Public EyeOnSunday Sunday December 02, 2018
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December 01-08 , 2018
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Polihali major bridges design deals awarded
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EST .1997| vol 21 No 47
Court told how army boss was killed
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Sunday December 02, 2018
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Polihali major bridges design deals awarded STAFF REPORTER
M
ASERU – The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) has appointed the Aurecon Lesotho (Pty) Ltd to design and supervise the construction of the major bridges to be built in Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). The major bridges project also includes the realignment of the A1 national road in the vicinity of the bridges. Lesothobased White Life Consultants (Pty) Ltd and Leporogo Specialist Engineers CC of South Africa are sub-consultants. Valued at approximately M123 million, the contract commenced on 5 November. Construction of the bridges is expected to be completed in early 2024. “The LHDA is proud to announce another contract award. Each of these is another step on our journey to deliver Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project on behalf of the governments of Lesotho and South Africa and to advancing the economies of our two countries,” comments Refiloe Tlali, chief executive officer of LHDA. Three major bridges spanning the Polihali reservoir – the Senqu, Mabunyaneng and Khubelu bridges - will be constructed on the existing A1 national road between Oxbow in Bothe-Bothe and Mokhotlong in the mountainous, north-east of Lesotho where the Polihali Dam and Polihali Water Transfer Tunnel, the major works of Phase II, will be constructed. The bridges will restore the A1 access that will be lost as a result of the reservoir inundation. Constructed at high altitude in mountainous terrain across a deep steep valley, the Senqu Bridge is expected to be over 100 metres tall and almost 600 metres long. It is the largest of the major bridges. The other two will be smaller with an approximate height of 20 metres and lengths of 45 and 150 metres. The bridges will be required
Refiloe Tlali, chief executive officer of LHDA when inundation of the reservoir starts just after the completion of the Phase II major works. Water transfer to South Africa is expected to commence in 2026. Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project builds on the successful completion of Phase I in 2003, which delivers water to South Africa’s economic hub Gauteng, and utilises the water delivery system to generate hydro-electricity for Lesotho. Phase II is intended to increase the current supply rate of 780 million cubic metres per annum incrementally to more than 1 270 million cubic metres per annum, while also increasing the quantity of electricity generated in Lesotho. It is also regarded as a further step in the process of securing an independent electricity source to meet Lesotho’s domestic requirements. The recent awarding of the tender comes amidst discontent from the Consortium of Lesotho Contractors (CLC), which has filed a lawsuit to challenge LHDA’s tendering criteria, which the consortium argues is skewed in favour of foreign contractors and in particular South Africa. In its letter of demand to the LHDA that preceded the lawsuit,
the consortium had complained of the “unlawful structuring and/or skewed framework of the tender requirements by your good institution”, referring to the three construction tenders of Polihali North East Access Road (PNEAR) (LHDA Contract 4012), Construction of Advance Infrastructure Civil Works at Polihali and Katse (LHDA Contract 4018A) and the Polihali Diversion Tunnels (LHDA Contract 4022), in 2017. According to CLC, the LHDA’s tendering criteria defies the 50/50 economic prospects envisioned for Basotho and foreign contractors hence the consortium sued on grounds of the authority’s “unlawful and/ skewed framework of the tender requirements”. CLC had charged that the LHDA’s categorisation table, was in direct violation of the Phase II bilateral treaty, which provides for 50/50 economic opportunities for Basotho and South Africa contractors. Under article (10) (c) of the bilateral treaty, which addresses procurement in its entirety “infrastructure works shall be shared on equal monetary terms. The value of implementation will be shared between Lesotho and South Africa.” CLC is a consortium of
contractors comprising over 30 construction companies, which in December 2017, sought the intervention of Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, in what they labelled illegal and discriminatory LHDA grading and tendering criteria, which they criticised for deliberately excluding local companies in favour of South African contractors, thus defying the bilateral treaty, which advocates for 50/50 economic opportunities for nationals of both countries as regards the construction of the Polihali Dam. Responding to the CLC’s letter of demand in its own letter signed by Tlali and dated January 17, 2018 LHDA argued that its categorisation table was designed to “maximize participation by Basotho companies”. “We are of the view that the allegations that the categorisation is designed to exclude local Basotho companies from tendering are baseless. To the contrary, the LHDA Contractor Framework, which was presented to the general public in May and June 2017, during the LHWP Phase II briefing sessions (which some of the members CLC attended), is designed to maximise participation by Basotho companies, to achieve equitable distribution of the works, and to prevent monopolisation whilst quality is not compromised,” Tlali noted. In a bid to protect Basotho and ensure that they access equal opportunities to their South African counterparts, Tlali said the LHDA on several occasions encouraged Basotho companies to become part of joint ventures with foreign companies. “In recognition of the complex nature and magnitude of the project, the LHDA has on many occasions encouraged Basotho companies to find partners and form partnerships that enable them to be competitive and take full advantage of the local preference mechanism, that is built-in the LHDA Procurement Policy and Contractor Procurement Framework. “Furthermore, the categorisation is not intended to exclude Basotho companies from tendering, but to enable them including any company that wishes to tender, to assess its capacity and to strategise with the aim to win.”
