MASERU — The ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) party will hold its annual leadership conference this weekend. The conference, which begins on Saturday, comes as the LCD is grappling with serious factional fights that have threatened to split the party. Key on the agenda is the issue of petitions filed by constituencies calling for […]
MASERU — Television cameraman Habofanoe Ntsie on Tuesday told the High Court that he was acting in self-defence when he shot and killed two men six years ago. Ntsie is standing trial for the murder of his neighbours, Souru Masupha and Habaka Mahao, on November 30, 2004 at Lancer’s Gap in Berea district. “It is […]
MASERU — Two men from Rustenburg, South Africa, appeared in the Butha-Buthe Magistrate’s Court last week after they were caught in possession of diamonds and counterfeit money totalling M25 800. Police spokesman Masupha Masupha said the two men, who are aged 36 and 48, were arrested in Butha-Buthe following a tip-off. But only one suspect, […]
MASERU — The High Court on Tuesday postponed a case in which eight police officers are facing a murder charge after a police officer who was expected to testify committed suicide. The police officers are being accused of killing Phamong principal chief, Bereng Bereng, in Maseru eight years ago. The prosecution says the officers chased […]
ROMA – Researchers and lecturers at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) on Monday went on an “indefinite” strike forcing the university management to postpone first-year final exams that were supposed to start on the same day. The Lesotho University Teachers and Researchers Union (Lutaru) said they would not resume work until a resolution was […]
MASERU — An elective conference for the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) party’s Stadium Area constituency youth committee was aborted on Sunday after protests from some delegates. The conference was called to elect a new constituency youth committee. But delegates sharply differed on the legality of the conference resulting in the meeting being cancelled in […]
MASERU — The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD)’s deputy secretary-general Lebohang Nts’inyi on Sunday accused the party’s youth league chairman Thuso Litjobo of dragging her name in the mud. Nts’inyi launched the attack on Litjobo minutes after the conference for the Stadium Area constituency’s youth committee had been abandoned following arguments over its legality. Nts’inyi […]
HARARE — Christmas is almost a month away and Zimbabweans better enjoy this one to the hilt. Next year’s might not be very good. Remember the miserable 2008 Christmas “stolen” by election-induced political and economic turmoil? Well, elections are on again. A plebiscite — a constitutional reforms referendum followed by a general election — are […]
EDUCATION Minister Mampono Khaketla must leave no stone unturned in the government’s push for total transformation of the education sector. Her intervention was long overdue. I welcome the minister’s intervention as it is consistent with the nation’s goal to totally revamp Lesotho’s education system. The purpose of this article is to critically look at the […]
I HAVE a soft spot for school teachers. As one who was in the “trenches” at one point, I know their daily struggles. I know their pains. When teachers moan about their “hardships”, they can rest assured that they have a listening ear. I quit teaching in disgust some years ago because of the poor […]
LAST week, I wondered how many African women were excited by one particular international story — the release from house arrest of the Burmese democracy movement leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Only a few have ever heard of her, from Table Mountain to Timbuktu. She is worth emulating — like Helen of Troy, Joan of […]
MASERU — Lesotho has slumped to position 138 out of 183 countries in the Ease of Doing Business report for 2011 which was released by the World Bank earlier this month. Last year Lesotho was listed on position 130. The Ease of Doing Business report is an annual survey conducted by the World Bank to […]
MASERU — Lesotho Flour Mills made a dramatic U-turn this week when it announced there will be no major price increases for grains following the stabilisation of prices on the international market. The milling firm is the sole agri-business company in Lesotho and supplies the country with maize-meal, flour and livestock feed. In an interview […]
WHAT do you call an indolent person — mostly with a loud mouth, rotund cheeks or a potbelly — who shamelessly “chows” taxpayers’ money for doing absolutely nothing? MP! Scrutator would have offered an early Christmas present if the answer wasn’t so obvious. Yes, some of these people we call legislators have no shame indeed. […]
