News

The struggle continues!

Published

4 years ago

July 20, 2021

MASERU – ONCE beaten twice shy.
This adage is ringing true for it aptly captures the Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) leader Rose Lenea’s mood, as political parties begin the wheeling and dealing that characterises Lesotho’s pre and post-election terrain that often results in coalitions.

Fresh in Lenea’s mind is the debacle of 2006 when the LWP went into a coalition with the then newly formed All Basotho Convention (ABC) party.
It proved a near fatal mistake as the labour-oriented party was reduced to the periphery of the political activity in Lesotho.
The party is beginning to pick up the pieces, but it is yet to fully recover from the knock it suffered as a result of the coalition with the ABC.

The LWP had already been existence for years and enjoyed support mainly from factory workers when it allied itself with the ABC, which had just been formed after Thomas Thabane left the Lesotho Congress Party to form the outfit and was joined by several fellow ministers at that time.
Thabane went on to become Prime Minister while the LWP garnered 10 seats on the proportional representation system in a subsequent election.
“We thought by uniting with the ABC we were doing a good thing for the workers only to discover later that we were taken for a rough ride,” she said.

The 48-year-old trade unionist-cum politician was part of the leadership when the party entered into the ill-fated partnership with the ABC and she doesn’t shy from taking responsibility for the mess that followed the union.
“I personally take the blame. I was passionately touting for the ABC in the belief that we were working together for the same cause.
With polls around the corner, it is a mistake that Lenea says she is determined not to repeat, so the party will resist any attempts to lure it into becoming an appendage of another party.
“They will join us, not the other way around. We have seen, we have learnt,” she said, stating that the alliance with the ABC had left the workers’ party poorer.

“We were too eager to have more say in the running of the government, with the understanding that this would work to the advantage of the labour force. We were not politicians. We were merely ambitious trade unionists who had formed a party for the workers,” Lenea said.
“The ABC leveraged on our inexperience in party politics…it was really not keen on advancing the interests of labour.”
The deal saw the LWP leader at that time, the late Macaefa Billy, becoming secretary-general of the ABC while the ABC veteran Sello Maphalla becoming the LWP deputy leader on secondment.
It had been agreed that Maphalla would help give the LWP the appearance of a political party not resembling a union.

Lenea says they believed that Macaefa would gain political experience by becoming the top administrator of the ABC, while the newly elected MPs would ensure that workers would have a strong voice in parliament.
“It was not to be,” she said.
She said ABC functionaries did not waste time putting spanners in the works to de-campaign Macaefa and make him look incompetent in the eyes of party supporters.

Relations soon soured and the parties went their separate ways.
“Unfortunately we had worked hard teaching our members that the ABC was the party to vote for. I admit that we gave our members to the ABC without us gaining anything. It is difficult for us to now convince them it was a mistake,” she said, admitting that there is a lot of hard work ahead to reclaim the party’s stature.

Lenea said after relations with the ABC soured, “we went back to the workers to explain what was happening. We told them that they had a choice to stay with the ABC or to come back to their party.”
The majority did not come back.
She says in the 2017 election, the disputed leader of the Lesotho People’s Congress (LPC), Molahlehi Letlotlo, “came to us with his people”
“We only agreed that he would get a seat in parliament. We did not ask LWP members to become members of the LPC,” she said, stating that her party’s top priority is to ensure that it enhances its role in national affairs to effectively push the agenda of labour.

“The reason we established this party was not to be in government but to contribute in the making of policies because no one was listening to us when we spoke as trade unions.
“We needed a voice of a politician but unfortunately all politicians at the time were not speaking our language,” she said, noting that aligning with Thabane, who had recently instructed the police to shoot striking workers, was ill-advised.

“You don’t understand the struggle we had convincing the workers to accept Thabane. That our marriage did not last after we had made so many sacrifices really hurt. That’s why we had to tread carefully when the LPC’s Letlotlo later approached us,” said Lenea, who insists she is still a trade unionist at heart despite being a full-time politician.
“I don’t have any ambition to be a prime minister or even a minister one day. I am a trade unionist leading a political party of workers. What is important to me is that there are labour-friendly policies and that I can push for the execution of such policies,” she said.

Her involvement in politics has helped her understand politicians better, thereby enabling her to craft ways of dealing with them while maintaining her leaning towards trade unionism.
“I no longer get disappointed when politicians display their dishonesty. I know that for decades, I have seen them doing it against us workers. Admitting that I am a trade unionist in the midst of politicians gives me peace of mind,” she said.

Lenea was born in Ha-’Mamathe, Berea, to a staunch Catholic couple that taught her to prioritise protecting the oppressed.
After completing high school, she enrolled with a college in Bloemfontein studying for a diploma in labour law.
“That’s where I started labour activism as I was exposed to trade unionism by comrades in the Free State. When I came back to Lesotho I met Macaefa who was already neck-deep in trade unionism, especially fighting for the rights of factory workers,” said Lenea.
She did not immediately work in the unions but would “help here and there with the little labour law skills I had.”

At was at this time that she was spotted by Advocate Kananelo Mosito, who offered to become her mentor in hopes that she would further her studies in labour law.
However, Lenea was more interested in practicing as a trade unionist and not a labour lawyer.
Advocate Mosito, a labour lawyer of note, is now the President of the Court of Appeal.

“Ntate Mosito played a big role in making me understand the dynamics of labour disputes,” she said, attributing her ability to win most labour disputes that she has taken up on behalf of workers to the foundation laid for her by Advocate Mosito.
“I am proud of my contribution in the labour struggle, not only for factory workers but all workers in general,” she said.
Lenea said her name may not be written on many government documents “but I know how much I contributed in their making”.
She described the late Macaefa as a strong organiser in the labour movement.

“He never considered himself a politician. He always remained a trade unionist,” said Lenea, expressing her admiration of Macaefa.
“It is this spirit that keeps me going. Knowing that even if people may not see it, I am still fighting for workers… that makes me happy,” said Lenea, who represents the LWP in the National Reforms Authority that is mandated with overseeing law reforms amongst the other key national issues.

Caswell Tlali

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