Sunday December 02, 2018
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Court told how army boss was killed RELEBOHILE TSOAMOTSE
M
ASERU – The Court Martial investigating circumstances surrounding the death of former Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) commander, Lieutenant General Khoantle Motšomotšo was this week told how the top soldier was shot dead in his office by a fellow officer. Motšomotšo was killed during a shootout at the Ratjomose Military Barracks in Maseru on September 5, 2017. Two other senior army officers, Brigadier Bulane Sechele and Colonel Tefo Hashatsi were shortly thereafter also gunned down by Motšomotšo’s bodyguards. Army Spokesperson Brigadier Mashali Mashili on Thursday told the court how he was with the late commander in his office reporting about his office affairs when both Sechele and Hashatsi walked in uninvited, saying they were his (commander’s) visitors. The court heard how the commander asked the two officers to wait outside because he already had another visitor. “But Brigadier Sechele refused to step outside, insisting that they were already in the office,” Mashili said. Instead of complying with the order, Sechele and Hashatsi accused the army boss of selling them to the police.
Former LDF commander, Lt Gen Khoantle Motšomotšo “I wanted to leave the office immediately but the commander asked me to stay. Brigadier Sechele kept asking him the same question, as to whether he was selling them to the police,” Mashili said. At some point, he said he saw Sechele lean towards the commander’s desk still asking him the question concerning the police. Then Sechele unzipped his jacket and drew a firearm then he shot Motšomotšo. Minutes later, the two men were seen running out of the dead commander’s office, the court also heard. “On my way out of the office, I saw a soldier firing in my direction and I leaned against the wall to avoid being hit, the bullets were passing right in front my eyes,” he said.
When the firing finally stopped, Mashili saw Hashatsi lying on the ground down, bleeding profusely. Another witness, Private ’Makabelo Mphosi who was nearby when the shoot-out broke told the court that earlier that day, she had met Sechele, Hashatsi and Major Pitso Ramoepane at the command block as she was leaving the army kitchen. “I greeted them but none of them responded,” Mphosi said. She then saw both Sechele and Hashatsi proceed to the commander’s office while Ramoepane remained behind. Some 10 minutes after she saw the two officers walk into Motšomotšo’s office, she heard several gunshots and later she learnt that the commander had
Former President George H.W. Bush dead at 94 George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States, has died at age 94. His death was announced by his family Friday night. The president’s health had been in decline in recent months. Bush, World War II naval aviator and Texas oil pioneer died on November 30, 2018. He is survived by his five children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, and two siblings,” the former president’s office said in a statement.
“He was preceded in death by his wife of 73 years, Barbara; his second child Pauline “Robin” Bush; and his brothers Prescott and William or “Bucky” Bush.” His son George w. Bush, who served as the country’s 43rd president, released a statement of his own from the family. “Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died,” George W. Bush said. “George H. W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a
son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens.” The family said funeral arrangements would be announced “as soon as is practical.” President Donald Trump sent a lengthy statement just past midnight on Saturday on behalf of he and first lady Melania Trump. “Along with his full life of service to country, we will remember President Bush for his devotion to family -- especially the love of his life, Barbara,” he
been killed. Lieutenant Colonel Rankhone who testified as the eighth Crown witness said on the day in question, he received a phone call from another officer informing about the shooting that resulted in Motšomotšo’s death. Led by Advocate Thulo Hoeane who represents the Crown, Rankhone said he was later ordered by Major General Lineo Poopa to go to Makoanyane Military Hospital to arrest Ramoepane who was there. Ramoepane and Captains Litekanyo Nyakane and Boiketsiso Fonane are accused of rebelling again army command on the same day Motšomotšo was killed. The three are also accused of failing to either report the alleged mutiny or suppress it. Nyakane is further charged with unlawful possession of several arms belonging to the army without army consent. The accused are represented by King’s Counsel Karabo Mohau. They appear before a six-member panel that is spearheaded by Court President Brigadier Mabote Sekoboto and retired High Court judge, Justice Matanzima Winston Maqutu. The matter has been postponed until November 26 -30 and December 12 - 14 and 19-21. It will also continue on January 7 – 11 and 21 – 25, 2019.
