Mohalenyane Phakela / Moorosi Tsiane
OFFICIALS from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport on Tuesday met a delegation from South African company, Lesedi Technical Engineering (LTE) Consulting, to discuss the amicable termination of the controversial M33.6million contract the two parties entered into for the refurbishment of Moshoeshoe I International Airport.
The Lesotho Times has been reliably informed the meeting was initially supposed to take place on 30 August 2023 in Maseru, but had to be postponed to this week after controversial South African businessman, Thulani Majola, who owns the company, had insisted on the presence of his legal team in the crunch talks.
This publication has seen a letter written by the Ministry of Transport and Public Works principal secretary, Tšepang Koele, dated 22 August 2023, inviting LTE to the 30 August 2023 meeting to discuss the way forward regarding the contract the parties signed in November 2021.
“This communication serves to invite you to a meeting to discuss the options in the proposal for downscaled works to find an amicable solution that shall not prejudice each party.
“The meeting is proposed for 30 August 2023 at Works headquarters Administration boardroom at 10am,” part of the letter addressed to Mr Majola reads.
However, this publication understands the meeting did not materialise due to Mr Majola’s insistence on the involvement of his legal team in the matter.
Mr Majola yesterday confirmed Tuesday’s meeting but refused to divulge any details pertaining to the issue.
“We met yesterday (Tuesday) and the ministry said it would give us their decision in writing next week Thursday. They are the ones who will tell you what they have decided,” Mr Majola briefly said.
Nonetheless, a source privy to the matter told this publication that the government told Mr Majola it intended to terminate the contract with immediate effect.
“Mr Majola’s team asked the government to put their decision in writing and the latter agreed to do so by next week. The government’s stance is that they want out of the contract they have with LTE, but Mr Majola’s team would not agree to a termination without compensation,” the source said.
Ms Koele could not be reached for comment as she declined this publication’s calls.
However, her deputy (PS), Katiso Ntoane, yesterday also confirmed the meeting when contacted for comment but said he was not at liberty to disclose the details.
“Those issues are still internal as they are currently at the negotiation stage and therefore, we are not in a position to discuss them with the media at this stage. Maybe we will be able to talk to you after we have had the second meeting which we are yet to agree on its date,” Mr Ntoane said.
On 2 August 2023, the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Matjato Moteane, revealed that the government was exploring loopholes through which it could terminate the LTE contract, saying the deal had been flawed from the onset.
Initially, the contract in question had been won by Mr Majola’s LTE Consulting Engineers on 11 November 2021, but the company changed its trading name to Lesedi Technical Engineering Consulting, allegedly even before being awarded the contract.
Mr Moteane had, on that day, said the government had since engaged the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) to scrutinise the multi-million Maloti contract and advise on how Lesotho could escape from the clutches of the deal.
The ALSF is an international organisation hosted by the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, at the request of African countries, and provides support during the negotiations of contracts between governments and investors.
In addition, the minister revealed that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) and police had also been roped in to investigate how the lucrative contract was awarded to Lesedi Technical Engineering Consulting.
The Lesotho Times had, before then, established that Lesedi/LTE was paid M8.4 million in May this year by the government for preliminary works done at the airport, which included a feasibility study.
A letter written on 25 May 2023 by Lesedi Technical Engineering to Ms Koele, confirmed that Mr Majola had received the payment of M8.4 million as professional fees to Lesedi for the project which had been awarded to LTE Consulting. The letter was signed by one Sham Maharaj, whose title in Lesedi Technical Engineering is not mentioned in the document.
Maharaj made reference in the letter to a meeting of 23 March 2023 between Lesedi Technical Engineering and the ministry’s officials. Maharaj stated that the meeting discussed three options, the first being that Lesedi Technical Engineering proceeds with work and is paid the remainder of M25.2 million or the Public Works and Transport Ministry reduces the scope of work and pays the company professional fees of M10 Million. The last option would be for Lesedi Technical Engineering and the government to amicably agree to terminate the contract, with the company being compensated with M8 million for loss of profit.
LTE Consulting Engineers had been provisionally liquidated by the time the company was awarded the contract, which allegedly made the deal illegal.
The firm was provisionally liquidated on 9 June 2021, with the liquidation being made final in February 2022. Lesotho’s then Ministry of Transport then announced LTE Consulting Engineers as the preferred bidder for the project on 10 June 2021, a day after the Gauteng High Court had issued the provisional liquidation order.
Nonetheless, Mr Ntoane was on 2 August adamant that the government was in contract with Lesedi Technical Engineering Consulting and not LTE, thereby contradicting himself that it was LTE which was liquidated, not Lesedi. He had also just said Lesedi was still using the same registration number (2000/020739/07) which had been used by LTE.
Mr Ntoane also said Mr Majola informed them about the name-change from LTE to Lesedi.
When asked why the government’s written communication to Mr Majola had been addressed to LTE and not Lesedi, Mr Ntoane said: “That was an oversight because we had already received information that LTE had changed its name”.
He said after they had received information about LTE’s liquidation in June last year, they investigated the matter and from the South African businesses’ registry, “we discovered that Lesedi was still operational”.
Mr Ntoane’s response, therefore, meant that the previous administration led by Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro ignored the June 2021 provisional liquidation order as well as the February 2022 final liquidation order.
