998
General
Election,
Mopshatla
Mabitle
was
appointed
Minister
of
Local
Government
&
Home
Affairs,
a
portfolio
he
retained
until
2002.
Despite
ill-health
he
was
re-elected
to
Parliament
in
the
2002
General
Election,
where
he
had
the
distinction
of
being
one
of
only
four
serving
MPs
who
had
also
been
elected
to
the
first
universal
suffrage
Parliament
in
April
1965
(the
others
were
Sephiri
Motanyane,
A.
C.
Manyeli
and
Peete
Peete).
▲back
to top
The
death
occurred
in
Austria
on
Monday
9
May
2005
of
Dr
Martha
Sigmund
(known
in
Lesotho
as
'Me
Maretha),
a
much-loved
and
extremely
hard-working
doctor
who
was
in
charge
of
St
Joseph's
Hospital,
Roma
for
many
years.
She
was
91.
Martha
Sigmund
came
from
a
family
with
a
medical
tradition.
Her
father
had
been
a
doctor,
and
of
his
nine
children,
a
brother,
like
her,
became
a
qualified
surgeon.
Another
brother,
Johannes,
who
survives
her,
became
a
priest.
Martha
Sigmund
came
to
Lesotho
in
1949
at
the
invitation
of
the
remarkable
Swiss
doctor,
Bertha
Hardegger,
who
had
successively
founded
hospitals
in
the
remote
mountain
centres
of
Paray,
'Mamohau
and
Seboche,
when
these
places
were
still
inaccessible
by
road.
When
Dr
Sigmund
arrived
at
Roma,
already
an
experienced
doctor
and
qualified
surgeon
at
the
age
of
35,
St
Joseph's
Hospital
was
12
years
old,
and
it
had
never
had
more
than
a
single
doctor.
This
was
to
continue
to
be
the
case
for
much
of
the
following
21
years
of
her
service
at
St
Joseph's.
Conditions
in
Lesotho
were
totally
different
from
where
she
had
trained
in
Austria.
There
was
at
the
time
no
laboratory
for
carrying
out
tests,
but
there
was,
as
she
described
it
herself,
`a
funny
little
metal
globe
on
three
legs
with
a
screen
held
over
it
for
X-rays'.
To
help
herself
cope
with
new
conditions
she
went
to
medical
congresses
in
South
Africa
to
learn
about
the
diseases
prevalent
in
the
region.
She
also
hitchhiked
to
mission
hospitals
in
Mariannhill
and
Nongoma
in
KwaZulu-Natal
and
even
as
far
away
as
Ovamboland
to
see
how
they
managed
their
problems.
She
also
rapidly
became
fluent
in
Sesotho.
In
the
first
year,
patients
were
few
and
still
fearful
of
the
unfamiliar
surroundings
of
the
hospital.
But
those
who
were
helped
spread
the
word,
and
soon
there
were
not
enough
hours
in
the
day
to
get
through
all
the
work.
The
hospital
was
also
too
small
for
the
patients
needing
hospitalization,
and
many
patients
had
to
sleep
on
mattresses
on
the
floor.
As
it
worked
out,
Thursday
had
relatively
few
outpatients
at
Roma,
and
so
it
was
chosen
as
the
day
for
outstation
work.
The
routine
that
developed
was
that
four
different
clinics
were
visited
once
a
month
on
horseback
on
Thursdays.
These
were
at
Nazareth,
St
Benedict
(Ha
Khanyetsi),
St
Bernard
(Likatseng)
and
Fatima
(Ha
Ramabanta).
On
these
visits,
Martha
Sigmund
was
escorted
by
a
dependable
hospital
employee,
Ezekiel
Maruping.
Although
Martha
Sigmund
had
learned
to
ride
in
Austria,
these
must
have
been
exhausting
working
days,
most
of
the
clinics
requiring
a
ride
of
some
three
hours
in
each
direction.
Vaccination
campaigns
became
an
important
part
of
hospital
work.
Vaccines
had
to
be
collected
in
Maseru
after
which
Dr
Sigmund
rode
out
to
villages
to
vaccinate
children.
When
there
was
a
smallpox
outbreak,
it
was
a
major
challenge
to
vaccinate
the
whole
district.
However,
the
hospital
had
a
close
relationship
with
the
nearby
Pius
XII
University
College,
and
with
the
help
of
volunteers
from
there,
the
vaccination
campaign
was
completed.
'Me
Maretha
is
fondly
remembered
in
the
Roma
valley
from
those
days
by
all
the
older
inhabitants
as
a
very
dedicated,
efficient
and
extremely
hard-working
doctor,
who
worked
for
long
hours.
It
is
remembered
that
she
had
so
much
to
do
that
she
almost
never
walked
but
rushed
around
at
a
trot.
People
still
say
of
her
'Me
Maretha
o
ne
a
le
matla
hampe!
implying
that
she
had
extraordinary
strength
to
do
her
work.
Equipment
was
a
problem
in
the
early
days,
but
Martha
Sigmund's
brother,
Johannes,
helped
by
acquiring
surgical
instruments
from
German
war
surplus
and
sending
them
to
Lesotho.
As
a
result
it
was
possible
to
carry
out
some
complicated
operations.
In
time,
funds
came
in
from
a
number
of
sources.
The
'Governor-General's
National
War
Fund'
provided
money
for
a
new
X-ray
machine,
an
operating
theatre,
a
new
men's
ward
and
a
wing
for
TB
patients.
What
was
then
known
as
the
NRC
(the
mine
recruiting
organization
now
known
as
TEBA)
donated
two
children's
wards.
On
her
second
overseas
leave
in
1960,
Dr
Sigmund
visited
the
newly
founded
German
Catholic
organization,
Misereor.