continued. “His example lives on, and will continue to stir future Americans to pursue a greater cause. Our hearts ache with his loss, and we, with the American people, send our prayers to the entire Bush family, as we honor the life and legacy of 41.” He served two terms as President Ronald Reagan’s second-in-command and became the first incumbent vice president to be elected president since Martin Van Buren in 1836. But Bush’s tenure in the White House was limited to four years. He was defeated for re-election by Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992. A weakened economy, a limited domestic agenda and a broken promise against raising taxes contributed to Bush’s defeat.
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Sunday December 02, 2018
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DPE to review community BONGIWE ZIHLANGU
…as NGO pursues greater public participation in budget formulation and accountability
M
ASERU - In a bid to enhance public participation in the formulation of the national annual budgetary estimates, allocation and accountability, the Development for Peace Education (DPE) is making concerted efforts to review the Community Parliament -a platform the NGO has been using for the past decade, in line with the yet to be functionalized Decentralization Policy of 2014. According to the DPE Peace Education Researcher ’Mabataung Secker, the decision to review the current model was arrived at after the NGO noted that, while there were milestones achieved in the past 10 years, they had however not achieved the desired results. As a result, DPE is proposing a new model for the National Community Parliament, which would enable people at the grassroots and in particular within their localities nationwide, to inform the annual budget what their priorities are. This, would be done through consultations at the lowest level of electoral divisions (EDs), where it is easier to engage with people from neighbouring villages that form an ED and establish their priorities, then take the result of the consultations to the council level. This is where the list would be streamlined to lesser priorities, after which consultations will be held at district council level, to pick those aspects that come across as common needs for a district, to be incorporated into the national budget
“The public has the right to participate in issues that affect them directly and to effectively achieve that, they must have a platform through which they can contribute to the formulation of the national budget. Hence the establishment of the Community Parliament,” Secker said. “Previously, the DPE would go to a community council, talk to residents in order to establish their needs and to establish how they would prioritise them should they be funded. However, we decided that approach didn’t serve the purpose of ownership of the budget and participation by all. When you take it ED by ED, it ensures participation because confining consultations to the council level, you risk people not attending.” Secker said this recently during her address of a meeting
through which DPE was unveiling the proposed Community Parliament structure. In attendance among others were representatives of the Lesotho Council of Non-G overnmental Organisations (LCN), Survivors of Lesotho Dams (SOLD), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and the Participatory Initiative for Social Accountability (PISA). An impassioned Secker said that it was critical to improve the Community Parliament model because the platform’s primary purpose was to ensure that no one “gets left behind”. She noted that the platform promoted the recognition of vulnerable groups like women, children and disabled people saying “it would be wrong to leave them out
while focusing only on the needs of the majority”. Coming to the Decentralisation Policy of 2014, Secker said while the law had not yet been functionalised, people needed to prioritise their needs in line with the legislation. She said the DPE’s duty would only be to coordinate and relay those needs to government ministry for incorporation into the budget. “That’s why we find it prudent that we pursue participation from EDs to community councils up to the district councils,” she said. However, Secker acknowledged that unlike in the past years where consultations were brief, the proposed model meant that the engagement with communities would take longer. She nonetheless showed that people would be drilled on the processes
of parliament, through the establishment of minicommunity parliaments “mimicking what actually transpires in the National Assembly and how to treat to budgetary issues”. “This, we will be doing in pursuit of empowering and capacitating our people so that they have a better understanding of how parliament functions. This means they will bring motions based on the national policy on issues such as water provision, children’s rights and etc,” Secker noted. She added: “They will also learn how to interrogate issues and the quality of service delivery or lack thereof, in line with the requirements of the sustainable development goals and such things.” While in the past the DPE would relay the list of priorities of communities to concerned ministries, the review would see the NGO engaging
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Sunday December 02, 2018