MASERU — Sports Minister ‘Mathabiso Lepono has ruled out giving bonuses to Lesotho’s Under-20s for qualifying for next year’s African Youth Championship in Libya. She said bonuses for the players could only be considered after Makoanyane XI’s return from the tournament. Yet every senior national team player was paid M8 000 for each of Likuena’s […]
MASERU — Lesotho may fail to send a team to the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa Zone VI Under-20 Youth Games in Swaziland next month. That’s because the government has not yet released the M2 million budgeted for the team for the regional meet. The games are scheduled to run from December 9 to […]
MASERU — Veteran coach Mahao Matete has been handed the daunting task of turning Matlama’s drifting ship around. Tse Putsoa this week confirmed that Bomba, as Matete is popularly known, will immediately take full charge of Matlama. Matete, who was hired by Matlama as technical adviser last month, becomes the third man at the helm […]
MASERU — The Lesotho Football Association (Lefa) together with Population Services International (PSI) on Monday launched the New Start District Soccer Tournament. PSI is bankrolling the tournament to the tune of M300 000 and only B and C Division teams are taking part in the competition. There are no prize monies for the winning teams. […]
BETHLEHEM — Free State Stars striker Noah Chivuta was thrilled with his double against Ajax Cape Town which halted his side’s losing streak on Saturday. Ea lla Koto had lost twice on the trot — to Kaizer Chiefs in the Telkom Knockout tournament before Mamelodi Sundowns rubbed salt on their fresh wounds in a league […]
By Lerato Matheka MASERU — The African Melody Festival is around the corner. And it’s likely to be tighter this time round. What with the return of multiple champions Mohapeloa Singers! But 2009 winners Maseru City Choral (MCC) are unfazed. The competition, organised by the Choral Music Federation of Lesotho, is set for December 5 […]
By Khahliso Khama MASERU — Next Saturday will see the first Miss EV crowned from a bevy of 20 local beauties. The pageant, organised by EV Hair & Beauty Salon, will run concurrently with Ultimate Designer contest. The latter, looking for the best clothing designer, is being bankrolled by the radio station Ultimate FM. The […]
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MASERU — A financial services company that was fined for being dishonest about its operations and had its licence renewal application rejected by the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) has slithered back into Lesotho to operate illegally through a middleman. Independent Client Introducer (ICI), a South African firm, left Lesotho earlier this year under controversial […]
MASERU — The Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) rejected two proposals by MKM that the company had suggested to get out of its mess, Finance Minister Timothy Thahane told parliament yesterday. The proposals include suggestions to secure loans from banks to improve its liquidity and a take-over deal that the MKM had stitched with South […]
MASERU — The government is planning a mass deregistration of companies that do not file their annual tax returns, the Lesotho Times can reveal. The “Day of Reckoning” is yet to be set as the Law Office is still compiling a list of companies that have not submitted their annual tax returns. The Law Office, […]
MASERU — A 19-year-old student from Phomolong LEC Secondary School in Sekamaneng died last Wednesday after he was stabbed with a knife by a fellow student following an argument. Police say the Form A student died a few minutes after he was stabbed. The suspect, a Form C student at the school, has since been […]
MASERU — Lecturers and non-academic staff from the country’s tertiary institutions this week launched a new union to promote the rights of academic staff. The union, called Federation of Higher Education Trade Unions (FEHETU), says it will seek to advance higher education and research in Lesotho. The union’s spokesperson, Mothepa Ndumo, said in a press […]
MASERU — The National Assembly on Monday passed a motion that seeks to make the office of the Auditor-General answerable to parliament. The Auditor-General’s office currently works under the Ministry of Public Service in line with section 117 (1) of the country’s constitution. But under the new proposal, that section of the constitution will be […]
Governance crisis at heart of NUL woes
LECTURERS at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) embarked on yet another strike on Monday. The latest strike action is a clear signal that all is not well at our premier institution of higher learning. The lecturers’ list of grievances is long. But there is strikingly nothing new in the lecturers’ complaints. It is still […]