—pour scorn on his call for anyone with evidence of corruption against his ministers to come forward
—insist all the evidence against his ministers is there but accuse him of turning a blind eye
—Accuse PM of failing to deliver on electoral promises three years after he took power
—Urge Basotho to open their eyes to realise Matekane sold them “electoral dummies”
Mohloai Mpesi
LEADERS of opposition parties represented in parliament have come out guns blazing, accusing Prime Minister Sam Matekane of running a corrupt government that was failing the nation.
The leaders were particularly angered by the Prime Minister’s statement this week in which he defended his ministers against allegations of corruption. He dismissed the charges against his ministers as mere “rumours” and challenged anyone with evidence of corruption to come forward. Once furnished with such evidence, the Prime Minister vowed to take action against any corrupt ministers.
But the opposition leaders accused the Prime Minister of residing on cloud cuckoo land. They said evidence of his ministers’ corruption was obvious yet he had decided to turn a blind eye.
The reason for the Prime Minister turning a blind eye on corruption was because he himself was involved in it, they claimed.
Instead of challenging his critics to bring evidence against his ministers, Mr Matekane should instead be taking meaningful action against his “corrupt” ministers, they said.
The opposition leaders convened their presser at the Transformation Resources Centre (TRC) yesterday to respond to Mr Matekane’s media briefing at which he challenged anyone with proof of corruption by his ministers to come forward.
All Opposition
Virtually all leaders of opposition parties in parliament – but two – attended the press briefing. Those in attendance were included Mathibeli Mokhothu of the Democratic Congress (DC), Machesetsa Mofomobe of the Basotho National Party (BNP), Professor Nqosa Mahao of the Basotho Action Party (BAP), Dr Mahali Phamotse of United Africans Transformation (UAT), Samonyane Ntsekele, Deputy Leader of the All Basotho Convention (ABC), Tefo Mapesela of the Basotho Patriotic Party (BPP), and Advocate Lekhetho Rakuoane of the Popular Front for Democracy (PFD).
They contended that Mr Matekane was “unfit to lead”, especially in light of his inaction amid the corruption scandals highlighted by the Office of the Auditor-General and the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
They cited the costly M184 million project to refurbish Moshoeshoe I International Airport and the Auditor-General’s expose of massive graft at the Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC), among others.
Mr Mofomobe alleged that Mr Matekane was aware of the wrongdoing within his government but was unwilling to act, “as he himself is entangled in corrupt activities”.
Mr Mofomobe cited the suspension of a Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) investigator who claimed he was prevented from arresting the Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, Thabo Mofosi, for corruption and fraud, suggesting high-level interference to thwart prosecutions.
“Prime Minister Matekane is not serious about fighting crime and corruption. He asks for evidence, yet he sits beside a mountain of evidence against those implicated in wrongdoing,” Mr Mofomobe argued.
He said Mr Matekane had access to intelligence reports from the National Security Services (NSS) and regular reports from the Auditor-General, both of which provided evidence of corruption.
“He shouldn’t expect us to supply evidence when it’s already available to him,” he said.
Mr Mofomobe also implicated the Prime Minister in the turmoil at LEC, referencing the dismissal of former Energy Minister Nqosa Mahao, which he said stemmed from a dispute with Principal Secretary Tankiso Phapano.
“The problems at LEC began when Phapano defied his minister, and the Prime Minister sided with the PS over the minister. That suggests there’s more going on between Matekane and Phapano,” he claimed.
“The Prime Minister can’t fix LEC because it has become a hub of corruption and he himself is involved in the rot.”
DC leader, Mr Mokhothu, also criticized Mr Matekane’s government for failing to tackle corruption, alleging that “ministers are directly involved in corrupt activities”.
Lephema
He cited Minister of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police Lebona Lephema’s acquisition of Mothae Diamond Mine without a competitive bidding process.
