News

The heavy cost of drought

Published

5 years ago

January 14, 2020

MOKHOTLONG-USING sharp knives, a group of men skinned a beast in Moeketsane, Ha-Liete in Mokhotlong in soaring temperatures on a recent morning.
Cutting beasts into pieces of meat has become an almost daily routine here and it has nothing to do with the festive season.
Rather, the meat galore is a sign of the troubling times faced by villagers due to a devastating drought – the worst in decades.
“Meat is plenty these days but there is no feast. We are in pain,” said one of the men, plunging his knife into the dead beast.
Culturally, cattle are revered in these parts of Lesotho. In most cases, they are a symbol of wealth and a vital source of livelihood and labour.
Killing a beast for meat is usually never an easy decision. But these days, eating the meat seems the only viable option for villagers who have seen their herd decimated as animals succumb in numbers to the climate change-induced drought.

Droughts can be devastating: crippling food production, depleting pastures, disrupting markets, and, at its most extreme cases, causing widespread human and animal deaths.
Droughts can also lead to increased migration from rural to urban areas, placing additional pressures on declining food production.
Herders are often forced to seek alternative sources of food and water for their animals, which can create conflict between pastoral and farming communities.
Since October last year, villagers in areas such as Moeketsane Ha-Liete have been experiencing this sad reality on a daily basis.
Lefu Ralitlhare, was among the group of men skinning a third cow that had died at the village chief’s house on the morning when thepost visited the area three weeks ago.
Ralitlhare said he was devastated by the number of cattle that farmers have lost in recent months.
“Our animals are dying… all of them,” Ralitlhare said.

He could not give an estimate of how many cows have had an ultimate greeting with his knife since October.
“All I can confirm is that we are running out of livestock,” he said.

At first, cows were the ones mainly affected but of late sheep, goats, donkeys and horses have also been succumbing in greater numbers.
“When they die, we eat what is left of the meaty part of the livestock,” said Ralitlhare.

Villagers in Ha-Liete eat their livestock regardless of the cause of death, unless if the animal was sick in line with the Sesotho proverb lebitla la khomo ke molomo (a cow’s grave is the mouth).
Ralitlhare said it is “ridiculous to bury a dead cow” in the face of the hunger affecting the country.
Tšotleho Liete, another distraught villager, said he has never witnessed such a crippling drought in his life.

“In fact I have never seen sheep die and when I opened it up I found papisi (stomach bots) normally found in horses and donkeys,
Papisi according to Liete, is a disease found in livestock when they drink muddy water or when grass is so short that the animals end up actually eating soil as they attempt to graze.
The rains only came in Mokhotlong three weeks ago and Liete said it was too late to plant anything in the fields.
It is even more difficult to cultivate the land because the cattle have no strength to pull ploughs.
“We have to use spades and picks to cultivate our fields,” Liete said.

Mokulubete Ntja, another villager, said the vicious 2010 drought pales in comparison to the current one.
“We never had to hold knives daily because livestock did not die daily as is happening now,” Ntja said.
Lesotho Qebethoana said providing for the family has become a nightmare due to the drought.

“Our wives and children are looking at us daily to provide for their needs. How do we do this when the only thing we know is to plough the land and herd the cattle?” Qebethoana said.
With the rate of unemployment in Lesotho currently standing at over 26 percent, Qebethoana and those like him will find it harder to put food on the table in future.
Regina Mokoena lost her only sheep to the drought and does not have a field of her own.
She used to make a living by working on the fields of farmers in the area.

“I don’t know how I made it through the year. It has been tough for everyone,” Mokoena said.
Mokoena also survived by doing laundry for better-off families but that too has not generated enough money because the drought has driven people into spending less on chores they consider as non-essential and would rather do the chores on their own.
“These are the odd jobs that have allowed me to send my daughter to school,” she said. Her daughter is supposed to complete her high school this year but paying fees is going to be an uphill task for Mokoena.

She also stays with two of her late sister’s children.
For Mokoena and other locals, the drought is coming at a heavy cost and they hope the government will intervene to save the situation.

Rose Moremoholo

News

Knives out for Molelle

Published

5 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

5 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

5 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