The
organization
proved
sympathetic,
and
financed
the
building
of
new
village
clinics
(the
work
had
previously
been
done
in
dark
huts),
transport
(horses,
bicycles
and
a
land
rover),
nurses,
a
second
doctor,
social
workers
and
an
agricultural
expert
to
direct
a
Roma
Valley
Agricultural
Project.
It
also
provided
funds
and
artisans
to
build
a
new
hospital.
When
the
new
hospital
finally
opened
in
1966,
the
old
hospital
at
first
served
as
accommodation
for
staff,
but
in
1972
the
buildings
were
adapted
to
serve
as
premises
for
the
new
Roma
College
of
Nursing.
The
'Medico-Social'
project
founded
by
Misereor
was
at
first
directed
by
Father
Lajos
Luptak
from
Pius
XII
College,
but
he
later
became
Administrator
of
the
Hospital,
overseeing
the
construction
of
the
new
buildings
and
maintaining
contacts
with
government,
Pius
XII
College,
and
international
organizations
such
as
OXFAM,
Catholic
Relief
Services,
Peace
Corps
and
UNICEF.
Dr
Sigmund
and
Father
Luptak
worked
together
as
colleagues
and
also
a
strong
personal
bond
also
developed
between
them.
When
a
new
surgeon,
Dr
Vera
Bieler,
arrived
at
St
Joseph's
Hospital
in
1970,
it
was
possible
for
Martha
Sigmund
to
be
relieved
of
her
responsibilities.
She
and
Father
Luptak
later
worked
together
at
hospitals
in
the
Transkei
and
in
Klerksdorp
in
South
Africa,
and
eventually
retired
to
Salou,
near
Taragona
in
the
south
of
Spain,
where
Father
Luptak,
an
accomplished
linguist,
served
as
parish
priest,
but
died
in
1993.
In
her
last
years,
Dr
Sigmund
returned
to
Tulln,
near
Vienna
in
Austria,
where
she
stayed
with
her
brother,
Johannes.
Both
in
Spain
and
back
in
Austria,
she
became
a
major
fund
raiser
for
St
Joseph's
Hospital,
although
she
never
revisited
Roma.
In
later
years,
she
was
troubled
by
her
eyesight
and
at
the
time
of
her
death
had
become
completely
blind.
The
funeral
was
held
in
Vienna
on
Wednesday
18
May
2005.
▲back
to top
The
Lesotho
Evangelical
Church
newspaper,
Leselinyana
la
Lesotho,
is
in
its
142nd
year
and
is
by
far
the
oldest
newspaper
still
being
published
in
Lesotho.
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
by
comparison,
which
began
in
1933
is
only
half
its
age.
However,
Leselinyana
in
recent
years
has
shrunk
to
become
a
ghost
of
its
former
self.
It
has
also
suffered
some
disasters
such
as
the
loss
of
its
editor,
Mookho
Kobeli,
who
died
on
21
April
2004
after
a
short
illness.
She
had
been
the
youngest
and
the
first
woman
editor
to
be
appointed
to
the
newspaper.
Subsequently,
the
newspaper
had
a
number
of
acting
editors,
and
rarely
ran
to
more
than
four
pages
every
two
weeks,
and
even
these
issues
were
often
more
than
half
filled
with
advertisements.
A
new
editor
has
now
been
appointed
who
is
the
Rev.
B.
M.
Kometsi.
In
his
editorials
he
is
appealing
for
the
church
presbyteries,
consistories
and
schools
to
send
in
news.
Meanwhile
while
waiting
for
this,
the
paper
is
running
some
sensational
stories
more
often
found
in
secular
newspapers.
The
headline
in
the
issue
of
18
May
2005
is
'Mosali
o
jeloe
ke
qoako'
(Woman
is
eaten
by
serval
cat)
about
a
woman's
corpse
which
was
apparently
mutilated
by
an
animal
before
being
found
in
a
donga.
The
same
front
page
has
the
unfortunate
story
of
two
men
who
drowned
in
a
local
dam
and
'Basali
ba
ja
mobu'
(Women
eat
soil).
This
reports
on
the
widespread
practice
by
women
in
Lesotho
of
eating
soil,
which
has
resulted
in
it
being
marketed
by
informal
traders.
These
report
that
even
boys
and
girls
are
eating
soil,
but
the
best
market
is
amongst
pregnant
women.
The
newspaper's
attempts
to
find
a
gynaecologist
to
comment
on
the
practice
is
reported
to
have
been
unsuccessful.
▲back
to top
Funds
from
the
international
football
association
(FIFA)
have
been
made
available
to
erect
a
sports
arena
in
Mohale's
Hoek.
It
will
be
third
ground
in
Lesotho
recognized
as
meeting
FIFA
standards.
The
others
are
the
Setsoto
Stadium
and
the
Bambatha
Tsita
sports
arena,
both
in
Maseru.
The
Bambatha
Tsita
arena
was
also
funded
by
FIFA.
▲back
to top
Writing
in
Mopheme
of
24
May
2005,
the
columnist
Sofonea
Shale
noted
that
the
Lesotho
Defence
Force
has
mandatory
HIV/AIDS
testing
for
applications
to
join
the
force,
and
that
those
who
test
positive
are
rejected.
He
states
`The
HIV
and
AIDS
and
Human
Rights
Guidelines
of
the
United
Nations
provides
that
everybody
has
a
right
to
work
regardless
of
the
HIV
status.
Further
it
stipulates
that
this
right
is
violated
if
one
is
subjected
to
mandatory
HIV
and
AIDS
test
and
is
refused
recruitment
on
the
basis
of
positive
test.
The
matter
of
mandatory
testing
for
HIV/AIDS
status
is
a
sensitive
one.
The
National
University
of
Lesotho,
for
example,
which
has
always
required
health
certificates
from
staff
and
students,
does
not
require
an
HIV
test.
On
the
other
hand
overseas
universities
which
provide
places
for
Basotho
students
often
do
require
testing.
