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Majoro faces ouster

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MASERU– HAWKS within the ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) are sharpening their knives to oust Dr Moeketsi Majoro as party leader, thepost heard this week.


A faction led by ABC secretary general Lebohang Hlaele, who is party leader and former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s son-in-law, is spearheading the fight against Majoro.

Sources said the truce that the factions struck when they connived against former deputy leader Professor Nqosa Mahao has collapsed.


Majoro’s faction is said to be furious at the Hlaele faction for allegedly reneging on its promise to organise an annual conference they believe is Majoro’s only opportunity to replace Thabane.

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Sources say the deal struck in April last year was that once Prof Mahao was out of the picture Majoro would be nominated to replace him as deputy leader.


That was part one of the deal and it has not happened.
Part two, the sources said, was that the party would then organise an annual conference at which the Hlaele faction would help Majoro get elected leader.


The Covid-19 pandemic however intervened to block the January 2021 conference.


But some sources said even in the absence of the pandemic Hlaele and his people had no plans to have the conference or for Thabane to resign and allow Majoro to take over.


Majoro’s faction seems to have caught up to the plan and is aware that Hlaele’s faction has no plans to have the conference next January and that Thabane is not going anywhere fast.

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The ABC’s constitution says the party leader can only be elected at an annual or elective conference. Other members of the executive committee can be appointed by nomination as happened to Majoro when he became deputy leader after Prof Mahao left to form the Basotho Action Party (BAP).
The elective conference is only due in 2024, leaving an annual conference as Majoro’s only route to being a leader.


He has only this coming January to make that happen or else the ABC goes to the election with Thabane as the leader.


Sources said Majoro believes that being the Prime Minister has given him a leg up in the race for the party leadership.


That advantage might however evaporate if the ABC doesn’t win the 2022 election.


As the party’s secretary general, Hlaele holds the key to the annual conference.

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Sources however told thepost that the former trade unionist doesn’t want to have the annual conference until he is sure that he can win the vote to replace his father-in-law.


“Those who know ABC politics will tell you that the battle has long ceased to be between Thabane and someone else. It’s all about Hlaele positioning himself to be the leader,” said a source privy to the chaos within the party’s executive committee.


The source said Hlaele and his people schemed to first isolate Majoro and then pounce on him.


“Majoro is badly exposed without the support of Mahao’s faction. He has been trying to recalibrate the executive committee and his support in parliament by using his leverage in government to offer some jobs,” the source added.


He said Hlaele appears to derive his power from his stepmother-in-law Maesaiah Thabane. The two have smoked the peace pipe since their public and raucous fallout two years ago.

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But that too, the source said, is an arrangement necessitated by political convenience.


The former first lady will keep Hlaele in her corner for as long as he can keep Majoro at bay.


“Hlaele will keep the former on his side for as long as she can prevail on Thabane to remain party leader even though he is now just a stooge,” the source said.


The source said over the past year Thabane has become a distant observer in the factional fights due to his advanced age and ill-health.

“Hlaele has always wanted to be the leader and now he is a few inches away but he first has to finish off Majoro because he is the only substantial threat remaining after Mahao left,” said another source who is a member of the executive committee and says his sympathies lie with Majoro.

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“The only thing stopping Hlaele’s faction from toppling Majoro in government is that the two factions are evenly matched in terms of MPs,” he added.


Another source said the factional fights recently escalated when Majoro abruptly reshuffled principal secretaries.

“While that did not shift the power dynamics it moved Hlaele’s people from a cash-rich ministry that could be used to generate money through tenders and also doling out jobs to loyalists whose support is crucial to Hlaele,” the source said.


The ABC spokesperson, Montoeli Masoetsa, who is allegedly aligned with Hlaele, this week confirmed there were some grumblings about Majoro within both the executive committee and the party’s rank and file.


“What I can confirm to you is that the Prime Minister, despite that he is the deputy leader of the ABC, seems to no longer get a mandate from the executive committee. He takes his mandate from somewhere,” Masoetsa said.

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“It seems there are people who are advising him, not the executive committee of the party he is leading. We understand that he is the Prime Minister and all decisions in his office are his prerogative, in terms of the law, but he belongs to the party and it is the party that put him there.”
“He must show some respect to the party that put him there and he must take advice from it. He is not working for himself but the ABC that gave him that chair to sit.”


Masoetsa said there are some ABC members pushing for the party to pull out of the government so that Majoro falls.


He however warned that such a move would be “dangerous to the party itself because our own MPs, who have a tendency to defy the party and make decisions contrary to its wishes, might decide otherwise”.


“We must not rely on MPs who are likely to vote to put Majoro there even when it is clear in the eyes of everyone that he is now working against his own party. They are the ones who vote in parliament, not the ABC as a party. So, that route won’t benefit the ABC at all,” he said.


