THE choreography has been perfected. The lynch mob comprising the usual suspects — the mainstream media, captains of industry, leaders of banking institutions, false prophets masquerading as members of the cloth, hate-filled and revenge-seeking ANC veterans, opposition parties, civil society groupings preoccupied with sustenance of economic inequalities, racial bigots, talk show hosts – stand ready […]
Philip Roessler FOR the first time in more than two years – the longest stretch since the late 1950s – a coup d’etat rocked a country in Africa. Late on the evening of November 14, the Zimbabwe military seized control of the capital, Harare, and placed President Robert Mugabe under house arrest. The coup was […]
December 1 is World AIDS Day. This is a day to reflect on how far we have come in the global response to HIV/AIDS and to look toward the healthier future we envision. Our theme for World AIDS Day 2017 is “Increasing Impact through Transparency, Accountability and Partnerships.” This theme reflects the U.S. government’s longstanding […]
In 1987, 30 years ago, we had the holiday of our lives in Zimbabwe. The country was doing so well with good exports, successful agricultural crops, booming tourism and impressive gains in educational and health standards. Zimbabwe was working and former president Robert Mugabe was seen as running a successful transition from the colonial days […]
AZAD ESSA In the central lobby of the Banjul International Airport, a painting of Yahya Jammeh, the former president of The Gambia, adorns the ceiling. Jammeh, in his characteristic white, free-flowing kaftan, is shown with his arms wide open; a Qur’an in one hand and a short staff in another. It’s been almost a year […]
ELSEWHERE in this edition, we carry a report by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) about the missing arms of war from the armouries of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF), the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) and the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS). The report should dispatch cold chills down the spines of every peace loving […]
It’s Significance to China and the World (Dr. Sun Xianghua) FROM the 18th to 24th October, the Communist Party of China (CPC) held its 19th National Congress in Beijing. This event drew wide attention across the world like a strong magnet. The number of foreign journalists who went to China to cover this event was […]
Aubrey Hruby Emigration and extremism. When the rest of the world looks at Africa, it’s these big “E’s” that dominate the picture. And it’s no surprise: ask policymakers in the U.S. and Europe to list their greatest concerns in 2017 and you can bet the increasing numbers of African migrants and the spread of ISIS-inspired […]
By: Mofuoa Mofuoa LESOTHO is characterised as the highest country in the world. Many people call it a Kingdom in the sky or Roof of Africa. Stretches of rugged mountains, deep gorges and valleys are spread across the country. The weather is moderately warm in summer, whereas frozen snow covers mountain peaks and valleys in […]
WE have many reasons to rejoice over the news that Lesotho has achieved gains in the war against the deadly tuberculosis (TB) disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) Global TB Report 2017 revels that Lesotho has achieved a seven percent decline in TB incidence rates since 2010. Seven percent in seven years, when considered from […]
Eddie Cross FIVE centuries ago a little-known Monk in a German Monastery nailed a short statement onto the door of a local Church. His name was Martin Luther and the simple principles he laid out in Latin changed the world. The Reformation is celebrated in the Old City of Geneva where a monument has been […]
Monaheng Joseph Mahlatsi IN contemporary Lesotho, we hear more about the issue of holding a National Dialogue at schools, colleges, and radio stations. We also read about it in newspapers and electronic social media. We watch it in both national and international television programmes. More importantly, there are different reasonable legal and political justifications of […]
Lekhetho Ntsukunyane WHILE I respect the position of the family of Tefo Hashatsi to prevent coverage of the funeral of their beloved son by local media on Saturday, I wish to note a few things about this young man, whose life was cut too soon. I was part of hundreds of mourners attending the funeral […]
OVER the years in Lesotho, we have witnessed ordinary citizens and soldiers being murdered with impunity by those who had the power of guns. The situation took a turn for the worst from 2014 when an army rebellion against the civilian government by the command of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) which soon transformed […]
Funerals in the context of poverty Tankiso S. Phori LET me begin this article by saying I always wanted to challenge some of our cultural practices that are no longer relevant to most of us today, especially young generations and those who are yet to be born. My arguments against some of the practices were […]