It
is
remembered
that
at
an
Awards
Ceremony
for
school
pupils
arranged
by
the
Examinations
Council
of
Lesotho
and
held
at
Khubetsoana,
Maseru,
on
17
March
2000,
the
then
Minister
of
Education,
Mr
Lesao
Lehohla
urged
everyone
present
to
be
vigilant
against
AIDS.
At
the
same
ceremony,
an
Assistant
Registrar
of
the
National
University
of
Lesotho,
Mr
M.
Hlalele
(as
reported
in
Lentsoe
la
Basotho
of
23
March
2000)
gave
a
sombre
statistic.
Nine
students
who
had
been
chosen
for
further
studies
in
Israel
had
been
required
to
be
medically
examined,
and
of
these,
seven
had
been
found
to
be
HIV
positive.
▲back
to top
A
SABC
report
quoting
the
World
Food
Programme
(WFP)
was
reproduced
in
Lesotho
Today
of
26
May
2005.
It
states
that
Lesotho
is
facing
a
fourth
successive
year
of
food
shortage.
While
an
early
assessment
shows
that
there
will
be
some
improvement
in
the
cereal
yield
compared
to
the
previous
year,
it
is
still
expected
to
be
below
the
five
year
average.
Reasons
given
are
erratic
rains,
a
reduction
in
the
area
cultivated,
and
very
limited
use
of
fertilizers.
The
WFP
plans
to
feed
600
000
people
a
month
during
the
present
year,
but
plans
to
reduce
this
number
to
80
000
by
2007.
As
a
result
of
population
growth,
Lesotho
has
not
been
self-sufficient
in
food
since
the
1920s.
The
deficit
was
for
many
years
made
up
by
food
imported
and
paid
for
by
remittances
sent
back
by
migrant
workers.
However,
with
the
decline
of
migrant
labour,
this
source
of
capital
for
food
purchase
is
now
only
available
to
a
small
minority
of
households.
▲back
to top
Lentsoe
la
Basotho
of
26
May
2005
carries
a
photograph
of
the
new
National
Library
and
Archives
Building
looking
apparently
complete.
It
has
been
constructed
on
the
site
of
the
old
National
Library
building
on
Maseru's
main
thoroughfare,
Kingsway,
by
the
Qingdao
Construction
Group,
employing
a
technical
team
of
30
Chinese
and
100
Basotho
labourers.
The
new
three-storey
green-roofed
building
has
cost
M30
million
to
build
and
according
to
the
caption
in
the
newspaper
is
expected
to
open
in
September,
a
very
rapid
piece
of
work
given
that
the
sod-turning
ceremony
was
as
recent
as
July
2004.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Public
Eye
of
27
May
2005,
a
monument
to
peace
built
by
community
members
was
unveiled
at
Ha
Tsiu
on
Friday
20
May
2005.
The
monument
was
unveiled
by
the
Minister
of
Home
Affairs
and
Public
Safety,
Lesao
Lehohla,
and
is
intended
to
mark
final
reconciliation
between
the
villagers
of
Ha
Tsiu
and
the
nearby
rival
communities
of
Ha
Sanaha
Mauteng
and
Ha
Mofoka.
Warfare
between
the
villages
has
been
endemic
over
the
past
30
years.
An
estimated
56
people
have
died,
homes
have
been
burnt
and
large
number
of
animals
stolen.
Even
the
large
Catholic
Massabielleng
Mission
at
Ha
Tsiu
had
been
affected,
with
the
priests
and
nuns
having
to
flee
elsewhere.
The
abandoned
church
had
then
been
used
as
a
place
to
park
stolen
cars.
At
the
unveiling
of
the
monument,
speakers
advocated
reconciliation,
and
villagers
said
that
as
a
sign
of
this,
guns
and
dangerous
weapons
had
been
handed
in
by
them
to
the
Mofoka
Police
Station
nearby.
▲back
to top
The
British
High
Commission
in
Maseru
shut
its
doors
to
all
but
emergency
business
on
Tuesday
31
May
2005.
British
Foreign
Minister
Jack
Straw
had
announced
impending
closure
in
December
2004,
but
it
had
been
then
expected
that
the
process
of
shutting
down
would
take
a
year.
In
fact
orders
from
London
received
in
May
were
that
the
process
must
be
completed
by
August
2005,
resulting
in
the
two
remaining
British
staff
having
to
terminate
services
in
order
to
attend
to
the
business
of
selling
assets
and
winding
up
remaining
responsibilities.
Meanwhile
it
was
am-announced
that
the
next
posting
for
the
British
High
Commissioner
to
Lesotho,
Mr
Frank
Martin,
will
be
as
High
Commissioner
to
Botswana,
a
country
smaller
in
population
than
Lesotho,
but
larger
in
area
and
wealth,
of
which
the
latter
seems
to
be
a
more
import
consideration
to
the
British
Foreign
&
Commonwealth
Office
than
poverty.
British
interests
in
Lesotho
will
now
only
be
represented
by
an
Honorary
Consul,
while
it
is
expected
that
the
new
British
High
Commissioner
to
South
Africa,
Paul
Boateng,
will
be
accredited
to
Lesotho,
but
resident
in
Pretoria.
Paul
Yaw
Boateng
presented
his
credentials
to
President
Mbeki
on
17
June
2005,
and
although
not
a
Foreign
Service
career
diplomat,
has
unusual
qualifications
for
the
post.
Born
in
England
in
1951
of
a
British
Quaker
mother
and
an
Evangelical
Ghanaian
father,
he
in
fact
grew
up
in
Ghana,
where
his
father
acted
as
legal
adviser
to
Kwame
Nkrumah's
Convention
People's
Party.
Amongst
the
circle
of
family
friends
were
Oliver
Tambo,
Robert
Mugabe
and
his
Ghanaian
wife
Sally,
and
Hastings
Banda.
