By Moroke Sekoboto
WOOL and mohair broker, Stone Shi, is reopening his Lesotho Wool Centre in Thaba Bosiu after he started repaying about M11 million he has owed farmers since the 2019/20 wool season.
Mr Shi is paying farmers attached to 11 shearing sheds across the country. He made the first payment this week and has committed to clearing the entire debt by 29 September 2026.
The development follows a series of meetings between Mr Shi and representatives of the affected farmers, which began on 20 August. The talks have been facilitated by the Office of the Prime Minister, with Chief of Staff, Sofonea Shale, leading the government delegation to ensure transparency and help the parties agree on a payment plan.
Mr Shi confirmed the developments to the Lesotho Times yesterday, saying he would make weekly payments until the debt was cleared.
“I can confirm that we have held meetings to come up with a payment plan, and the agreement is that I will pay the 11 shearing sheds in batches. I settled the first one, Luma Shearing Shed in Mafeteng, with M1.07 million on Tuesday and will pay another three next Tuesday. I will have paid all of them by 29 September,” Mr Shi said.
The payment, which Mr Shi processed on Tuesday, reflected in the shearing shed’s account yesterday.
He acknowledged that he had failed to pay the farmers on time after the 2019/20 wool sale. He attributed the failure to losses he suffered after he could not secure a shipping permit in time for a consignment of 20 containers carrying more than 1 400 bales of wool.
“I failed to obtain the shipping permit on time after receiving wool from the farmers in the 2019/20 period. This was while the wool was already in containers,” he said.
The prolonged storage damaged the wool, and by the time the consignment could be shipped, market prices had fallen.
“The fibre lost its value while awaiting the permit. I was forced to sell it at 40 percent of its original value because it had been badly damaged from being stored in containers for a long time, and the market had dropped by the time I was able to ship,” he said.
Mr Shi said that despite the setback, he had never abandoned the farmers and had spent the past six years raising money through his other businesses to honour his obligations.
“There were rumours that I had run away, but that is not true. I have always been around, trying to raise money through my other businesses to pay the farmers.
“I took full blame for the losses and committed to paying the farmers at the rate I had used previously.”
He said settling the debt demonstrated his commitment to continue working with Basotho farmers and to rebuild trust in his business.
“I want to continue working with Basotho farmers, and I assured them during our meetings that I have learned from the previous challenge and we will not encounter it again,” he said.
Mr Shi said the Lesotho Wool Centre gave farmers direct access to the export market.
“The company connects Basotho farmers directly with buyers, without any intermediaries or middlemen,” he said.
He said he began working with Basotho farmers in 2017 and that the Lesotho Wool Centre had since processed more than 30 000 bales of wool and mohair for buyers in China, India, Italy and other markets. The continued interest from international buyers, he said, demonstrated the quality of wool and mohair produced by Basotho farmers.
“The Lesotho Wool Centre is reopening at the end of this month, and farmers can start working with us for maximised profits. The Lesotho Wool Centre is here to stay, with and for Basotho,” he said.
The Office of the Prime Minister confirmed that negotiations between Mr Shi, the affected farmers and the government were progressing. Its spokesperson, Teboho Sekata, said the parties had agreed on a payment schedule under which all the affected farmers would be paid by 29 September.
“Negotiations are under way between the farmers, Mr Shi and the Office of the Prime Minister. Initially, the plan was to complete them last month, but we encountered some challenges. All the parties are working together, and we are satisfied with the progress,” Mr Sekata said.
“As we speak, Luma Shearing Shed in Mafeteng has received its payment today (yesterday). Mr Shi has agreed to pay the remaining shearing sheds. The agreement is that the others will be paid after collecting their account sales.”
He said BB Corp, Ha Sello in Mafeteng and Mafeteng Corp were collecting their account sales to establish the amounts owed to individual farmers.
“They will receive their payments next week. They will be followed by other batches because there is a clear payment plan ending on 29 September. All the farmers will have been paid by then,” Mr Sekata said.
He said that once the payments were completed, the parties would sign an agreement on the way forward in the presence of Prime Minister Sam Matekane.
“After they are all paid, they will sign an agreement on the way forward in the presence of the Prime Minister, turning a new chapter. Farmers will choose whether to continue working with Mr Shi,” he said.
Liphapang Lesetla, the treasurer of Luma Shearing Shed, confirmed that the first payment had been made.
“We received the proof of payment today, but I am yet to confirm with the bank. The Office of the Prime Minister helped us with the issue of payments,” Mr Lesetla said.
“We are grateful and satisfied with the government’s intervention because Mr Shi is now paying us.”
He said the decision on whether Luma farmers would continue doing business with Mr Shi would be made collectively.
“I cannot confirm whether we will continue working with him because it is beyond my control. We have an association that will decide on our behalf,” he said.
For some farmers, however, Mr Shi’s return is an opportunity to resume a business relationship they say benefited them.
Tebello Mofokeng, a farmer from BB Corp, said he remained satisfied with Mr Shi as a broker and encouraged other farmers to work with him.
“I am personally satisfied working with Mr Shi, and I encourage other farmers to work with him,” Mr Mofokeng said.
He said one advantage of working with Mr Shi was that the broker covered transport costs, which could otherwise be expensive for farmers.
“Some people influence farmers to work with other brokers, but we get more money from Mr Shi because he covers the transport costs. With others, we pay M25 000 for transport per consignment,” he said.
Mr Mofokeng also said farmers had found it easier to obtain permits when dealing with Mr Shi.
