…as officials look to the courts to address the age-old problem haunting most urban areas of the Kingdom.
‘Malepotisa Masilo
MAPUTSOE might be Lesotho’s second largest economic hub after Maseru, but its garbage-strewn environment makes a mockery of this otherwise proud status.
The litter, which ranges from plastic, bottles and car-scraps to soiled baby nappies, is as repulsive as it is an eyesore, reducing an important economic centre of Lesotho bustling mostly with textile workers, into a wasteland visitor to the town find very hard to bear.
What should be a source of pride and an economic haven has since been reduced to a potential health hazard for the district of Leribe, but according to Maputsoe Urban Council chairperson Samuel Makatse, the town’s garbage woes are mostly self-inflected.
Mr Makatse told the Lesotho Times that some of the litter-challenges facing Leribe and Maputsoe in particular, included members of the public stealing garbage bins and selling them to scrap-dealers found in almost every nook and cranny of the town. Mr Makatse also attributed the garbage problem to the public’s illegal collection of drink and beer cans from dumping sites such as Mokotakoti and bringing them to residential areas for one reason or another, as well as mushrooming illegal dumpsites along the nearby Caledon riverbank.
Compounding the situation, Mr Makatse added, was the council’s inability to deal decisively with the problem due to inadequate equipment to clear the garbage.
“The budget we get from the central government is very small, which means our financial muscle is limited. The worst part is that legal dumping itself is not properly managed. This is because Maputsoe does not have adequate equipment allowing the council to function efficiently. The council just doesn’t have the right equipment to clean up the mess,” Mr Makatse said.
Equally worried is District Environmental Officer, Lebohang Tlhatlosi, who agrees that Leribe, like all the 10 districts of Lesotho, is heavily polluted largely due to an uncaring public.
Mr Tlhatlosi said to ensure the situation did not continue, the council had decided to invoke the law and deal with perpetrators decisively. Under the Environment Act 2008, it is a crime to pollute Lesotho’s environment, Mr Tlhatlosi said, hence the decision to prosecute anyone caught on the wrong side of this legislation.
“As a matter of fact, and with the help of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), there are cases already before the Leribe Magistrate Court awaiting judgment. According to the Environment Act 2008, whoever is found guilty of littering and polluting the environment, will be liable to a fine of M5000, a maximum of two years in jail or both,” Mr Tlhatlosi said.
“We are working with the Environmental Crime Unit from the Lesotho Mounted Police Service to arrest perpetrators. We are going to form a committee that will ensure the district is clean.”
Also bothered by irresponsible and harmful waste-disposal is Leribe District Administrator, Mohlophehi Mohobelo, who told the Lesotho Times that Prime Minister Sam Matekane was equally concerned by the state of the environment nationwide. Mr Mohobelo said the premier has been engaging with District Administrators (DAs), resulting in nationwide cleaning campaigns every last Friday of the month under an initiative called ‘Operation Hloekisa Lesotho’ (Operation Clean Up Lesotho).
However, Mr Mohobelo expressed disappointment that some members of the public appeared to continue resisting Mr Matekane’s call to keep their environment clean and healthy.
So bad was the situation, the Leribe DA said, that he once tried to address the problem at a illegal dumpsite, “only to be met with rebellious action by the public”.
Mr Mohobelo, however, said in Leribe, the premier’s vision of a healthy environment would come to pass, and decisive action taken against anyone who continued to poison the environment through wanton garbage disposal.
“The cleaning campaign committee includes the DA, Admin Manager, Environment Coordinator, Environmental Officer, as well as personnel from the police, army and the National Security Service, among others. Those who continue to dump all sorts of rubbish like diapers, bottles, cans, plastics and even urinating wherever they feel like, will be dealt with,” Mr Mohobelo said.
On his part, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Limpho Tau, who oversees the Ministry of Defence, National Security and Environment, also accused the public of littering the country “without a care in the world”.
Mr Tau continued: “I am talking about people who take garbage from their homes and go on to litter all over the place. They are responsible for the situation we are in, for ruining the environment. Worried by littering and its negative impact on the environment, the central government reacted by calling for cleaning campaigns countrywide every last Friday of the month. Maputsoe is an example of places we visited and worked in. However, shop-owners and the public who are the cause of littering did not bother to come join in the cleaning campaign.”
Mr Tau also rejected suggestions that the government had failed to deal with the garbage situation.
“No; not in the least. The government has not failed to deal with this issue. Rather, we have recently established cleaning campaign committees countrywide that will include personnel from the police and the army, to mention a few. Government is going to take heavy measures against those who continue to pollute the environment.”
Lesotho attended the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, in Scotland, where member-countries agreed to minimise pollution, improve agriculture, and also increase the scale of planting trees. COP27 was subsequently held last year in Egypt, and focused on quality food production and security, the success of which are largely dependent on a clean environment.
In late April 2023, Premier Matekane launched ‘Operation Hloekisa Lesotho’. The operation incidentally came two weeks after the department of environment announced it had set aside M3 million for the rehabilitation of Tsósane garbage dumpsite. This funding decision was made following years of complaints and warnings by residents living in the vicinity of the dumpsite that it had not only become an eyesore, but also a health hazard.
‘Operation Hloekisa Lesotho’, which was initiated by the Department of Environment under the Prime Minister’s Office, in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, was meant to be a robust environmental rehabilitation crusade aimed at improving and maintaining Lesotho’s general cleanliness.
Under the programme, different sectors of society are expected to collect garbage and clean the environment every last Friday of the month.
According to Mr Matekane, the objective was to roll out ‘Operation Hloekisa Lesotho’ to all the 10 districts of Lesotho. The campaign, he added, would be led by cabinet ministers acting in partnership with local government structures.
At the launch in Maseru, Mr Matekane emphasised the importance of preserving the environment and said Lesotho had signed international treaties that made ensuring a clean Lesotho that much more important.
“We are gathered here today to make people aware that they should preserve the environment. Lesotho has signed international and regional environmental conservation laws and is obliged to preserve the environment as part of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and National Strategic Development Goals II (NSDGs II),” Mr Matekane said.
Furthermore, the premier said failure to regulate waste products such as tins, plastic, cloth and other waste material, endangered wetlands and nature, caused wildfires and led to air pollution.
The premier stressed it was every Mosotho’s responsibility to conserve the environment.
The government, he added, had formulated policies targeted at rehabilitating and preserving the environment. He also said the government would soon be reintroducing the Cleanest Town competition, where the winner would receive an award.
The speedy introduction of a levy on plastic shopping bags and an Environment Fund for such levies, the enforcement of community service for minor environmental offenses, and strengthening of Community Environmental Policing were also in the pipeline, the PM further said.
Mr Matekane also said his administration would ensure government offices, premises, and their surroundings maintained high standards of hygiene. The premier further emphasized his three-party coalition administration would embark on compulsory cleaning for areas around government offices and residential properties, and waste management at government offices and shopping complexes.
Under Mr Matekane, the environment department has already been engaged in several activities to give the Maseru city a makeover. These activities include planting flowers and palm trees across the city, as well as partaking in the International Tree Planting Day in March this year, where Mr Matekane went all out to plant trees with different communities of Mafeteng district.