Paul
experienced
Ghanaian
Independence
as
a
schoolchild
aged
5,
but
the
euphoria
which
followed
crumbled
with
mismanagement
and
corruption,
followed
by
a
military
coup.
His
father
spent
four
years
in
jail
in
Ghana
without
being
tried.
Subsequently
he
grew
up
on
a
council
estate
in
Hemel
Hempstead
in
England
where
his
mother
was
a
teacher.
The
young
Paul
excelled
at
school,
joined
the
British
Labour
Party
at
the
age
of
15,
qualified
as
a
solicitor,
and
made
his
mark
at
the
forefront
of
campaigns
against
racism,
against
apartheid,
for
social
justice
and
for
nuclear
disarmament.
Eventually
he
was
elected
as
a
Labour
MP,
quite
rapidly
rising
to
cabinet
rank,
first
as
Under
Secretary
for
Health,
then
Deputy
Home
Secretary
and
most
recently
Financial
Secretary
to
the
Treasury,
second
only
to
the
Chancellor
of
the
Exchequer.
A
possible
irony
is
that
in
this
last
post
he
must
have
been
closely
aware
of
the
cuts
which
axed
the
British
High
Commission
from
Lesotho.
▲back
to top
The
closure
of
the
British
High
Commission
in
Maseru
has
not
led
to
a
reciprocal
closure
of
the
Lesotho
High
Commission
in
London.
Instead,
Lesotho
has
announced
its
next
High
Commissioner
as
Chief
Seeiso
Bereng
Seeiso,
now
often
styled
as
Prince
Seeiso,
giving
him
an
appropriately
equivalent
title
to
the
British
Prince
Harry
who
has
become
a
close
friend
and
confidante
since
Prince
Seeiso
provided
the
local
backup
during
Prince
Harry's
extended
stay
in
Lesotho
in
2004.
Prince
Seeiso
is
the
younger
brother
of
the
Lesotho
monarch,
King
Letsie
III,
and
his
appointment
will
create
a
vacancy
in
the
Senate
and
the
need
to
appoint
an
Acting
Chief
of
Matsieng,
the
largest
ward
in
Lesotho
and
the
one
of
which
Chief
Seeiso
is
currently
the
Principal
Chief.
As
High
Commissioner
in
London
he
replaces
Lebohang
Ramohlanka,
who
served
there
for
the
period
20002004
and
is
now
District
Secretary
for
Mafeteng.
Three
other
diplomatic
postings
which
have
been
announced
are
Fine
Macma,
the
long
serving
and
respected
Attorney-General
who
becomes
Ambassador
to
the
United
Nations
in
New
York;
Motlatsi
Ramafole,
Principal
Secretary
for
Foreign
Affairs,
who
becomes
Ambassador
to
Ethiopia;
and
Mrs
'Mamoruti
Tiheli,
who
becomes
Ambassador
to
Belgium.
▲back
to top
The
Metolong
Dam
on
the
Phuthiatsana
river
upstream
from
Thaba-Bosiu
has
become
integral
to
plans
for
enhancing
Maseru's
water
supply.
As
reported
in
The
Mirror
of
7
June
2004,
some
M8.54
million
has
been
allocated
from
the
US-based
Millennium
Challenge
Corporation
funds
to
complete
the
feasibility
study.
Lesotho
was
one
of
16
countries
worldwide,
8
of
them
in
Africa,
which
in
May
2004
qualified
for
Millennium
Challenge
funds
because
of
its
record
of
`ruling
justly',
`investing
in
people'
and
`economic
freedom'.
It
also
met
the
further
qualification
that
the
average
per
capita
income
must
be
less
than
US$1415
per
year,
which
eliminated
Botswana,
Namibia
and
South
Africa
from
the
competition.
In
Africa,
the
other
countries
to
qualify
were
Benin,
Cape
Verde,
Ghana,
Madagascar,
Mali,
Mozambique
and
Senegal.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
the
government
newspaper,
Lesotho
Today
of
9
June
2005,
`according
to
a
government
gazette
published
on
5
April'
the
normal
age
of
retirement
of
civil
servants
will
in
future
be
60
years.
There
was,
however,
no
such
issue
of
the
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
published
on
5
April.
Assuming
the
report
to
be
correct,
Lesotho
will
have
brought
itself
into
line
with
many
other
countries.
Indeed
the
former
retirement
age
of
55
was
an
anomaly
which
had
persisted
since
colonial
days,
39
years
ago.
It
seems
that
the
retirement
age
of
55
had
been
adopted
to
enable
colonial
officers
to
return
to
their
country
of
origin
and
take
on
a
second
career
before
full
retirement.
No
doubt,
in
introducing
the
later
age,
government
was
taking
into
account
the
new
problems
being
faced
as
a
result
of
large
numbers
of
civil
servants
dying
of
AIDS
in
their
20s
and
30s,
with
a
concomitant
shortage
of
skilled
personnel.
Thus
older
staff
who
survive
need
to
be
encouraged
to
stay
on.
Under
the
new
rules,
retirement
at
55
still
remains
an
option.
▲back
to top
According
to
a
report
in
the
police
newspaper,
Leseli
ka
Sepolesa
of
16
June
2005,
a
second
year
law
student
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho,
Puseletso
Moipone
Regina
Ramalefane,
aged
19,
has
been
charged
with
impersonating
a
schoolboy,
Phaello
Lepetla,
aged
17,
during
school
certificate
examinations
held
on
8
June
2005.
She
was
remanded
on
bail
of
M100.
In
reporting
the
incident,
the
police
reporter
Thabiso
Thaanyane,
referred
to
another
incident
in
which
a
girl
called
Tsilisang
Lepetla
was
also
found
with
the
documents
of
Phaello
Lepetla.
It
was
also
reported
that
fraud
had
occurred
in
other
areas
such
as
presentation
of
forged
entrance
documents
to
the
National
University
of
Lesotho.