LESOTHO has made progress in its efforts towards ending the AIDS epidemic as reflected in the preliminary results of the Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA). The results announced by the Deputy Prime Minister, Monyane Moleleki on Tuesday, show that Lesotho is currently on track to achieving the 90-90-90 targets by the Joint United Nations Programme […]
Tina Rosenberg A COUPLE of years ago, European researchers began studying more than a thousand couples, gay and straight, in which one member had been infected with HIV and the other hadn’t. These couples weren’t using condoms. But the infected partner was taking antiretrovirals successfully; the virus was suppressed, undetectable in the blood. The researchers published […]
Tsitsi Matope “Wherever there is conflict, women must be part of the solution.” This statement was said by the then Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women, Dr Michelle Bachelet during a high level United Nations Peace and Security Forum held in New York in 2013. A renowned academic […]
Mafa Sejanamane AS I travel around the world and in interact on social media, the constant question I tend to be asked is why do incidents like the killing of the commander of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) last week happen? People have often also asked why when murder is such a horrendous crime, there […]
Monaheng Joseph Mahlatsi IT is worth noting that there has been an attempt by the Lesotho government through the Ministry of Education and Training to introduce a new curriculum bearing the following learning areas, among others: Personal, Spiritual and Social development. The aim of the curriculum is to connect learners to real life challenges […]
Nthakeng Pheello Selinyane SO the third coalition government has “finally” been signed some two-and-a-half months since the Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s investiture! This is half the time the just-deposed Khokanyan’a Phiri coalition took to publish such an agreement, though its captains were already filling the skies with protestations that their successor regime established its full […]
Teboho Dan Molopi INTERNATIONAL practices in small enterprise development (SED) show that small business growth could be boosted by partnering with big companies and government departments for outsourcing and subcontracting arrangements. This helps the corporate clients to tap into the small business’s expertise, enabling the former to focus on its core function. It affords […]
Monaheng Joseph Mahlatsi LESOTHO is about to embark on security, constitutional, media and public service reforms. The need for those reforms is clear evidence that there is a serious moral decay in the Mountain Kingdom. This calls for effective and efficient reform strategies for moral regeneration. From the foregoing background, I have the following […]
Nthakeng Pheello Selinyane THE main opposition views on our country’s future continue to baffle many a good citizen. The former prime minister, Pakalitha Mosisili’s Democratic Congress (DC) and its second co-ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) only came at the last minute into the church/European Union-mediated, all-party pledge to accept election results and implement […]
Why Yan Xie has to go! You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.― James Madison, The Federalist Papers THE relationship between the government and the people can be as simple as Madison, one of the founders of the United States Constitution, put […]
Editorial OUR body politic is characterised by perennial squabbles over so many issues but one thing that is sure to unite Basotho across the partisan divide is the decision by the government to write off M43.54 million members of the Ninth Parliament owed when their term of office prematurely ended in June this year. The […]
IN November 2015, the then seven-party government led by Pakalitha Mosisili paid M32 million to a local financial institution which 118 members of the Eighth Parliament owed when their term of office prematurely ended following the 28 February 2015 snap elections. The legislators qualified for M500 000 interest-free loans as part of their benefits, […]
Dr Fako Likoti FOLLOWING the just ended 37 Summit of SADC from 19th to 20th August 2017, speculation is rife that, there will be a military intervention in Lesotho, as a consequence of assisting the government of Lesotho to implement paragraph 19 of the communique which demands a road map and security reforms. While […]
Nthakeng Pheello Selinyane OUR air is thick with a vibrant furore around the now (unofficially) widely publicized cabinet decision to disburse M43.5 million to a commercial bank in settlement of the personal interest-free loans of (maximum) M500 000 per person taken by some legislators against government guarantee in the ninth, short-lived, two-year parliament that […]
Reforms: Govt needs real support
The evolving security crisis in Lesotho reflects a deeply-rooted conflict requiring a robust mix of political, civilian, security and intelligence interventions. In the recent months, the new coalition government has activated crisis management instruments to work through polarised institutions while simultaneously moving cautiously to manage a complex state of affairs that could easily degenerate into […]