|
Summary
of
Events
in
Lesotho
Volume 13,
Number
3, (Third Quarter 2006)
Summary
of
Events
is
a
quarterly
publication
compiled
and
published
by
Prof.
David
Ambrose
since
1993
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
in
Roma.
Death
of
Chieftainess
’Mamathe
Gabashane
Masupha
Married
Persons
Equality
Bill
Reaches
Parliament
Research
Article
Reinterpretes
Lesotho
Rock
Painting
Originally
Copied
in
1873
Poverty
Reduction
Strategy
Document
Published
New
Schedule
of Minimum
Wages
Gazetted
Celebrations
for
40th
Anniversary
of
Lesotho's
Independence
Anglican
Church
Statistics
Published
603-carat
Diamond
Found
at
Letšeng
Mine
Member
of
Parliament
Shot
Dead
by
Robbers
at
his
Home
at
Thaba
Bosiu
LHWP
Phase
II
Advertisements
Indicate
Two
Dam
Sites
Now
on
Short
List
18
MPs
Cross
the
Floor
in
the
National
Assembly
to
Form
New
Parliamentary
Party
Prime
Minister
Gives
Evidence
in
Criminal
Defamation
Case
which
Later
fails
to
Proceed
Mokhele
Likate
Commissioned
as
Ambassador
to
Japan
Proliferation
of
Lesotho
Radio
Stations
Documented
Minister
of
Finance
and
Development
Planning
Reports
on
Operation
of
Pension
Scheme
Oblate
Brother
and
Robber
Die
and
Two
Brothers
Injured
in
Shootout
at
Mazenod
Dual
Citizen
Motion
moved
in
the
National
Assembly
Prime
Minister
Inaugurates
New
University
Buildings
Accident
on
Maseru
Bypass
Demolishes
Pedestrian
Overbridge
ABC
Leader
Tom
Thabane
Interviewed
in
South
Africa
New
Chief
of
Thaba-Tšoeu
Installed
ABC
Maseru
Rally
Attract
Thousands
of
Supporters
Fifth
Annual
Prisons
Day
Celebrated
in
Maseru
State
of
Mokhotlong
Road
becomes
Senate
Concern
Three
Opposition
'Parties'
form
an
Alliance
Accusations
of
Witchcraft
and
Mob
Action
follow
death
of
St
Mary's
Teacher
Patrick
Duncan's
Sotho
Laws
and
Customs
Reprinted
National
Education
Dialogue
Held
Death
of
Veteran
Journalist
C.S.
Maboloka
Lesotho
Likely
to
Receive
over
M2
billion
from
Millennium
Challenge
Corporation
64
Unclaimed
Corpses
Buried
New Periodical
Ka
Paramenteng
Appears
Parliament
Dissolved;
General
Election
to
be
held
on
February
17
Thuathe
Meteorite
Find
is
Largest
Recorded
Lesotho's
Vertebrate
Biodiversity
Updated
Southern
Ground-Hornbill
Makes
Surprise
Lesotho
Appearance
Police
Disappear
Dutch
Aid
Worker
Killed
in
Attack
at
House
of
Minister
Mpho
Malie
93
Long-term
Residents
Become
New
Lesotho
Citizens
New
NUL
Vice-Chancellor
Assumes
Office
Major
Bribery
Trial
Proceeds;
British
Firm
Implicated
Three
Sentenced
to
Death
for
Murder
of
Factory
Manager
New
Parties
Emerge
but
Not
All
Will
Fight
Election
Four
Die
and
Six
Injured
as
Out
of
Control
Lorry
Crashes
into
Maseru
Border
Post
New
UNICEF
and
WFP
Representatives
Appointed
Local
Film
Premiered
at
Kingsway
Cinema
Liyban
Envoy
to
Lesotho
Expelled
Inflation
Remains
in
the
6%
to
7%
Band,
but
Recent
Fgures
Unavailable
The
death
was
announced
in
June
2006
of
Chieftainess
’Mamathe
Gabashane
Masupha
at
the
age
of
88.