Some
20
students
had
been
charged,
and
one
student
who
had
been
caught
shortly
before
graduation
in
2004
had
recently
been
found
guilty
and
fined
M1500
or
five
years
in
prison.
Meanwhile,
Public
Eye
of
10
June
2005
had
reported
another
case
of
a
student,
Mojalefa
Khomonngoe,
aged
22,
who
had
stolen
a
mathematics
examination
paper
accidentally
released
at
the
wrong
time
during
the
November
2004
COSC
examinations.
He
had
subsequently
photocopied
the
paper
and
sold
it.
He
was
sentenced
by
the
magistrate
to
a
fine
of
M1000
or
one
year
in
prison.
▲back
to top
A
137-strong
Lesotho
Defence
Force
contingent
left
Maseru
on
a
specially
hired
train
on
8
June
to
take
part
in
Exercise
Thokgarno
along
with
troops
from
12
other
Southern
African
Development
Community
armies
and
also
troops
from
France,
Reunion
and
Madagascar.
The
exercise
is
being
held
in
an
area
centred
on
Maun
in
northwestern
Botswana,
and
the
Lesotho
contingent
included
a
mobile
military
hospital,
military
intelligence
and
military
police
officers
and
a
mobile
mess,
as
well
as
items
of
military
ordnance.
Although
the
Lesotho
Defence
Force
includes
women,
only
men
were
sent
on
the
exercise,
whose
aim
is
for
the
LDF
to
acquire
peace-keeping
skills
of
satisfactory
international
standard,
so
that
it
can
deploy
capable
and
efficient
forces
when
needed.
Commanding
the
contingent
going
to
Botswana
is
Lieutenant-Colonel
Poqa
Motoa,
while
the
Company
Commander
is
Captain
Motenalapi
Mohololi.
The
exercise,
co-organized
by
Botswana
and
France,
was
reported
by
the
Commander
of
the
Botswana
Defence
Force,
Lieutenant-General
L.
M.
Fisher,
to
prepare
troops
for
peacekeeping
at
a
time
when
peacekeepers
were
also
becoming
targets.
Meanwhile,
as
reported
by
Lentsoe
la
Basotho
of
15
June
2005,
Lesotho
already
has
five
military
observers
in
Darfur,
Sudan.
▲back
to top
Despite
reduced
flows
as
a
result
of
water
being
diverted
northwards
by
the
Katse
and
Mohale
Dams,
the
Senqunyane
and
Senqu
rivers
are
often
still
impassable
at
many
points
to
pedestrians,
especially
in
summer.
Moreover,
the
rivers
have
proved
too
wide
in
their
downstream
reaches
to
build
effective
footbridges
at
reasonable
cost,
except
at
a
very
few
points
such
as
Sehonghong
on
the
Senqu.
As
a
result,
ferry
boats,
which
have
been
in
use
at
some
crossing
points
for
over
100
years,
are
still
needed.
As
reported
in
Lesotho
Today
of
9
June
2005,
the
Minister
of
Public
Works
and
Transport,
Mr
Popane
Lebesa,
on
1
June
2005
presented
six
`canoes'
worth
more
than
M200
000
to
mountain
region
constituencies.
The
photograph
accompanying
the
article
clarifies
that
`canoes'
are
in
fact
rowing
boats.
It
is
also
indicated
in
the
article
that
the
Ministry
is
in
the
process
of
building
shelters
that
will
protect
the
people
from
`unfriendly
weather
conditions'
on
the
river
banks
while
waiting
for
the
ferry
boats
to
transport
them
across
the
river.
▲back
to top
According
to
a
report
in
the
Lesotho
News
Agency
carried
in
Lesotho
Today
of
9
June
2005,
nine
women
of
Qholaqhoe
in
Butha-Buthe
District
have
each
been
sentenced
to
three
months
in
prison
or
a
fine
of
M200
for
illegal
possession
of
khoara.
200
kg
of
the
plant
were
found
in
their
possession
when
they
tried
to
cross
illegally
from
Lesotho
to
a
farm
in
South
Africa.
Khoara
is
the
Sesotho
name
for
plants
of
the
genus
Pelargonium
and
two
particular
species
found
in
Lesotho,
Pelargonium
reniforme
and
Pelargonium
sidoides
are
known
to
have
particular
value
for
treating
respiratory
diseases,
so
much
so
that
in
Germany
they
are
marketed
by
the
drug
firm
ISOArzneimittel
as
a
prescription
drug
under
the
name
Umckaloabo.
Germans
who
are
prescribed
this
drug
find
inside
the
packet
an
insert
with
a
coloured
illustration
of
Pelargoniunz
and
a
map
of
Lesotho.
Translated
from
German,
the
text
reads:
From
traditional
African
medicine
to
modern
phytotherapeutica
In
1897
the
badly
lung-infected
Charles
Henry
Stevens
from
England
travelled
to
southern
Africa.
In
the
region
of
today's
Lesotho
he
met
a
Zulu
medicine
man.
From
him,
Stevens
obtained
a
powdered
root
which
was
used
by
the
Zulus
as
medicine
for
chronic
lung
diseases.
Stevens
was
asked
to
take
it
twice
a
day
in
boiled
water.
Four
months
later,
Stevens
returned
to
England
completely
cured.
Thereafter
he
was
sent
this
root
from
Africa
which
he
sold
in
Europe
in
powdered
form.
The
identity
of
the
plant
was
only
settled
many
years
later
by
pharmacognostical
investigations
at
the
University
of
Munich.
It
is
a
species
of
Pelargonium,
which
occurs
only
in
southern
Africa.
It
is
not
known
whether
the
women
arrested
for
trafficking
in
khoara
were
part
of
a
chain
leading
to
the
German
manufacturer
of
the
drug.
However,
the
case
illustrates
the
considerable
international
demand
for
khoara.