parliament structure parliament’s portfolio committees during the consultations of the community parliament, for MPs themselves to have an understanding of the public’s expectations. “It would be much easier if the parliamentary portfolio committees themselves relay information concerning communities’ needs to relevant government ministries. This is to say we will have moved from a place where participation and ownership were not clear,” Secker submitted. DPE National Coordinator Sofonea Shale also briefly reiterated Secker’s sentiments, noting that it was important to “review how we’ve been doing things”. “Indeed it is time to review how we’ve been doing things for purposes of all-inclusive processes and thorough public participation. However, we must first agree on the definition of a Community Parliament and how best citizens can participate, mimicking processes of the National Assembly,” Shale said. LCN’s Progammes Director Sekonyela Mapetja said his organisation as the mother body supported the Community Parliament concept and had influenced its endorsement by other non-governmental organisations. “There’s what we call the founder syndrome wherein those who form NGOs resist opening their doors to other NGOs for fear of being dominated or sidelined. But I applaud DPE for not being territorial by embracing participation of other stakeholders while still owning the concept,” Mapetja said. He added that the concept was founded on section 20 (i) (a) of the
constitution of Lesotho, stipulating that “the public has the right to direct participation on issues that affect them, either directly or through representation” for the enhancement of service delivery. Mapetja added that the main objectives of the Decentralization Policy, 2014 around which the proposed the Community Parliament would be modelled ensure access to service delivery, accountable service delivery at public level and promotion of national values, empowerment of chieftainship and other traditional values. “Those for purposes of accountability, such as how accountable government ministries and departments are and what government’s vision is with each annual budget. “This is to say, while government ministries and departments are busy formulating their annual budgets, they should remember to incorporate those priorities of communities nationwide,” he also said. He admitted that the new approach would take more time than usual but that “those processes must be followed to attain the desired outcome”. “We believe that we must first start by imparting and instilling knowledge in our people, so that they can start advocacy on their own at village level, in pursuit of accountability and service delivery. It translates into evolution and improvement of our country,” Mapetja said. PISA also declared its support of the DPE initiative, with its representative Tiisetso Piet, saying they had pulled their weight behind the Community Parliament concept by contributing to the
platform reaching 76 community councils in 2017. According to Piet, their criteria was based on putting “prioritising and classifying issues” and that those should be issues that the public can “discuss freely and do something about, devoid of political bias”. “We also identify consequences that people could suffer if those issues affecting them are not addressed. We also have youth dialogue forums specific to their issues,” Piet said. She again noted that PISA has established that there was confusion between roles and functions of MPs and councilors, and as such, they had created the ‘Meet Your MP’ platform, through which the public interact with their MPs “ i n order to learn how to classify
functions and roles unique to both MPs and councilors”. “Meet your MP is a higher level dialogue where issues are discussed, feeding into the Community Parliament. Hence, we feel it is a bold move for the DPE to have opened up a discussion involving stakeholders and clarifying what each does to contribute to the Community Parliament, and appreciating their diversity,” Piet said. Meanwhile, during a DPE meeting in Matsieng in August, natural resources portfolio committee member, Litšoane Litšoane who is also MP for the BelaBela Constituency said ministries were obliged to submit the
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proposed community budgets together with plans that elaborated how the constituencies, community councils and the villages were going to get services, which he said was not the status quo. Litšoane highlighted that it would then be easier for Parliament “to monitor the ministries and have the quarterly ministerial performance assessment reports” on what they had gathered at the grassroots, at the initial stages of allocating the national budget.
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Sunday December 02, 2018
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We want to improve skills: Aumane Staff Reporter
M
ASERU – The minister of development planning Tlohang Aumane says Lesotho has attached great importance to human development as human resources is one of the major assets that should be capacitated for the development of all countries. The minister was speaking at a symposium on China-aid human resource development cooperation programme which was organized and held by the Chinese embassy in Maseru on Thursday. The government he said through the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) underscores the importance of human capital development. Aumane said the government also seeks to ensure that the country has healthy and skilled human resource, adding that this is the first year for the implementation of the NSDP.
