LESOTHO this year slumped to position 130 out of 183 countries in the “ease of doing business” survey carried out by the World Bank. Last year the country was ranked a lowly 128. The report confirms what we have known all along — that Lesotho still has a raft of laws and regulations that are […]
THE cracks in the Lesotho opposition ranks widened this week over strategies on how to confront the government regarding the proportional representation (PR) seats issue. The Lesotho Opposition Forum, an umbrella body for opposition parties, is split over suggestions that the parties pull out their MPs from parliament in protest. The thinking in the opposition […]
ON Sunday, the managing director of Sun Bakery, formerly known as Astoria Bakery, was kidnapped from his home by unknown gunmen. A few hours later Thabo Phohleli’s lifeless body was found dumped along Phuthiatsana River. He was only 40. His killers have not been arrested. Two days earlier a member of the United States Peace […]
LAST month Lesotho joined the rest of the world in celebrating the African woman and her achievements. We look back and rejoice that we had an opportunity to get together to honour women who have made a mark in economic, political, social, cultural, technological and other fields of endevour. We were happy to retrace their […]
THE noises emanating from the Lesotho Teachers Trade Union threatening to stage nation-wide protests suggest all is not well within the civil service. The union has made a raft of allegations against the government. Among some of these are that the government is planning to retrench civil servants. The federation claims the government will specifically […]
ELSEWHERE in this paper we carry a harrowing story of a 65-year-old former police officer who alleges that he was beaten by police officers in Mokhotlong. Maputi Ramoholi claims he was stripped before being savagely beaten with a spade on August 4. He also claims he was handcuffed and had his legs chained during the […]
THE world over, universities are supposed to be a melting pot of ideas. They are incubators for ground-breaking research and innovation. It is at universities that great ideas for business, politics, technology and societal development are given shape. The National University of Lesotho (NUL) is, sadly, not known for any of that. Instead, Lesotho’s biggest […]
IN this edition we carry a story about the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill (2010) that the government of Lesotho has proposed. The law is meant to protect people against human trafficking. The Bill defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, sale, supply or receipt of persons within and across the borders of Lesotho. […]
THE dramatic collapse of the alliance between the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party and the Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) is the most vivid illustration that the opposition in Lesotho is in turmoil. The alliance which was formed ahead of the 2007 general elections had promised so much and yet delivered so little for opposition supporters. […]
LESOTHO’S splintered labour movement is in turmoil once again — this time over how much factory workers should earn per month. But the dispute is not just about money. It is about power and influence within the labour movement. What is clear however is that the discord within the labour movement will not advance the […]
THE proposal by a High Court judge for the government to push for a political solution to the MKM scandal could mark a significant turning point in the search for a solution to the long-running saga. The respected judge says the MKM case required “a political solution involving the executive and legislature and not the […]
THE MKM saga has rumbled on for a long time with no solution in sight for the 400 000 plus mostly impoverished citizens who were fleeced of their hard earned cash in this Ponzi style scheme. Five judges of the High Court have so far refused to hear the MKM liquidation case offering all manner […]
BASOTHO National Party (BNP) leader Metsing Lekhanya outmuscled his political opponents last weekend to retain control of his beleaguered political party. We wish to extend our congratulations to him on his victory. Being the old political fox that he is, Lekhanya carefully manoeuvred matters at the conference to ensure that he retained his position at […]
LAST week the leader of the main opposition All Basotho Convention (ABC) party called on Lesotho’s political parties to boycott the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Thabane accused the electoral body of bias particularly over the manner it handled last month’s by-elections in Mpharane, Sebapolo and Hololo. His party suffered a thorough drubbing in those by-elections. […]
FOR two weeks now South Africa has denied entry into the country to thousands of Basotho who are using temporary travel documents. Those who have six months permits have had to endure long hours in tortuous queues as they wait for their passports to be scanned. The inconvenience to businesses has been huge with some […]