The
medicine
is
made
from
the
roots
of
the
plant,
resulting
in
the
destruction
of
the
plant
and
consequently
it
has
become
rare
in
Lesotho.
This
ought,
however,
to
suggest
the
possibility
of
growing
the
plant
commercially
and
exporting
it,
thereby
providing
employment
for
a
number
of
people.
At
the
moment,
the
status
of
the
plant
in
Lesotho
is
that
by
Legal
Notice
No.
93
of
2004
it
is
a
protected
plant
and
may
not
be
harvested.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
The
Mirror
of
15
June
2005,
and
as
tabulated
in
Moafrika
of
17
June
2005,
a
large
number
of
senior
office
holders
will
receive
large
salary
increments
from
1
July
2005.
These
are
on
top
of
the
5%
salary
rise
already
implemented
on
1
April
2005.
At
the
top
of
the
list
comes
the
King
with
M350
000
per
year,
a
further
10%
increase.
Following
him,
the
Prime
Minister's
salary
is
increased
by
59%
to
M300
000
per
year.
Other
Ministers
and
the
Speaker
will
get
M240
000
per
year,
a
72%
increase
for
the
Ministers
and
a
43%
increase
for
the
Speaker.
Ordinary
members
of
the
National
Assembly
will
get
M170
000
per
year,
arise
of
71%,
while
Senators
will
get
Ml
60
000
per
year,
at
85%
the
highest
percentage
increase.
The
lowest
percentage
increases
go
to
Judges
who
get
just
2%
increase
to
M200
000
per
year,
although
the
Chief
Justice
gets
a
25%
increase
to
M260
000.
As
totalled
by
Moafrika,
the
increases
will
cost
the
government
an
additional
M12.9
million
per
year.
In
addressing
the
two
Houses
of
Parliament
about
the
rises,
the
Prime
Minister
made
several
points
including
that
Lesotho
salaries
were
low
compared
to
salaries
in
parliaments
in
other
Commonwealth
countries
and
also
in
comparison
with
those
heading
public
enterprises
such
as
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Development
Authority
and
Lesotho
National
Development
Corporation.
`It
is
absolutely
unsound
that
the
head
of
state
is
number
seven
in
the
salaries
list
in
the
country;
that
the
head
of
government
is
number
18
after
directors
of
government
enterprises;
and
fifth
after
some
statutory
position
holders'.
Since
Independence,
the
Chief
Justice
has
had
the
highest
statutory
superscale
salary,
but
he
will
now
have
less
than
that
of
the
Prime
Minister.
The
new
salaries
did
not
pass
without
comment.
Addressing
a
press
conference
on
behalf
of
the
Lesotho
Association
of
Teachers
(LAT),
Pitso
Mosothoane
referred
to
the
budget
speech
in
which
it
was
stated
that
only
a
5%
increase
for
civil
servants
could
be
afforded.
`So
where
do
the
80,
70,
60
and
other
percents
come
from?'
He
said
that
LAT
was
yet
to
meet
and
would
make
its
own
proposals
for
increments.
If
government
did
not
then
listen
to
them,
they
would
take
tough
measures.
▲back
to top
It
was
announced
on
22
June
2005
by
Thabo
Mbeki,
President
of
South
Africa,
that
Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka
currently
the
Minister
of
Mines
&
Minerals
in
South
Africa
had
been
chosen
to
be
the
next
Vice-President
of
South
Africa.
This
follows
the
dismissal
of
Jacob
Zuma
from
the
post
after
allegations
of
corruption.
As
Phumzile
Gloria
Mlambo,
the
new
Vice-President
graduated
from
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
in
1980
with
a
Bachelor
of
Arts
in
Education
and
a
Concurrent
Certificate
in
Education
with
Credit.
After
graduation
she
was
a
teacher
for
some
years
before
she
was
propelled
into
politics
in
1994
by
gaining
a
seat
in
Parliament
as
a
result
of
being
on
the
ANC's
list
of
MPs
elected
by
proportional
representation.
Her
talents
were
recognized
byNelson
Mandela
who
made
her
Deputy
Minister
of
Trade
and
Industry.
She
made
her
mark
in
the
Ministry
by
insisting
that
no
trade
delegation
from
South
Africa
left
without
a
woman
member,
and
during
her
term
of
office,
South
Africa
hosted
the
global
Women's
Business
Forum.
When
Thabo
Mbeki
assumed
office
as
President,
she
was
appointed
Minister
of
Mines
&
Minerals,
and
during
her
term
of
office
she
helped
to
design
and
gain
acceptance
for
the
Mining
Charter.
Amongst
its
provisions
are
a
baseline'
target
of
10%
of
women
employed
in
mining
within
five
years,
and
25%
of
mining
industry
assets
owned
by
`historically
disadvantaged'
South
Africans
within
10
years.
A
scorecard
tracks
the
progress
of
individual
companies.
Interviewed
by
Colleen
Lowe
Morna
the
Mail
&
Guardian
of
1
July
2005,
Phumzile
MlamboNgcuka
said:
`What
is
important
is
to
lead
by
example,
to
be
on
top
of
my
work,
not
to
go
to
meetings
unprepared,
to
affirm
people
so
that
they
feel
appreciated,
not
to
be
too
high
and
mighty
so
that
I
give
the
impression
that
I
know
more
than
they
do,
because
in
many
cases
they
know
more
than
I
do....
My
strength
in
the
changes
I
want
to
make
will
depend
on
how
trustworthy
I
can
be.
I
am
vicious
about
my
integrity.'
Alumni
of
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
recall
that
Phumzile,
although
already
a
cabinet
member
in
South
Africa,
made
time
to
participate
in
its
Alumni
Conference
at
Roma
in
October
1999.