As
reported
in
Mohahlaula
of
29
June
2006,
a
very
large
funeral
was
held
at
Ha
’Mamathe
in
Berea
District
on
25
June
2006.
Chieftainess
’Mamathe
had
the
misfortune
that
her
husband,
Principal
Chief
Gabashane
Masupha,
had
been
hanged
by
the
British
Colonial
Administration
in
1949
for
medicine
murder.
The
heir,
David
Masupha
was
then
a
small
child,
and
Chieftainess
’Mamathe
had
acted
for
a
long
time
as
Principal
Chief
of
Ha
’Mamathe
until
their
son
had
been
able
to
assume
office
as
Principal
Chief
of
the
Lioli,
as
the
people
of
the
’Mamathe
Ward
(and
their
football
team)
are
known.
Tragedy
seems
to
have
dogged
the
family,
because
their
son,
Principal
Chief
David
Gabashane
Masupha
died
in
hospital
after
a
road
accident
on
the
evening
of
Saturday
10
August
1996.
He
was
succeeded
by
his
widow
Chieftainess
'Mampota
Masupha
also
known
as
Chieftainess
'Masenate
David
Gabashane
Masupha.
Chieftainess
’Mamathe
was
the
daughter
of
Chief
Lebona
Nkhahle
Mohale
of
Mohale’s
Hoek.
She
was
thus
a
descendant
of
King
Moshoeshoe’s
younger
brother,
while
her
husband
was
a
direct
descendant
of
King
Moshoeshoe
through
one
of
his
best-known
sons,
Masupha.▲back
to top
A
Bill
which
has
long
been
in
gestation,
and
which
is
necessary
for
Lesotho
to
fulfill
its
responsibilities
under
certain
human
rights
conventions
(not
to
mention
qualifying
for
the
Millennium
Challenge
Cooperation
funds),
was
finally
presented
to
Parliament
for
its
First
Reading
on
22
September
2006.
Although
frequently
referred
to,
even
in
Parliament,
as
the
Married
Persons
Equality
Bill,
the
correct
name
is
apparently
the
Legal
Capacity
of
Married
Persons
Bill
2006
and
it
amends
the
laws
and
rules
which
give
a
husband
absolute
marital
powers.
The
Bill
passed
through
both
Houses
of
Parliament
after
considerable
debate
and
some
amendments
in
the
Lower
House.
After
the
passing
of
the
third
reading
in
the
National
Assembly
on
7
November
2006,
and
the
passing
of
the
third
reading
in
the
Senate
on
Wednesday
15
November
2006,
the
Bill
was
awaiting
Royal
Assent..
▲back
to top
In
1873,
the
Chief
of
the
Amahlubi,
Langalibalele,
fled
into
Lesotho
from
Natal,
after
a
dispute
with
the
Natal
colonists.
This
resulted
in
a
military
expedition
being
assembled
to
try
to
capture
him
in
the
heart
of
the
Maloti.
In
the
event,
Langalibalele
and
his
people
spent
only
a
few
days
crossing
the
northern
Maloti,
from
which
they
descended
near
Ha
Koasa,
where
Langalibalele
was
arrested
by
the
men
of
Chief
Molapo
and
handed
over
to
the
colonial
administration.
The
leader
of
the
military
expedition
was
Inspector
J.
M.
Grant
of
the
Frontier
Armed
&
Mounted
Police
and
he
did
not
know
about
Langalibalele’s
capture,
or
rather
he
was
unwilling
to
believe
the
stories
which
he
heard
through
the
bush
telegraph.
So
he
proceeded
with
his
expedition
which
entered
Lesotho
at
what
is
now
Qacha’s
Nek.
At
the
time
the
pass
was
close
to
the
village
of
Chief
Moorosi’s
son,
Ncatya,
and
indeed
Qacha’s
Nek
came
to
be
named
after
him.
Ncatya
was
able
to
provide
the
expedition
with
a
Moroa
(San)
guide,
Qing.
