…amid ongoing passport crisis
Mohloai Mpesi
The Director of Passports, Mpiko Rafono, has been suspended for three months by the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, ‘Mamphaka Mabesa.
The reasons for Mr Rafono’s suspension remain unclear. When contacted for comment, Mr Rafono said he had not been informed of the basis for his suspension and referred questions to Dr Mabesa.
“Please go and ask the PS as the person who suspended me. She is the one who knows why she suspended me. I do not know why they no longer want to work with me,” Mr Rafono said yesterday.
Efforts to get Dr Mabesa’s comment were unsuccessful as her mobile phone was unavailable. She is believed to be attending a meeting in Tanzania.
When the Lesotho Times visited the Department of Passports, Passports Manager Kefuoe Koatsa was acting in Mr Rafono’s position. However, Ms Koatsa declined to comment, saying she needed authorisation from Dr Mabesa first.
Meanwhile, scores of desperate Basotho were seen queuing outside the passport office in a bid to secure travel documents. Thousands of others who have already applied remain stranded as the department struggles to clear a long backlog.
The Lesotho Times understands that Mr Rafono was suspended for allegedly “sabotaging” the government after “underreporting” the stock of consumables required to produce personalized passports after the actual books have been procured. He had allegedly indicated that there were enough consumables to produce more than 22 000 passports – and possibly clear the backlog – when the available consumables could only cater for about 3000 passports, authoritative sources said.
The Lesotho Times understands that the Acting Commissioner of Refugees, Nthatisi Thabane, has also been suspended over unspecified allegations of corruption. Mr Rafono’s secretary, one Palesa, has also been suspended amid growing concerns that the unwieldy local government and home affairs ministry is in paralysis due to poor political leadership.
Background
The suspension of the director of passports comes against the backdrop of a prolonged and deepening crisis in the issuance of passport and identity cards at the ministry.
In May this year, the Senate’s Government Assurances Committee (GAC) accused the Minister of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, Lebona Lephema, of misleading Parliament regarding the availability of passports.
Mr Lephema had assured the GAC that the crisis had been resolved, and the Department of Home Affairs had resumed normal passport issuance. He attributed previous delays to logistical challenges caused by what he described as the failure of a middleman, NIKUV International Projects, to deliver passports and IDs on time. He further stated that the situation had improved after the government terminated its contract with NIKUV, since renamed Pangea, and began procuring directly from the manufacturer.
However, during a subsequent oversight visit, the Committee discovered that the situation had not improved. Many applicants—some who applied as far back as last year—were still without passports, and daily queues at the passports office had become the norm.
Contrary to Mr Lephema’s claims, Department of Home Affairs official Mochesela Ntiisa told the committee that the situation had in fact worsened. He said the crisis stemmed not only from supply chain failures but also from persistent underfunding. Mr Ntiisa warned that resolving the backlog could take years.
He partly traced the roots of the crisis back to a 2018 decision by the then Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s administration to issue free e-passports to encourage citizens to adopt the newer, electronic documents. The initiative was part of a plan to modernise the national civil registry. While well-intentioned, the programme was not budgeted for and placed a heavy financial strain on the government.
Even though applicants are now required to pay the standard M130 fee, this amount is far below the actual M500 cost of producing a single passport. Mr Ntiisa said this was not sustainable and urged the government to consider increasing the fee to reflect actual production costs.
Despite repeated assurances from Mr Lephema, including a December 2024 announcement that the problem had been resolved, the crisis continues to impact citizens’ ability to travel for education, family matters, business, and tourism. According to the GAC, the delays have sparked widespread frustration and given rise to corruption, with some applicants reportedly paying bribes to fast-track the process.
In September last year, Prime Minister Sam Matekane had also promised the nation that his government was working to resolve the crisis. He said a new company—whose name he did not disclose—had been contracted to manufacture passports and IDs following the termination of Pangea’s contract. He explained that the decision to drop Pangea was due to the company’s failure to fulfil its obligations, with reports indicating the firm had gone bankrupt.
Ombudsman Launches Probe
In response to the escalating crisis, Ombudsman Advocate Tlotliso Polaki last month launched an investigation into the Department of Home Affairs’ persistent failure to issue passports and IDs in a timely manner.
Adv Polaki said the investigation aims to uncover structural and procedural challenges, as well as non-compliance with policies and laws, which have led to poor service delivery. She expressed hope that the findings would pave the way for significant improvements in the department’s operations and restore public confidence in its services.
