. . .After Auditor General gave her the report in May
. . . Report should have been tabled before Parliament in 7 days
. . .Minister now accused of “shielding” govt from exposure
Mohloai Mpesi
FINANCE and Development Planning Minister, Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane, has allegedly been sitting on the 2022–2023 Auditor-General’s report on the government’s consolidated financial statements since May.
This despite a constitutional requirement that it be tabled in Parliament within seven days of receipt from the Office of the Auditor General.
The Lesotho Times has established that Dr Matlanyane received the report—covering the financial year ending 31 March 2023—on 9 May 2025, yet more than four months later it has not been presented to Parliament.
According to Section 117 (4) of the Constitution, “The Auditor-General shall submit every report made by him … to the minister of the time being responsible for Finance who shall, not later than seven days after each House of Parliament first meets after he has received the report, lay it before that House”.
Instead, insiders allege Dr Matlanyane plans to circulate the report among Cabinet ministers, ostensibly to allow them to familiarise themselves with its findings before it reaches the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The PAC has a reputation for grilling ministries and parastatals over the Auditor-General’s reports, often exposing corruption, procurement blunders, mismanagement, and fraud.
The insider told the Lesotho Times this week that the minister wants civil servants to scrutinise key findings and fix them in advance before the PAC summons them to address and respond to queries raised in the Auditor-General’s Report.
This, according to the source, is done under the guise that ministers and officials do not comprehend the Auditor-General’s findings, and therefore need time to study them.
“Her understanding is that before the report goes to PAC, ministers should have a chance to peruse and scrutinise the report and understand the findings against them in the report, so that when PAC calls them, they must have made progress into fixing those mistakes.
However, the law does not say that. The law dictates that after the report has been submitted to the minister, it should be tabled, and PAC should start doing its job.
“The report contains the findings that the Auditor-General found while doing the audit. What the minister is doing is unlawful,” the source said.
The source also said it was misleading for the minister to claim ministries did not understand the details of the report:
“It is not clear when the minister says ministries do not understand the details of the report because ministries have legal teams, finance directors and experts that engage them on a regular basis. This is not the first report to be issued. It is released every year, and they help ministers to understand key issues within the report so that they can fix them.”
Another source added: “This is the first report which will speak into the conduct of this current regime which came into power in October 2022. It covers the period of April 2022 to March 2023, so it may be revealing their wrongdoing and Dr Matlanyane is trying to protect them.”
When contacted for a comment on Tuesday, Auditor-General’s Communications Manager, Mantletse Maile, told the Lesotho Times that the Office of the Auditor-General had played its part in submitting the report to the ministry.
Asked whether the Office made follow-ups, she said Dr Matlanyane had indicated that she had concerns with the report.
“According to the report we received while we were doing the follow-up, is that the minister is holding the report because she has concerns with the report.
“The Auditor-General submits the report to the minister, which she has to table before the Parliament, then PAC will start calling ministers and parastatals on the queries raised in the report,” she said.
Minister lashes out
Dr Matlanyane, who is in the United States (US) on an official trip, became defensive when questioned and instead berated the journalist yesterday, complaining that the journalist was waking her up early.
She blasted the reporter to respect her and not to ask questions as if conclusively accusing her, but to “chat his way” through to the questions.
This reporter, nonetheless, had sent a questionnaire to the Minister’s WhatsApp to avoid disturbing her during meetings or rest time. However, the minister could not tolerate even that.
The reporter sought to understand why the minister had not tabled the report before Parliament, thereby breaching constitutional provisions.
“I am the one who called you so listen to me. Please respect me like I respect you. You knew I am not in the country. Where I am it is 5am. You start asking about the report. I do not work for the Lesotho Times; I work for the government.
“As a journalist seeking information, you don’t start asking questions as if you are accusing. You chat with a person. I told you I am outside the country. Should I leave the work I am doing here and attend to you? You have to respect me if we are to work together. Do you hear me,” she angrily said.
She went on to question why the journalist did not speak with the ministry, the Auditor-General or the Accountant-General, insisting that the responsibility did not rest solely on her.
The journalist further asked the Minister to clarify whether the Auditor-General could table the report herself, given that the 10th Amendment to the Constitution Act, 2025 had been enacted.
Section 116 (3) of the 10th Amendment, gazetted on 13 August 2025, states: “The Supreme Audit Institution shall be accountable and report to Parliament.”
“If you want to discuss about the 10th Amendment with me, you have to sit down with me and chat with me, instead of asking me questions as if you are suing.
“The 10th Amendment has just been enacted now. There is transitional period. If you want to know issues relating to the report, go and talk with the ministry.
“Do you feel like you have to ask me directly? The ministry is there, Auditor-General is there, Accountant-General is there. Go and ask Auditor-General, why are you asking me. Go and ask her.”
Parliament raises alarm
In the National Assembly yesterday, the concerned Chair of Chairs and Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) legislator for Mokhethoaneng constituency, Mokhothu Makhalanyane, rose on a point of order and told the House that the Auditor-General’s report, which had been submitted to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in May, had still not been tabled before Parliament despite clear legal provisions.
“I am rising on a point of order relating to a report of the Auditor-General, of 2023. We have been pushing that we need not to have many years left behind with the report.
“We pushed the office of the Auditor-General, and they have told us that from May, they submitted the report to the ministry of Finance and Development Planning. But after such a long time, the report has not been tabled before the House,” Mr Makhalanyane said.
He asked the Speaker of the National Assembly, Tlohang Sekhamane, to guide MPs on how to handle the matter.
“Please help Speaker, what should we do with this one because the law dictates what should happen after the report has been submitted to the Minister of Finance and Development Planning to end up being tabled before the House. We are still pushing the office of the Auditor-General to work on the 2024-2025 report so that we don’t end up being behind with the reports. It will help us to trace these finances within that period. But in 2025, we are still talking about a report of 2022,” he said.
In his response, Mr Sekhamane said working on recent Auditor-General’s reports would distinguish the 11th Parliament from its predecessors.
“That will help us as the 11th Parliament. It will differentiate us with the previous parliaments. For years, Parliament has been struggling with the reports of Auditor-General of three or four years ago.
“When you deeply think about it, you would ask yourself what is the use of being busy working on it (reports dating far back). What are you working on and what importance would it bring?
“I see three ministers in here. I see that Minister of Finance and Development Planning is not here in person, but this is one of the biggest issues. If progress has been made to the extent that we speak about a report of 2023, a lot of work has been made.
“We have to work harder so that from here we work on current reports. That would be good progress made by this 11th Parliament. Tell the relevant minister to attend this with all dedication,” Mr Sekhamane said.