Also
on
the
expedition
were
Nehemiah
Sekhonyana
Moshoeshoe,
one
of
King
Moshoeshoe’s
most
educated
sons;
and
Joseph
Orpen,
who,
following
Eugène
Casalis,
had
at
one
time
been
de
facto
Foreign
Secretary
to
King
Moshoeshoe
(and
had
been
declared
persona
non
grata
in
the
Orange
Free
State
for
his
support
of
the
Basotho).
The
expedition
proceeded
northwards
from
Qacha’s
Nek,
camping
in
the
large
rock
shelters
which
can
be
found
in
the
Senqu
valley.
Orpen
was
fascinated
by
the
rock
art
in
these
shelters
and
made
copies
of
some
of
the
more
significant
paintings.
He
also
questioned
Qing
about
the
meaning
of
the
art,
using
a
double
translation,
because
Qing
could
speak
Seroa
and
Sephuthi,
and
Sekhonyana
Moshoeshoe
could
speak
Sephuthi
and
English.
Joseph
Orpen
could
not
really
understand
the
rather
puzzling
and
fantastic
information
about
the
rock
art
that
he
was
told,
but
he
nevertheless
wrote
it
down,
and
in
the
following
year,
1874,
published
both
Qing’s
commentary
and
colour
reproductions
of
the
rock
paintings,
the
first
reproductions
of
Lesotho
rock
art.
He
also
sought
out
Dr
Wilhelm
Bleek,
the
philologist
who
first
managed
to
learn
and
write
down
(albeit
with
numerous
diacritics)
a
San
language,
and
Bleek
provided
a
further
interpretation
of
the
rock
art
through
one
of
his
San
informants,
Diä!kwain.
This
was
published
as
an
attachment
to
Orpen’s
article.
The
published
reproductions
of
paintings
were
from
four
sites,
one
of
which
was
from
the
source
of
the
Kraai
river,
near
Orpen’s
farm,
Avoca.
A
second
was
from
‘the
cave
of
Medekane
in
the
Maluti’.
This
presents
no
problem,
because
the
rock
shelter
called
’Melikane
is
still
a
well-known
landmark.
The
other
two
sets
of
paintings
were
‘from
the
cave
Mangolong
in
the
Maluti’
and
‘from
the
upper
cave
at
Mangolong
in
the
Maluti’.
For
a
long
time,
it
was
not
known
exactly
where
Mangolong
was,
but
in
1971,
two
different
groups
independently
discovered
that
the
Mangolong
paintings
could
still
be
seen
at
Sehonghong
rock
shelter
in
the
eastern
Maloti.
One
group
was
the
rock
art
expert,
Pat
Vinnicombe
and
her
archaeologist
husband,
Pat
Carter;
and
the
other
was
a
group
from
the
university
at
Roma
accompanying
another
rock
art
expert,
Lucas
Smits.
In
Sesotho
today,
ho
ngola,
means
to
write,
but
the
word
was
hijacked
by
the
missionaries
and
invested
with
a
new
meaning.
It
originally
meant
‘to
draw’
or
‘to
make
pictures’.
The
name
Mangolong,
using
this
older
meaning,
thus
signifies
‘the
place
of
drawings’
or
more
simply
‘art
gallery’,
a
fitting
appellation
for
the
Sehonghong
rock
shelter.
As
a
result
of
the
work
of
David
Lewis-Williams,
who
later
became
Professor
of
Cognitive
Archaeology
at
the
University
of
the
Witwatersrand,
the
Sehonghong
and
’Melikane
paintings
and
Qing’s
commentary
on
them
have
become
central
to
the
reinterpretation
of
San
rock
art.
Following
Lewis-Williams’
1977
doctoral
thesis,
what
Qing
was
trying
to
tell
Orpen
is
interpreted
in
terms
of
trances
induced
by
the
shamans
or
medicine
men
in
the
San
communities.
The
paintings
are
not
to
be
taken
as
literal
representations,
but
rather
as
hallucinatory
images
in
which
very
often
creatures
(called
therianthropes)
appear
which
are
part
man
and
part
animal.
