News

The ‘ear doctor’ driving change

Published

1 year ago

August 29, 2023

Teboho Frantši is one of a few audiology experts in Lesotho.
And it was not even a childhood dream. In fact, it was a “strange” field of study that Frantši had never heard about until circumstances nudged her to enrol for the course during tertiary education.
Frantši had initially applied to study General Medicine at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Her application was successful, albeit temporarily after it was only discovered later that she had been wrongly accepted in the programme because it was offered exclusively to South African locals.

So she had to find another programme that was open for international students within the same faculty of medicine and the only available option at the time was audiology and speech therapy.

“I took it as a way to pass the time while I applied to other universities to pursue my dream career in General Medicine,” recalls Frantši.
However, she got absorbed in the study and took it more seriously.

The detour has become a blessing in disguise for Lesotho as Frantši is among a crop of less than 10 registered audiologists in the country.

“Halfway through the course, I fell in love with speech therapy that I completely forgot about General Medicine,” Frantši says.

“It was unfortunate that upon graduating there were no posts in line with the profession and I had to practice in England,” she says.

Seven years later, Queen ’Mamohato Memorial Hospital came into being and there was a vacancy for an audiologist. Frantši decided to give it a go.

While there, she realised that audiology had not yet come into the limelight and she decided to venture into the private sector where she would be able to spread her wings.

She now runs Hearsense Hearing, Speech and Balance Clinic in Borokhoaneng, Maseru, which also has a branch in Hlotse, Leribe.

Frantši explains the science behind the profession.

The ears, she says, only play a receptive role in sound assimilation, with the actual hearing administered by the mind.

“The role of ears is to hear and maintain head balance. Ears need regular check-up because signs and symptoms of illness take time before they show up, and when they do, it would be relatively late as the condition might be irreversible,” Frantši says.

Frantši warns that people need not poke into their ears with any object and should rather consult an audiologist if they feel any discomfort such as persistent itchiness as part of the safety precautions for ear wellbeing.

Extreme noise is also another factor that can contribute to deteriorating ear performance.

Sound is also the topmost stimuli to ear related impairment.

“Again, stress and depression contribute to ear related ailments,” Frantši says, highlighting that hearing is the cornerstone of communication in general.

A hearing-impaired child cannot learn to speak unless the hearing problem is corrected, she says.

Hearing loss is the leading cause of delayed speech and language development. Even adults who lose their hearing usually change the quality of their speech because they cannot monitor their output.

The infections that often affect the ear, according to Frantši, are those that can occur in the outer, middle or inner ear parts.

“Most common are otitis externa, which is an infection of the outer ear,” she says.

“It can be caused by bacteria entering the ear canal, especially when there is not enough wax in the ear canal. Then, there’s otitis media, which is an infection of the middle ear, which is caused by bacteria and other pathogens,” she says.

“It can be a sequelae of colds and flu, throat infections, nose and sinus infections, which is usually aggravated by cold weather and stress which all require medical treatment.”

The mentioned ailments are mostly perpetuated by cotton buds, earbuds and headsets which are discouraged.

They push dirty wax further into the ear canal and they introduce foreign material that can cause abrasions and infections.

That, in turn, can perforate or damage the eardrum.

In terms of headsets, as they are commonly known, they produce sound levels that are dangerously high and therefore pose a huge risk for noise-induced hearing loss.

Frantši also notes that most common allergens that the ears are sensitive to are dust, pollen, cigarette smoke and smoke in general.

They seem to irritate the lining of the middle ear space.

She says the majority of people tend to begin to lose their hearing when they get older.

“About two thirds of people in any given population over the age of 60 have a hearing loss,” she says.

“The contributing factors to this are heredity, history of noise exposure, history of recurrent ear infections earlier in life, head injuries, certain childhood illnesses or conditions such as measles and mumps and illnesses such as meningitis.”

It is common practice for people to take matters into their own hands whenever they feel discomfort with their ears, but Frantši warns that this is unsafe.

“Home remedies are vehemently discouraged in ear treatment. It is very dangerous to insert anything in your ears,” she says.

Frantši says ear and hearing care in Lesotho “is almost non-existent”.

“The Ministry of Health has for long not appreciated or recognised hearing and ear care specialists, and until now, they haven’t even created any posts for them.”

Calvin Motekase

News

Knives out for Molelle

Published

6 days ago

January 13, 2025

The Post

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.

Staff Reporter

News

Massive salary hike for chiefs

Published

6 days ago

January 13, 2025

The Post

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

News

Maqelepo says suspension deeply flawed

Published

6 days ago

January 13, 2025

The Post

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