MASERU — Local diamond mining firm, Meso Diamonds, says it will begin the prospecting process at the Lemphane kimberlite in Butha-Buthe in the next three months. Meso Diamonds was last week awarded a two-year prospecting licence by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Meso Diamonds is a joint venture between a local firm, Matekane Group of […]
MASERU — Standard Bank has been awarded the Excellence in Business Action award for its work in fighting tuberculosis, malaria and HIV and Aids. The award was given by the Global Business Coalition on HIV and Aids, TB and malaria for the work it has done with the Global Fund. The Global Fund was set […]
MASERU — Motorists are smiling all the way to garages after the Petroleum Fund slashed the price of petrol by a massive 30 lisente per litre on Friday. A litre of diesel now costs 15 lisente cheaper while illuminating paraffin has also been reduced by 15 lisente per litre. The new prices are likely to […]
MASERU — Likuena captain Lehlohonolo Seema has been linked with a move away from Orlando Pirates after enduring an injury-plagued season. Seema, who turned 30 last Wednesday, has been with the South African giants since 2006. He did not play any official game in the just-ended season because of injury, stoking speculation he could be […]
MASERU — Joy want to keep inspirational midfielder Shetsane Ramoseeka on their books although he is set to re-join Teyateyaneng giants Lioli. Ramoseeka joined the Sebothoane side, who finished ninth in the just-ended Vodacom Premier League season, from Tse Nala in 2007. But Ramoseeka is now set to return to Teyateyaneng after his three-year deal […]
MASERU — Bantu look set to complete the off-season’s most high-profile signing so far by acquiring the services of Swallows starlet Mosioua Boseka. The talented Lesotho under-20 international has been linked with a host of top clubs, including Matlama and Lioli, after his dazzling performances in the just-ended Vodacom Premier League season helped Maswai-swai avoid […]
Judge quits case in protest over clandestine visit MASERU — MKM boss Simon Thebe-ea-Khale could find himself in serious trouble following revelations last week that he allegedly “approached” a High Court judge who was dealing with his troubled company’s court case. Justice Lisebo Chaka-Makhooane recused herself from the MKM case on Saturday — the […]
Deputy PM rushes to Pretoria to defuse crisis MASERU — Deputy Prime Minister Lesao Lehohla has been dispatched to Pretoria to try and defuse a diplomatic row touched off by South Africa’s new stringent border controls. Lehohla, who is also Lesotho’s home affairs minister, is expected to report back in Maseru today as chaos […]
MASERU — Lesotho’s civic groups say they will stage protests at the South Africa High Commission office in Maseru if South Africa does not lift the stringent control measures it has put at its borders with Lesotho. The civic groups this week said the protests were meant to coincide with the 2010 World Cup kick-off […]
MASERU — It’s the early bird that gets the fattest worm, so goes the English adage. Pyramid schemes work the same way. Those who join early get handsome returns on their investments and those who come last get nothing at all. There was a time when MKM was a godsend. The scheme was “oozing” money […]
MASERU — A 21-year-old Mafeteng man, John Ts’ehlo, is facing a charge of murder for allegedly killing his grandmother whom he accused of practising witchcraft. Ts’ehlo is alleged to have killed ‘Mankuebe Ts’ehlo in November 2004 after he accused her of bewitching him. The prosecution said the accused used to tell his parents that his […]
MASERU — A 21-year-old Malawian national is in police custody after he was caught trying to secure a Lesotho passport using false identity papers, the police have said. The man was arrested following a tip-off to the police that there was a foreigner who was in the queue who was trying to apply for a […]
MASERU – It is bitterly cold. The young school children are dressed up for the winter to keep warm. They are in heavy jackets some in track-suits and thick wind-breakers. Some are in woolen hats and hand-gloves. They are on their way to school in the Ha-Abia, a poor working class suburb in Maseru. But […]
MASERU — Lesotho says it is pushing to have two seats on the board of the International Co-operatives Alliance (ICA) to improve business opportunities for local co-operatives. Southern African countries currently do not have any representation in the ICA board. On the other hand, east African countries have at least five seats. The commissioner of […]
MASERU — Lesotho’s monthly inflation rate increased slightly to 3.7 percent in April, up from 3.6 percent recorded in March, according to the latest figures released by the Bureau of Statistics this week. The bureau said the major contributors for the increase were liquid fuels which rose by 2.2 percent while fuel recorded an increase […]