So far, the leadership race is between Majoro, Hlaele and party chairman Sam Rapapa who is also Minister of Communications.

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Rapapa said it would be wrong to characterise the battles in the ABC as factionalist. Instead, he said, they are just “differences of opinion on how things should be done”.


Rapapa said three issues have caused the ruckus in the party.
The first, he said, is a disagreement on whether the committee should continue to hold meetings in the absence of Thabane as the leader and Majoro as his deputy.


“There is also the issue of who should run for the leadership position. People don’t agree on whether me, Hlaele or Majoro should contest for the leadership,” Rapapa said.


The third issue, he added, is that ABC members should be given government jobs.


“Others are saying there is nothing wrong with that while others are saying we should not politicise the public service.”

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Hlaele said there is “no bad blood between me and Majoro at the political level”.


“I have no plans whatsoever to oust him from either leadership office in the party or as the Prime Minister. To the best of my knowledge and recollection, he is still working harmoniously with the executive committee.

We held a meeting on Monday and there was no discussion about Majoro not working with us. No one even hinted at that,” Hlaele said.


“As for the allegations that I do not want to hold an annual conference where Majoro will replace the incumbent leader, it is a blatant, malicious lie peddled by people with political agendas not known to me.”


“How can we hold a special conference to elect a leader when we still have one in office? We have a leader and we need not think about conferences to elect another leader. We can only call a conference to elect a leader when there is a vacancy, and now we do not have any vacancy in that position.”

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He said it is a constitutional requirement to call a special conference to elect the leader when there is a vacancy.


“I would not have any other option but I would have to facilitate it. The executive committee must ensure that the special conference is called when there is a vacancy. The responsibility should not be solely pinned on me as the secretary-general.”

Staff Reporter

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Knives out for Molelle

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MASERU

KNORX Molelle’s appointment as the Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) in February 2023 could have been illegal.

The Law Society of Lesotho has told Prime Minister Sam Matekane that Molelle was appointed without being admitted as a legal practitioner in Lesotho, as required by law.

The society claims the information came from a whistleblower on January 2 and was corroborated by its roll of legal practitioners in Lesotho.

The society says the appointment violates section 4 of the Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act 1999 which states that a person shall not be appointed as the DCEO director general unless they have been admitted as a legal practitioner in terms of the Legal Practitioners Act.

In the letter, Advocate Ithabeleng Phamotse, the society’s secretary, tells Matekane that this requirement “is not a mere procedural formality but a substantive qualification essential to the lawful appointment of the Director General”.

“The absence of such qualification fatally impairs the appointment ab initio, rendering it null and void from the outset,” Advocate Phamotse says in the letter written on Tuesday.

The society argues that if left unaddressed the illegality undermines the credibility, effectiveness and legality of the DCEO’s operations and exposes the kingdom to serious risks, including challenges to the lawfulness of decisions and actions made by Molelle.

“Should it be confirmed that the appointment was made in contravention of the mandatory legal requirements,” Advocate Phamotse said, “we respectfully urge you to take immediate corrective action to rectify this glaring irregularity”.

Advocate Phamotse tells the prime minister that if the appointment is not corrected, the society would be “left with no alternative but to institute legal proceedings to protect the interests of justice and uphold the rule of law in Lesotho”.

“We trust that you will accord this matter your highest priority and act decisively to avert further damage to the integrity of our governance structures.”

The Prime Minister’s spokesman, Thapelo Mabote, said they received the letter but Matekane had not yet read it yesterday.

Matekane is on leave and is expected back in the office on January 14.

Questions over the validity of his appointment come as Molelle is being haunted by the damaging audio clips that were leaked last week.

The clips were clandestinely recorded by Basotho National Party leader, Machesetsa Mofomobe.

In some of the clips, Molelle appears to be describing Matekane and his deputy Justice Nthomeng Majara as idiots. He also appears to be calling Law Minister Richard Ramoeletsi a devil.

In other clips, he seems to be discussing cases. thepost has not independently verified the authenticity of the audio clips.

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Massive salary hike for chiefs

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MASERU

THE government has increased the salaries for traditional leaders by a massive 88.5 percent.

This means that a village chief not appointed by a gazette will now earn M3 001 a month, up from the previous salary of M1 592. That means village chiefs will now earn an extra M1 409 per month.

A village chief, or headman, appointed by a gazette has moved from M1 966 to M3 567 per month.

Above a village chief is one with jurisdiction over a small cluster of villages, a category three chief, who now moves from M3 768 to M5 181 per month.

A category four chief, known as ward chief, has moved from M4 455 per month to M7 993.

The category five chief, who reports directly to a principal chief, will now earn M10 674, up from M9 939 per month.

There is no increment for principal chiefs.