“We want to improve your skills wherever you are” He said there are 304 from public and private sectors capacitated in different areas that included wool and mohair technologies, agriculture, finance, mining, small and medium enterprises, procurement and 20 people were taken for each of the trainings besides the long term trainings that China is aiding Lesotho with. The Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese embassy Song Changqing said human resource is the first and most important resource for sustainable and selfreliant economic development in every country. Song said the human resource development cooperation has long been a key area in China-
The minister of development planning Tlohang Aumane Africa and China-Lesotho cooperation. He added that the Chinese people believe that showing the next person how to fish is much better than giving that person a fish to eat. China he said has decided to increase the number of Chinese government scholarships to Africa from 4 000 each year declared on the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit to 10,000 each year in 2015 on the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit and to over 16,000 each year on the recently concluded FOCAC Beijing Summit. He said over the past three years since the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, in a bid to enhance Lesotho’s human resources, China has among others build a Friendship Middle School for Lesotho in Thuathe. The Chinese government he
also said provided more than 800 training opportunities and increased the number of government scholarships for Basotho students to about 40 annually. For the current year, he said China-Lesotho human resource cooperation has reached a new level with the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) and political party participants included. “China has provided to Lesotho, 39 scholarships for degree study programmes, and 318 training opportunities through short-term courses. “Not only does China keep expanding its human resource cooperation with Lesotho as indicated in numbers, China also pays a lot of efforts to ensure the human resource cooperation will meet the needs of Basotho,” he said. He showed that each year, the embassy will consult relevant
ministries within the Lesotho government on its preference and priorities of the programme for the next year and come up with tailor-made programme that will suit its needs. The programmes include hospital management, nursing, tourism, hotel management, information technology, leather tanning and textile. A government employee, ’Mahlalefang Mapetla who attended the financial management course expressed her appreciation at the opportunity provided by both governments of China and Lesotho to horn their skills in in China. Mapetla also noted that the exposure to the culture and hospitality that the Chinese people afforded Basotho like her in China were a great eye opener to her.
Sunday December 02, 2018
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Personality News
I am proud to be a Mosotho - Astro Thato Ramafu
of Tourism is advertising Afriski hotel and resort and they have white people on their billboards instead of locals. We are the sixth highest country in the world so why are they not using our scenery as a serving proposition to our tourism?” So, is there room for change? “Yes, there is room for change and I feel we are at an advantage because we have nothing as a country and therefore, we have nothing to lose. It means now is a perfect time for a system overhaul as 80 percent of the retailing bodies are owned by foreigners and an incredible 90 percent of the restaurants we have too are also owned by outsiders.
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asotho are generally touted as the most peaceful in the often-fractious Southern African region due in part to King Moshoeshoe’s worldacclaimed diplomatic dexterity. The wily king was able to negotiate a string alliances that protected his people from marauding bigger tribes from the west and Boers who had made a home in his territory. What Moshoeshoe’s kingdom lacked in riches was made up for through a carefully knit history and heritage, founded on peace, making most citizens to be proud of their ancestry. But how do Basotho today feel about their country, more importantly, about being a Mosotho? There seems to be a general sense of malaise and unhappiness among Basotho at the direction the country is taking. Most were unamused by recent events that saw fundamental human rights being eroded in the country. Some interviewees sounded so despondent by the situation that they wished they could leave the country, saying being “born Mosotho is a curse”. A 30-year-old artiste who only gave his name as Astro opens up on this issue, and said he was conflicted on the question of being mosotho. “For me being a Mosotho is about having an identity, it means embracing who I was born as, it’s about not having any predefined notion by someone of a different culture telling me I should lead my life a certain way. “When we strip it down it brings us to the ones and zeros - are you proud of being a Mosotho or not? It is a yes and no question. It’s a yes question in the essence of how can I not be proud of who I am and if I am not proud of who I am, what am I doing to change that situation? “Am I improving myself as an individual, and if it’s not particularly about me, is it the external circumstances what can I do to remedy the situation or if I do not achieve that what can I do to say at least I died trying. “Fifty years down the line, we have kids, we grow up and things are still messed up as they are and then they would ask us - when they took over the world,