THE problems in Lesotho’s agriculture sector have been well documented. Players in the agriculture sector acknowledge that the sector has been in perpetual decline for decades. Instead of producing our own food, we have continued to rely heavily on food handouts from international relief agencies. We also continue to import essentially all our food requirements […]
IN two days’ time Basotho will once again trudge to the polls in three constituency by-elections that could serve as a litmus test for our fledgling democracy. The central characters on the country’s political stage — the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), the Basotho National Party and the All Basotho Convention (ABC) — will […]
THERE was an uneasy calm at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital this week after nurses grudgingly trudged back to their work stations after a week of protests. The nurses went on strike last week to demand an immediate improvement in their salaries and working conditions. The strike paralysed operations at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Lesotho’s biggest […]
PRIME Minister Pakalitha Mosisili yesterday launched the National Volunteer Youth Corps, a new organisation set up to instil a spirit of volunteerism within our youth. The concept of volunteerism is a noble endeavour. Volunteerism seeks to encourage people particularly the youth to spend their time and talents to promote charitable causes without regard for monetary […]
PRIME Minister Pakalitha Mosisili yesterday launched the National Volunteer Youth Corps, a new organisation set up to instil a spirit of volunteerism within our youth. The concept of volunteerism is a noble endeavour. Volunteerism seeks to encourage people particularly the youth to spend their time and talents to promote charitable causes without thinking about monetary […]
THIS newspaper has on numerous times raised concerns over the state of our judiciary system. We have not hesitated to pinpoint areas we felt needed urgent attention. In fact we have highlighted problems that threaten to compromise the dispensing of justice in the country. We have done so at the risk of courting trouble for […]
TWO days from today, the Lesotho Times will quietly celebrate its second anniversary. And what an exciting time it has been for all of us who make up the Lesotho Times family! Over a relatively short period of 24 months, we have seen the newspaper grow into arguably one of the biggest brands in the […]
THE following is a statement by the Lesotho Football Association (Lefa) responding to statements made members of parliament and political youth leagues calling on the government to stop funding the association: The Lesotho Football Association is greatly stunned and aptly startled by the comments made by the Honourable Members of Parliament Sello Maphalla and […]
THE decision by the Premier League to ban the executive committee of Lioli Football Club for the next four years did not come as a surprise to us. Lioli football club and the Premier League have been on a confrontational path for a long time and the club should have seen it coming. The ban, […]
IT is now almost two weeks after our sister paper the Sunday Express exposed the scandals involving the issuance of passports and other travel documents at the Passport Office. We have noted with satisfaction that the story about the corrupt issuance of passports has triggered a response from those charged with running the department. The […]
THE leader of the opposition Basotho National Party (BNP), Justin Metsing Lekhanya, last weekend survived by the skin of his teeth a major putsch led by party elements that are fiercely opposed to his leadership. Lekhanya is under tremendous pressure to quit from rival factions of the BNP who have been clamouring for his ouster […]
THE ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy party last Wednesday ignored opposition protests in parliament and passed the controversial Land Bill 2009. The law, which seeks to overhaul Lesotho’s land tenure system, has now been pushed to the Senate for debate. With the majority the ruling party enjoys in the Senate, the Bill is likely to […]
OUR sister paper, the Sunday Express, this week carried a shocking story about the mess at our premier learning institution, the National University of Lesotho (NUL). In a candid interview with the Sunday Express, the chairman of the university’s council, Dr Molotsi Monyamane, painted a picture of an institution in terminal decline. Monyamane said NUL […]
IN this issue we carry a story about 100 block farmers who have failed to repay their government-guaranteed loans to a local commercial bank. The block farming scheme, which began in the 2006/2007 season, was to provide capital to farmers to increase the country’s food security. The project, it was hoped, would revamp Lesotho’s agriculture […]
IEC can redeem itself
A PROPOSAL by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)’s law committee to amend Lesotho’s electoral rules could prove a key turning point in halting post-election conflicts in Lesotho. If adopted, the proposals could significantly alter Lesotho’s electoral playing field. The opposition has often mourned that the current election rules were heavily skewed in favour of the […]