The government says the budget for chiefs’ salaries has moved from M129.4 million to M208.3 million annually.

The hike follows a series of discussions between the Lesotho Workers Association, representing the chiefs, and the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship.

The revised salaries will be implemented with effect from April 1, 2025.

According to the settlement agreement, a discussion about raising the lowest salary of M6 000 for the lowest-ranking chiefs will be revisited in October 2025.

Chiefs who spoke to thepost have expressed satisfaction with the hike, saying it will significantly improve their lives.

Chief Mopeli Matsoso of Ha-Tikoe in Maseru said his previous salary of M1 500 per month would now be doubled, which would improve his life and help provide smoother services to the community.

He stressed that they used to close the offices while going out looking for jobs to compensate for their little salaries.

“Now the people will get smoother services,” Chief Matsoso said.

“The offices will forever be open,” he said.

Chief Matsoso said the salary hike will also serve as a motivation for other chiefs.

Chief Tumo Majara of Liboping, Mokhethoaneng, also expressed his gratitude.

Chief Majara acknowledge the positive impact the salary review would have, especially as a new officeholder.

“I guess we are all happy, that review will help a lot,” he said.

The Principal Chief of Thaba-Bosiu, Khoabane Theko, said the salary increase of chief is a welcome move by the government.

“I’m yet to study how the new salary structure looks like. But I welcome it as a good move by the government,”Chief Theko said.

Nkheli Liphoto

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Maqelepo says suspension deeply flawed

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MASERU

Motlatsi Maqelepo, the embattled Basotho Action Party (BAP) deputy leader and Tello Kibane, who was the party chairman, have rejected their suspension from the party arguing it was legally flawed.

The BAP’s central executive committee on Tuesday suspended Maqelepo for seven years and Kibane for five years. The suspensions became effective on the same day.

The party’s disciplinary committee which met last Wednesday had recommended an expulsion for the two but that decision was rejected with the committee pushing for a lengthy suspension.

Maqelepo’s suspension will end on January 7, 2032 while Kibane’s will run until January 7, 2030.

Their suspension letters from the BAP deputy secretary general Victoria Qheku, say they should not participate in any of the party’s activities.

“In effect, you are relieved of your responsibility as a CEC member and BAP deputy leader,” Maqelepo was told in the letter.

“You were found guilty by default on all charges and the committee recommended your immediate dismissal from the party,” the letter reads.

On Kibane, the verdict states that the committee decided to mitigate the recommended sanction by reducing his suspension to five years.

“In the gravity of the charges, the suspension affects your membership in the BAP parliamentary caucus from which you are removed as a chairman.”

They were suspended in absentia after they refused to attend the disciplinary hearing, which they said was illegal.

In response to the suspension, Maqelepo wrote a letter addressing the BAP members in general, defying the committee’s decision to suspend them.

He has called for a special conference, appealing to party constituencies to push for it, citing the ongoing internal fight that includes the leadership’s decision to withdraw the BAP from the coalition government.

Maqelepo also said the central executive committee is illegally in a campaign to dissolve committees in the constituencies and replace them with stooges.

He reminded the members that there is a court case pending in the High Court seeking an interdiction to charge them in the party’s structures without approval of the special conference that he is calling.

He said the party leadership should have awaited the outcome of the case before proceeding with any disciplinary action.

“The party that is led by a professor of law continues to do dismissals despite the issue being taken to the courts,” Maqelepo said.

The party leader, Professor Nqosa Mahao, is a distinguished professor of law.

Maqelepo said they would write the central executive committee rejecting its decision to suspend them, saying they will continue taking part in party activities.

He said their fate in the party is in the hands of the special conference.

He appealed to all the party constituencies to continue writing letters demanding the special conference.

Both Maqelepo and Kibane received letters on November 28 last year inviting them to show cause why they should not be suspended pending their hearing.

They both responded on the following day refusing to attend.

Maqelepo, Kibane, Hilda Van Rooyen, and ’Mamoipone Senauoane are accused of supporting a move to remove Professor Mahao from his ministerial position last year.

They were part of the BAP members who asked Prime Minister Sam Matekane to fire Professor Mahao, who at the same time was pushing for the reshuffling of Tankiso Phapano, the principal secretary for the Ministry of Energy.

When Matekane ignored Professor Mahao’s demands, the latter withdrew the BAP from the coalition government much to the fierce resistance of the party’s four MPs.

Maqelepo started touting members from constituencies to call for a special conference to reverse Professor Mahao and the central executive committee’s decision.

The central executive committee issued a circular stopping Maqelepo’s rallies but he continued, with the support of the other MPs.

In the BAP caucus of six MPs, it is only Professor Mahao and ’Manyaneso Taole who are supporting the withdrawal from the government.

Nkheli Liphoto

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