Govt denies selling US property
. . . American media reports claim Lesotho has sold, for $7.6 million, a Manhattan building government acquired in 1989
Lekhetho Ntsukunyane
LESOTHO authorities this week shot down American media reports that government had sold its building in Manhattan, New York, for $7.6 million (about M82.3 million).
According to the reports, the government, through its embassy in New York, had allegedly sold the building to a New York realtor by the name CB Developers.
The reports further indicated the four-storey building, which is near the United Nations offices, “currently has a huge 55-foot-long swimming pool, beautiful views, an exercise room, a children’s playroom, a furnished conference room, a root deck, a laundry room and a 24-hour doorman”.
A one-bedroom apartment in the building currently costs $3 695 (about M40 000) per month in rentals, the reports further indicated.
“There is no word yet as to what CB plans to do with the building, which the Lesotho government bought in 1989, but the company is known for tearing down old structures and replacing them with new luxury developments,” the report said.
Lesotho ambassador in the US Advocate Kelebone Maope.
“The property is right next door to 200 East 39th Street where CB is currently building a 18-storey residential tower that will have 91 units, that will total 95 000 square-feet and which will include 6 000 square-feet of retail space. It will include both market-rate and affordable housing units.”
However, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Tebello Metsing, told the Lesotho Times the reports were untrue.
“It is not true the building was sold. We are only developing it to a better chancery office for our Embassy in New York. It is a building which has belonged to Lesotho for many years; it cannot be sold just like that,” he said.
However, Mr Metsing was quick to refer the Lesotho Times to the Lesotho Ambassador in New York, Kelebone Maope, for further details.
Contacted to shed more light on the issue, Ambassador Maope said: “We have realised that several international news agencies have reported that we sold that building to CB for the amount you have just mentioned, which is not the case.
“The truth is, as an embassy, we only own a portion of that big building. And our neighbour, one businessman by the name of Tartars, asked the embassy to partner him and develop the building into a much better rental apartment.
“When I first arrived here to replace Mr Motlatsi Ramafole in June last year, Tartars was already engaged in negotiations with the embassy to form the partnership and develop the building.
“It was only recently that I finally signed the agreement with Tartars on condition that our portion, while it is being developed along with the entire building, remains ours. Infact, we have even negotiated more space after the development.”
Advocate Maope said the embassy was not going to pay anything for the facelift.
“According to our agreement, Tartars has engaged CB to develop that building and he will make all the payments for the renovations, not the embassy,” he said.
Advocate Maope said the Lesotho government bought the building in 1989 for $3.3 million.
