- as PAC orders Health PS Ntene to terminate Tsebo Health Solutions contract
- while PS warns of legal consequences if the deal is terminated
Moroke Sekoboto
A fierce exchange erupted in Parliament this week when the Ministry of Health Principal Secretary (PS), ’Maneo Ntene, refused to terminate a contract awarded to Tsebo Health Solutions for a planned private wing at Queen ’Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH), despite a directive from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for her to do so.
Ms Ntene told the PAC that Health Minister, Selibe Mochoboroane, had instructed her not to cancel the contract because doing so would be unlawful.
The PS had first appeared before the PAC last week, whenshe was accused of having vested interests in what the Committee called the “illegal” contract awarded to Tsebo Health Solutions to operate a private wing at QMMH. The Committee went as far as calling for her to be investigated for corruption and ordered her to terminate the Tsebo Health Solutions contract.
However, appearing again this week, a defiant Ms Ntene said the ministry had obtained a legal opinion warning that cancelling the contract would trigger legal consequences, hence the Minister’s instruction that she should not comply with the PAC directive.
PAC members, however, insisted the procurement process was riddled with irregularities, arguing the company did not even apply for the tender.
“After appearing before this committee, I spoke with the Minister about the PAC instruction, but he said PAC must compile a report to table in Parliament and let Parliament decide. We will then act on what Parliament decides,” Ms Ntene said.
“I was ordered not to execute your instruction, and if need be, you can call the Minister to appear before the Committee. But I will not terminate the contract because of the Minister’s order.”
PAC Chairperson, Machabane Lemphane-Letsie, blasted Ms Ntene, reminding her that she was summoned as the Chief Accounting Officer and that the Committee expected answers from her—not from the Minister. She questioned Ms Ntene’s insistence that the Minister should be summoned.
“You cannot respond to us by saying the minister instructed you. He cannot instruct you in here, and we are not going to call him. This Committee summons the Chief Accounting Officer. Give us the evidence that the Minister instructed you; you cannot just tell us that he instructed you,” Ms Lemphane-Letsie said.
“Remember, the contract we are telling you to cancel was awarded to a company that did not apply for the tender. We are instructing you to terminate it because it is irregular, and you are telling us about the minister.”
She further warned that the Committee would compile a report to be tabled before Parliament—one which could result in the QMMH budget not being approved.
“We will meet with him when he wants the budget. We are telling you to cancel the contract before implementing it because it is irregular. When we are telling you to cancel it, you are telling us about legal implications…?”
Another PAC member, Dr Tšeliso Moroke, questioned why it was suddenly difficult to terminate a contract when QMMH had cancelled contracts before.
“Why is it difficult to terminate? …..We summoned you as the Chief Accounting Officer. We have a responsibility to play oversight; you cannot do as you please. People are dying at QMMH because of this incompetence.
“If the PS says accounting to Parliament is the minister’s responsibility, then I suggest she resigns because she doesn’t know her scope of work,” Dr Moroke said.
Another PAC member, Thabiso Lekitla, also weighed in, telling Ms Ntene that no minister, not even the prime minister, could dictate how the Committee executed its duties.
“There is no minister, even the prime minister, who can tell us how to work in this Committee. So we urge you to cooperate and stop undermining this Committee,” Mr Lekitla said.
Background
Last month, the government announced the establishment of a private wing at QMMH, to be operated by local company Tsebo Health Solutions in partnership with Busamed, a South African private hospital group. The wing is intended to serve as a referral facility, aimed at reducing costly patient transfers to South Africa.
Although operations were scheduled to begin on 1 November 2025, the wing has yet to open. One of the reasons for the delays relates to its incomplete registration with the Lesotho Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Council (LMDPC).
PS Ntene previously told this publication that the private wing would significantly reduce patient referrals to South Africa, where Lesotho has accumulated huge medical bills. Last year, reports indicated that Lesotho owed the South African government M211 million in outstanding medical fees.
The health sector was allocated M3.4 billion in the 2023/24 fiscal year and M3.1 billion for 2024/25.
The private wing initiative comes after the government terminated its Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the Tšepong Consortium, which included South Africa’s Netcare Hospital Group and local companies Afri’nnai Health, Excel Health Services, Women Investment and D10 Investment.
The PPP was signed on 27 October 2007 to design, build, part-finance and operate the 425-bed QMMH and its gateway clinic. Originally estimated at M1.165 billion (US$84 million), the project involved two years of construction and 16 years of operational management under Tšepong.
During the operational phase, the consortium received an annual unitary fee of M255.6 million (US$18.4 million) to cover costs and returns on debt and equity.
In 2021, the government terminated the contract, arguing it consumed nearly half of the national health budget. The Ministry of Health also accused Netcare of benefitting unfairly from the arrangement.
Following the termination, Netcare demanded M1.6 billion from the government for outstanding services. This matter is still pending before court.