MASERU — First division teams are yet to get their prize monies more than a month after the season ended because most of them do not have bank accounts. Vodacom Lesotho, which sponsors the Premier League and the A-Division, wants to pay the teams through bank transfers. A-Division secretary ‘Mifi Nteso told the Lesotho Times […]
MASERU — Two men from Mafeteng were on Monday imprisoned for five years each after they were convicted of conspiring to kill two popular famo musicians, two well known radio presenters and another person. Puseletso Motsoaole, 28, and Thabiso Roeli, 20, admitted in the Maseru Magistrate’s Court that they conspired to kill famo music singer […]
MASERU — The conviction of two men who were accused of conspiring to kill two popular famo musicians and two radio presenters has lifted the lid on the violent underworld of the famo music industry. The two men, Puseletso Motsoaole, 28, and Thabiso Roeli, 20, were sentenced to four years each for conspiring to kill […]
MASERU — Lesotho’s heavy dependence on food imports is an embarrassment, Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili has said. Mosisili made the remarks yesterday as he officially opened a two-day national forum on agriculture and food security at Manthabiseng Convention Centre in Maseru. The forum was being held under the theme: Agriculture and Food Security for Improving […]
MASERU — Lesotho’s opposition leaders yesterday slammed the national agriculture forum describing the conference as a joke that was “doomed to fail”. They said it was too late for Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili to start looking for solutions in agriculture as he had ignored farming issues for far too long. Mosisili officially opened the two-day […]
MASERU King Letsie has signed the controversial Land Bill 2010 into law, a development that sees Lesotho adopting a new land tenure system. The Bill had been fiercely resisted by the opposition which claimed the proposed law was designed to allow foreigners to take over ownership of Basotho land. However, the Bill that got the […]
MASERU — The Minister of Home Affairs and Public Safety Lesao Lehohla yesterday said the government has phased out the old temporary travel documents and will introduce a new document that had security features that will not be forged by criminals. Lehohla made the announcement at a press briefing. He said the document would no […]
MASERU — Two weeks ago, Makhejane Taoli (in the picture) was literally over the moon. He had just received what he considered the best piece of news in years. This was in the form of an admission letter to study at the National University of Lesotho (NUL), Lesotho’s prestigious institution of higher learning. Taoli says […]
MASERU — The Lesotho Brewing Company (LBC) The competition started on March 1 and ended on May 15. Participants had to collect the under-liners on Coca-Cola soft drinks written “You and Who”. They would then fill in the entry forms and drop them at the nearest outlet. The competition’s grand prizes were tickets to the […]
MASERU — The private sector development division in the Ministry of Finance says it will this year introduce a raft of measures to improve the investment climate in Lesotho. In an interview with the Lesotho Times this week, the chief executive officer for the private sector development division, Lekoatsa Lichaba, said the investment climate was […]
MASERU — Linare’s veteran striker Kabelo Mosothoane finally hangs his boots when he plays his testimonial match against Vodacom Premier League champions Matlama on Saturday. The match will be a befitting tribute to the former Lesotho international whose 17-year career includes a spell with Orlando Pirates although he never played an official match for the […]
MASERU — The government has given M3 million for Lesotho’s participation in the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa (SCSA) Zone VI games scheduled for Swaziland in December. Lesotho will be represented at the games in athletics, basketball, boxing, lawn tennis, netball, football, swimming and athletics for disabled. The other countries taking part in the […]
MASERU — Bantu’s defensive stalwart Tlali Maile has pledged his future to the Mafeteng side after his outstanding season was expected to attract bids from the Vodacom Premier League’s big teams. Maile was a pillar of strength in central defence and by the end of the season Bantu had conceded only 26 goals, the third […]
MASERU — Lesotho won five gold, two silver and four bronze medals at the Southern Region Junior Championships held in Mozambique last weekend. Mannini Pitso scooped gold in the 3 000m and 5 000m races, with Jobo Khatoane also claiming as many gold medals in 5 000m and 10 000m races. Tsepo Kotsokoane won the […]
Overhaul agriculture
THE problems in Lesotho’s agriculture sector have been well documented. Players in the agriculture sector acknowledge that the sector has been in perpetual decline for decades. Instead of producing our own food, we have continued to rely heavily on food handouts from international relief agencies. We also continue to import essentially all our food requirements […]