▲back
to top
Universitas
Academic
Hospital,
the
teaching
hospital
attached
to
the
Medical
Faculty
of
the
University
of
the
Free
State,
was
reported
in
Public
Eye
of
24
June
2005
to
have
refused
since
1
April
2005
to
accept
further
referrals
from
Queen
Elizabeth
II
Hospital.
Queen
Elizabeth
II
Hospital
is
Lesotho's
only
referral
hospital,
but
one
which
is
not
only
chronically
short
of
staff
and
equipment,
but
also
lacks
many
medical
specializations.
The
newspaper
reproduces
a
letter,
which
makes
it
clear
that
the
reason
for
the
refusal
is
that,
even
after
meetings
with
officials
of
the
Ministry
of
Health
and
the
Ministry
of
Finance
an
amount
of
M27
million
is
still
owed
to
the
hospital.
The
newspaper
could
find
no
evidence
that
any
attempt
had
been
made
to
settle
the
debt.
The
Ministry
of
Health
with
M372
million
has
had
the
third
largest
budgetary
allocation
for
the
present
financial
year.
On
the
same
page
of
Public
Eye,
there
was
a
story
that
the
Ministry
of
Finance
pays
Imperial
Fleet
Services
(IFS)
in
Lesotho
over
M100
million
per
year
for
car
rentals.
IFS
replaced
the
former
Plant
and
Vehicle
Pool
Services
of
the
Ministry
of
Works
under
the
privatization
plan
some
6
years
ago.
▲back
to top
From
the
mountain
centre
of
Semonkong
in
Maseru
District
to
the
similar
centre
of
Ketane
Ha
Nohana
is
a
long
walk
of
some
33
km.
By
vehicle,
however,
it
is
ten
times
the
distance
at
330
km.
For
many
years,
the
idea
that
the
communities
might
be
linked
by
a
4
x
4
track
has
been
mooted,
but
although
parts
of
it
at
each
end
have
been
completed,
no
vehicle
has
yet
travelled
by
the
direct
route,
The
problem
is
that
the
countryside
is
extremely
rugged
and
that
there
is
an
extremely
difficult
escarpment
climb
above
Riverside
Store
at
the
Ketane
end
of
the
proposed
track.
According
to
a
report
in
Public
Eye
of
24
June
2005,
there
is
now
hope
that
the
link
will
be
completed
before
the
end
of
the
year
by
means
of
a
food
for
work
programme.
Over
M200
000
has
been
raised
by
the
business
sector,
and
was
handed
over
by
donor
community
representative
Ashley
Motlatsi
Thorn.
100
workers
can
be
employed
at
any
given
time
and
will
receive
for
a
month's
work
50
kg
of
maize
meal,
beans
and
2
litres
of
cooking
oil.
Meanwhile
it
was
announced
in
The
Mirror
of
11
May
2005,
that
equipment
worth
M20
757
to
build
a
road
in
another
remote
area
had
been
donated
by
a
LJNDP-supported
organization
called
Africa
2000
Network.
The
area
is
one
of
the
remotest
in
Lesotho
at
Lebakeng
on
the
west
bank
of
the
Senqu
in
Qacha's
Nek
District.
A
track
linking
Thaba-Tseka
and
Tebellong
via
Lebakeng
had
been
planned
over
30
years
earlier,
and
by
the
late
1970s
had
reached
Litsoetse,
and
a
decade
later
'Matsaile.
To
get
to
Lebakeng
the
next
obstacle
is
the
rugged
Libobeng
Gorge
which
forms
the
boundary
between
Thaba-Tseka
and
Qacha's
Nek
Districts.
Eight
villages
have
been
given
pick-axes,
shovels,
hammers,
crowbars
and
wheelbarrows.
which
were
taken
to
the
end
of
the
road
at
Tsoelike
from
which
the
villagers
were
expected
to
carry
them
to
the
villages
themselves.
▲back
to top
The
scheme
by
the
Ministry
of
Education
to
provide
secondary
and
high
schools
with
books
to
be
made
available
to
pupils
at
a
modest
M200
per
year
rental
charge
ran
into
its
second
year
in
2005.
However,
the
same
problem
has
been
encountered
as
in
2004,
namely
that
the
books,
in
this
case
for
Form
B,
were
still
unavailable
many
months
after
the
start
of
the
school
year
(which
coincides
with
the
calendar
year).
The
main
problem
seems
to
be
that
instead
of
using
existing
textbooks,
the
Ministry
has
asked
interested
publishers
to
tender
for
supplying
the
books,
which
in
many
cases
are
new
textbooks
altogether.
The
process
of
vetting
and
accepting
bids,
and
then
getting
the
books
printed
has
taken
much
longer
than
had
originally
been
anticipated.
The
books
for
2005
finally
arrived
late
in
May,
and
Lesotho
Today
of
2
June
2005
shows
the
Minister
of
Education,
Mr
Mohlabi
Tsekoa,
posing
at
Mazenod
High
School
with
schoolgirls
clutching
the
books
which
had
just
been
issued
to
them
on
24
May
2005.
For
most
schools,
the
books
have
arrived
too
late
to
be
put
into
use
before
the
long
winter
vacation.
Advertisements
for
supplying
books
for
Form
C
in
2006
have
already
been
published
in
most
major
national
newspapers.
Proposals
from
publishers
have
to
be
submitted
by
6
September
2005,
after
which
they
will
be
vetted
by
the
National
Curriculum
Committee
of
the
Ministry
of
Education
&
Training.
The
textbook
project
is
funded
in
part
by
a
credit
from
International
Development
Association
(IDA),
an
agency
of
the
World
Bank.
▲back
to top
Legal
Notice
No.
54
of
2005,
published
in
Supplement
No.
1
of
Lesotho
Government
Gazette,
no.
63
of
10
June
2005,
gazettes
as
a
50
metre
wide
road
reserve
the
proposed
Maseru
Northern
By-Pass.