when they destroyed our country - where were you and what did you do? So, simply put, I am proud of who I am, I am proud of my heritage but I cannot turn a blind eye to the bad governance we have as a country and this is the biggest factor holding us back from developing. “So, we all know that prior to 1966, we were still under colonial rule or as we would love to put it to be politically correct, we were a ‘protectorate’ because the argument is that we have never been colonialized. So, the independence we longed for came but what are we doing with it- nothing so that I am not proud of,” he continued to say. Astro adds since the discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa, Basotho had emerged as the chief exporters of labour to that country, powering that country’s flourishing industries. In that sense, Astro says he is proud that his people had been a part of wealth creation in the biggest economy in Africa. This however, doesn’t mean the grass is greener on the other side. “So, what is our biggest problem in terms of us moving forward as a nation? I don’t like pointing fingers but I want to think ‘governance’. We have the worst governance in the free world. We have people who are in power and they are doing nothing in regard to building sustainable growth, they are
doing nothing in terms of protecting natural resources for future generations and they are also doing absolutely nothing in regard to empowering this generation - the youth which makes it very difficult to say the next generation will be empowered. “We want to cultivate some businesses but we fail because we still have fraud and corruption at very high rates. We still have nepotism which is a brick wall in front of us, but still - these are my people and that cannot be changed or neglected. I am not ashamed to be associated with them as people but I am not exactly proud of their actions,” Astro declared. He says he wonders where things are headed. He is 30 and has never voted because he feels all politicians and the same and lie. He continued to say India is making waves in terms of revenue generation, yet they are a service provider. Big companies are getting people to do telemarketing sales, they have their call centers there, in other words, India is selling a service and they have more than 20 languages, Lesotho only has two official languages and an incredible 60 percent of the population have basic comprehension of English written and spoken, and that leaves him wandering why Lesotho is not doing the same. “The Lesotho Tourism Development under the Ministry
“Ten years down the line we have a generation that was born in 2000 today they are in their 20s and in their mother country there is nothing owned by their nation, this says they are not going to go for an industrial revolution. “Instead, I feel like they are going to go on a rampage destroying everything because they do not have a sense of belonging and ownership, and that is our advantage- that we have nothing and we can start from scratch, it means we really nothing to lose. “What is sad is that in as much we are 28th poorest country in the world we are richest in resources because at present we have 83 unmined minerals, we have some of the purest water in the world, and I am talking about sustainable mining here and what is our Government doing? Nothing! On top of things we have a textile sector that is dominated by foreign people where Basotho are overworked and underpaid and the people who are implementing (in the parliament) policies of how they should be paid are making a proposition to get a hundred percent raise in their salaries. “It is a total disgrace because they were quick to dismiss the firm workers when they cried out for to get 40% increase but today, they have a never to demand 100% raise. So this brings me to the question ‘Am I proud to be Mosotho’? again. As a person I am proud to be a part of a great nation but I am ashamed of the governance we have.”
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Sunday December 02, 2018
Sunday December 02, 2018
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There’s someone to rely on in Lesotho
Team Lesotho leaves for Region 5 Games
NTHAKO MAJORO MASERU - A contingent of 90 athletes who are going to represent Lesotho at the 8th African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Games Under-20 Youth Games were on Friday given a send-off during a ceremony which was held at the Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena in Maseru. The games will be held in Gaborone, Botswana from December 6-16, with Team Lesotho set to leave for Gaborone on Tuesday next week. The Lesotho team is going to compete in netball, football, volleyball, boxing, athletics and tennis. The farewell was graced by the presence of the deputy
minister of gender and youth, sports and recreation Rethabile ’Mahlompho Mokaeane. Speaking at the function, president of the Lesotho Sport and Recreation Commission (LSRC) Khiba Mohoanyane, said in the previous Region 5 tournament, which was held in Luanda, Angola in 2016, Lesotho performed better than before despite the challenges which the team had encountered ahead of the games. “We performed well because we won more medals than never before, and this says to me that it was because something was done right that time around,” Mohoanyane said. LSRC boss further said: “It is therefore important to highlight that there are no short-
cuts in sports, when it comes to preparations.” Mohoanyane, however said unfortunately, it is becoming the norm for Lesotho not to properly prepare for international tournaments of this magnitude. He said regrettably that becomes apparent during the competition. “Sometimes we delay to get funds, for instance, we are going to leave the country on December 4th but it was only this Monday when I was told that there’s money in the LSRC account from the ministry of sports. “So that means our preparation was without doubt not good at all, but we are prepared to go out there and fight like we are supposed to,” Mohoanyane said.
Lesotho chef de mission to the games, Molupe Mothepu, urged Lesotho representatives to make the country proud in Botswana. Mothepu said the athletes should also be proud of being Basotho while over there. “First of all you are expected to behave and be proud that you are Lesotho nationals and secondly you should win medals,” Molupe said. The chef de mission further said: “I will always say lose like a champion.” In the last Region 5 Games in Angola in 2016, Lesotho won six gold medals, four silver and three bronze medals. Out of the 13 medals, 10 of them were from athletics and three from boxing.