Only in Mr Matekane’s corrupt government could such a self-evidently corrupt deal be countenanced, charged Mr Mokhothu. The government was a shareholder in all mining companies. For the Prime Minister not to see the obvious corruption inherent in a cabinet minister buying a company in which he will sit as a co-shareholder with the government he is part of is dumbfounding.
Mr Mokhothu said Lesotho now ranked 99th out of 180 countries on a global corruption index, indicating a decline in anti-corruption efforts.
Mr Mokhothu also referenced the Moshoeshoe I International Airport refurbishment, whose cost ballooned from M85 million to M184 million, as well as irregularities in the awarding of fertilizer and seed tenders.
“The Mothae mine was purchased by a cabinet member (Mr Lephema) when ordinary Basotho could have participated if the process had been open,” Mr Mokhothu said. “If that is not corruption, then what is…”
Mr Mokhothu said Mr Matekane’s government had failed to tackle unemployment since taking office in 2022.
He accused officials of diverting funds to public works projects “where they benefit from tenders, while neglecting promises to pay chiefs, councillors, and community health workers”.
He criticized Mr Matekane’s call for ministries to allocate a portion of their budgets ( two percent) to tackle youth unemployment without following proper procedures. Ministries could not unilaterally alter budgets approved by parliament.
“Reallocation should be done transparently in parliament, not announced at a press conference. This shows a lack of planning and vision,” Mr Mokhothu said.
BAP leader Prof Mahao also condemned the government, accusing it of undermining the PAC when it tried to fulfill its oversight role.
Cover Up
He alleged that Prime Minister Matekane tried to pressure PAC chairperson, ‘Machabana Lemphane-Letsie, to withhold the airport report from parliament, even threatening her with legal action related to her past as Home Affairs PS.
“When the government’s corruption is exposed, they threaten committee chairs, as happened with the PAC chairperson. After she refused to withdraw the report, they took her to court within two weeks,” Prof Mahao said.
“Now, they use the courts to silence parliamentary committees…..”
He warned that oppression often started subtly, with MPs being intimidated to prevent them from holding the government accountable.
Describing Mr Matekane’s ruling Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) as a scam, Prof Mahao said corruption had become endemic in Mr Matekane’s coalition.
He expressed scepticism on Mr Matekane’s promise to create more than 60 000 jobs saying “if the government cannot pay village health workers, such a target is unrealistic”.
He criticized the government for pursuing “vanity projects”, like the redevelopment of Maseru’s main circle, instead of devising practical solutions to unemployment.
“They talk about converting Lesotho into Dubai, yet the country is mired in poverty and joblessness. We hope they deliver on their promise, but the numbers just don’t add up,” he said.
UAT leader Dr Phamotse, accused the RFP of monopolizing government tenders to fund their 2028 election campaign.
She revealed that after the 2022 general elections, she attended an RFP MPs’ workshop where Rwandan experts advised legislators to separate their business interests from their government roles “to promote good governance”.
“However, RFP legislators rejected this advice, arguing that they needed to recoup the money they had spent on their campaigns,” Dr Phamotse said.
Leopard’s Back
Dr Phamotse said that Prof Mahao had been approached by an RFP parliamentarian who admitted that the party’s true agenda was not to serve the public.
She explained that the Rwandan experts had been brought in as examples of effective governance, emphasizing that ministers in Rwanda are not allowed to engage in business.
Despite this, she said, RFP legislators dismissed the recommendation.
She went on to claim that the RFP’s strategy had long been to “allocate government tenders among themselves for personal enrichment and to strengthen their business interests, with the ultimate goal of returning to power when their current term ends”.
“It only took me two or three weeks within RFP to realize we were riding a leopard’s back. Their plans to enrich themselves were clear from the start,” she said.
Dr Phamotse further alleged that real power in the current government lay not with the Prime Minister, but with those close to him, which led to her decision to leave.
“With these tenders they are awarding themselves, they are amassing funds to buy their way back into government for a second term. They aim to collect over M100 million from projects like the airport. This corruption runs from the top down,” she said.