The
proposed
road,
about
9
km
long,
leaves
the
present
Moshoeshoe
Road
between
the
water
intake
from
the
Mohokare
and
the
Lerotholi
Polytechnic,
and
then
passes
along
the
banks
of
the
river
successively
below
the
Lerotholi
Polytechnic
and
then
below
the
suburbs
of
Sea
Point
and
Moshoeshoe
II,
through
the
grounds
of
the
Agricultural
Research
Station,
past
Khubetsoana
and
finally
joins
the
main
North
Road
near
the
National
Abattoir
and
Feedlot
Complex.
This
alignment
includes
considerable
areas
already
used
for
residential
housing
and
recreation,
and
in
its
passage
through
the
Agricultural
Research
Station
it
will
have
a
seriously
adverse
effect
on
the
riverside
trees
and
nearby
dams
which
at
present
are
home
to
some
of
Lesotho's
rarest
bird
species.
Ideally
the
road
should
pass
along
the
other
bank
of
the
river
(in
South
Africa)
where
it
would
have
a
relatively
less
environmentally
deleterious
impact.
Such
a
possibility
would
have
once
seemed
remote,
but
as
Lesotho
and
South
Africa
move
towards
reducing
border
controls,
it
may
at
some
point
in
the
future
be
a
possible
matter
for
negotiation.
Major
projects
of
this
kind
now
require
(in
terms
of
dormant
legislation
applied
as
if
it
has
been
brought
into
force)
an
Environmental
Impact
Statement
before
acquiring
an
Environmental
Licence.
The
relative
merits
of
allowing
the
road
to
go
ahead
or
to
improve
existing
roads
will
no
doubt
result
in
considerable
discussion,
and
will
no
doubt
be
an
important
issue
for
the
new
Maseru
City
Council.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
The
Mirror
of
22
June
2005,
the
Maseru
City
Council
elected
in
on
30
April
2005,
now
has
its
first
woman
mayor.
She
is
'Malijane
Morahanye
of
Ha
Mabote,
and
she
was
elected
after
the
new
councillors
were
sworn
in
on
16
June
2005.
The
term
of
office
for
the
new
council
is
five
years.
It
fills
a
vacuum
left
when
the
term
of
office
of
the
previous
Maseru
City
Council
expired
after
an
extension
in
the
year
2000,
and
no
elections
were
organized
to
replace
it.
In
the
interim
period,
the
Town
Clerk
had
to
take
on
most
of
the
responsibilities
of
the
Maseru
City
Council.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
the
government
newspaper,
Lesotho
Today
of
23
June
2005,
the
Prime
Minister
launched
a
new
Justice
Sector
Vision
and
Strategy
Document
at
the
'Manthabiseng
Conference
Centre
on
Monday
20
June
2005.
The
document
is
the
latest
item
to
be
produced
by
the
British-funded
Justice
Sector
Development
Programme,
which
in
July
2004
held
a
Conference
whose
Proceedings
have
recently
been
published.
As
is
well
known,
the
Justice
Sector
has
serious
problems
in
many
areas,
but
one
of
the
most
serious
is
the
inordinate
delays
which
can
lead
to
persons
charged
with
serious
offences
not
being
brought
to
court
until
even
years
later.
As
a
result
some
30%
of
the
prisoners
in
the
chronically
overcrowded
prison
system
are
prisoners
on
remand
awaiting
trial.
In
other
cases,
even
murder
cases,
prisoners
are
allowed
out
on
bail,
and
may
re-offend
in
the
months
or
years
before
their
cases
are
heard.
`Justice
delayed
is
justice
denied'
is
a
slogan
oft
repeated
in
Lesotho,
but
delays
remain.
There
have
been
many
attempts
by
government
to
remedy
the
situation.
Parliament
went
so
far
as
to
pass
the
Speedy
Court
Trials
Act
2002
which
was
gazetted
and
came
into
force
on
11
April
2002.
Under
this
law,
a
person
must
be
charged
within
48
hours
of
arrest
or
service
of
a
sununons,
although
this
is
weakened
by
a
proviso
that
the
charge
can
be
filed
in
the
case
of
a
complex
case
within
90
days
of
the
person
first
appearing
before
a
judicial
officer,
a
period
which
can
on
good
cause
be
extended
to
120
days.
A
person
cannot
be
remanded
in
custody
for
more
than
60
days
`unless
there
are
compelling
reasons'.
In
criminal
trials,
the
trial
must
begin
within
30
days
if
a
plea
of
guilty
is
entered,
and
60
days
if
a
plea
of
non-guilty
is
entered.
However,
the
Act
provides
for
a
large
number
of
periods
of
delay,
which
do
not
themselves
have
time
limits,
which
are
to
be
excluded
from
the
computation
of
the
times
for
filing
charges
or
for
trials
to
begin.
The
Act
provides
for
penalties
where
the
legal
practitioners
concerned
cause
delay
without
good
reasons.
The
penalties
are
fines
not
exceeding
M5000
or
the
denying
counsel
or
a
prosecutor
the
right
to
practice
or
appear
before
a
court
for
up
to
90
days,
something
which
presumably
might
delay
other
trials.
There
is
no
evidence
that
these
penalties
have
in
fact
ever
been
applied.
The
Ministers
of
Justice,
Human
Rights
and
Rehabilitation;
of
Law
and
Constitutional
Affairs;
and
of
Home
Affairs
are
required
not
later
than
31
December
of
each
year
to
prepare
and
submit
to
Parliament
reports
on
the
impact
of
the
implementation
of
the
Act
upon
the
Judiciary,
the
Office
of
the
Director
of
Public
Prosecutions,
and
the
Police
Service
respectively.
No
penalty
is
mentioned
if
they
fail
to
do
this.
It
is
a
number
of
years
since
any
of
the
three
Ministries
mentioned
in
the
Act
published
even
an
ordinary
annual
report
on
its
activities
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