Pascalinah Kabi
PRIME Minister Moeketsi Majoro has again reshuffled his cabinet. The premier yesterday moved Agriculture and Food Security Minister Likopo Mahase to a new portfolio as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mr Mahase’s previous post has been given to Mr Nkaku Kabi who was Water Affairs minister. Former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Kemiso Mosenene, takes over as Water Affairs minister.
Dr Majoro’s press attaché, Buta Moseme, said in a statement the latest appointments were with effect from yesterday. The premier has reshuffled his cabinet and principal secretaries on several occasions since taking over from former incumbent Thomas Thabane in May 2020.
His last reshuffle was on 4 June 2020. It saw the likes of former Public Service Minister Samuel Rapapa being moved to the Communications, Science and Technology portfolio. He swapped portfolios with Mr Keketso Sello whose tenure had been blighted by sexual abuse allegations levelled against him by the now suspended Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA) CEO, Mamarame Matela.
In the latest reshuffle, Mr Mahase’s reassignment is widely viewed as a demotion in the wake of last week’s sensational allegations that 4000 bags of fertiliser had disappeared from the agriculture ministry’s warehouse at Ha-Foso, Berea. The fertiliser is part of the government subsidised inputs to farmers for the recently commenced 2021/22 summer cropping season.
It is believed that the fertiliser was released by ministry officials to politicians and other well-connected individuals for resale on the black market at inflated prices. This is to the detriment of ordinary farmers who rely on government subsidised fertiliser and other inputs to plant crops every farming season.
The fertiliser is procured by the government and sold at a subsidised price of M144 to approved retailers. These retailers are in turn expected to resell a bag for M181 to ordinary farmers. The fertiliser is supposed to be sold on a first-come-first-served basis to the approved dealers.
However, government sources and ordinary farmers have alleged that some cabinet ministers, legislators and politically connected individuals jumped the queue and purchased the fertiliser through the back door. They allege that these powerful people are short-changing ordinary farmers by hoarding the fertiliser and reselling it at exorbitant prices of as much as M600 per bag.
In addition, some of the fertiliser is allegedly being smuggled across the border to farms in the neighbouring Free State province and other parts of South Africa where it is resold for huge profits.
Mr Mahase addressed a hastily arranged weekend press conference where he denied that fertiliser was missing from the Ha-Foso depot.
Despite his denials, Police Spokesperson Senior Superintendent Mpiti Mopeli confirmed that they were investigating the allegations. He said he could not comment on the claims that senior politicians were involved in the looting of fertiliser for resale at inflated prices locally and in South Africa. He said they would only issue a full comment once they had completed their investigations.