So
much
has
been
written
about
Orpen
and
Qing
that
one
wonders
that
there
is
much
left
to
be
said,
but
a
University
of
Cape
Town
rock
art
specialist,
Pieter
Jolly,
has
recently
turned
his
attention
to
the
‘upper
cave
at
Mangolong’,
and
to
the
rock
painting
that
Orpen
copied
there,
which
is
also
reproduced
here.
Pieter
Jolly
has
published
his
interpretation
in
a
research
article
in
the
June
2006
South
African
Archaeological
Bulletin.
The
‘upper
cave
at
Mangolong’
is
almost
certainly
the
rock
shelter
known
as
Pitsaneng
or
Tsoaing
some
800
metres
upstream
and
north-east
along
the
Sehonghong
river
from
the
main
Sehonghong
(Mangolong)
rock
shelter.
This
rock
shelter
has
recently
been
the
subject
of
a
University
of
Oxford
doctoral
thesis
by
John
Hobart,
whose
excavations
revealed
that
the
San
who
had
occupied
the
shelter
in
the
past
thousand
years
had
not
been
simply
hunter-gatherers,
but
had
made
pottery
and
also
at
times
kept
sheep.
The
pottery
explains
the
name
Pitsaneng,
‘place
of
a
small
pot’,
presumably
given
to
the
rock
shelter
when
the
first
Basotho
settlers
to
arrive
there
in
the
1880s
were
surprised
to
see
a
piece
of
pot
sticking
out
from
an
exposed
bank
in
the
shelter.
The
painting
of
people
with
‘lizard
tails’
is
no
longer
visible,
although
a
painting
of
a
single
lizard-tailed
person
was
recorded
by
Smits
in
1971.
So
who
are
the
people
in
the
painting
recorded
by
Orpen
and
what
are
they
doing?
Pieter
Jolly
has
for
a
long
time
been
interested
in
the
interaction
between
‘agropastoralists’
(also
called
Bantu
or
Iron
Age
people,
the
term
including
Sotho-Tswana
and
Nguni)
and
the
‘San’
(also
called
Bushmen
or
Baroa).
In
particular
he
has
analyzed
rock
art
to
see
what
it
can
tell
us
about
this
interaction.
In
the
painting
three
of
the
figures
carry
knobkerries,
typical
Basotho
weapons,
not
known
to
be
used
by
the
San.
However,
at
the
same
time
they
appear
to
have
arrows
projecting
from
their
shoulders,
perhaps
from
hidden
quivers
on
their
backs,
indicative
of
what
is
almost
exclusively
San
weaponry.
Then
again
four
of
the
figures
have
projections
from
their
heads,
which
seem
likely
to
be
inflated
bladders
used
as
headdresses,
a
well-documented
practice
of
the
agropastoralists
but
not
the
San.
So
these
figures
have
both
San
and
agropastoralist
features
and
the
lizard
or
snake
tails
might
be
a
shamanic
hallucination.
Jolly
comes
to
the
conclusion
that
the
five
people
portrayed
in
the
paintings
probably
represent
Bantu-speaking
agropastoralists
and/or
San
influenced
by
the
cultures
of
Bantu-speaking
agropastoralists,
engaged
in
an
essentially
Bantu-speaking
agropastoralists’
rite
-
which
may
have
been
connected
with
initiation.
Part
of
the
clue
for
this
last
interpretation
is
Qing’s
calling
the
people
Qweqweté
which
may
be
cognate
with
the
isiXhosa
word
for
initiates,
abakwetha.
The
delight
of
rock
paintings
of
this
kind
is
that
everyone
can
have
their
own
theory.
Come
to
the
rock
painting
afresh
and
you
might
see
something
different
from
Jolly.
Surely
it
depicts
three
armed
men
and
two
women.
(To
give
him
his
credit,
Diä!kwain
also
thought
two
of
the
figures
were
women.)
This
is
even
more
apparent
in
the
original
coloured
version
of
the
painting
in
which
the
figure
on
the
right
has
a
white
outline
giving
him
a
fuller
male
waist
than
the
pinched
waists
of
the
women.
What
is
happening?
Well
the
lizard
tails
suggest
for
certain
a
hallucination
brought
about
by
a
trance
state.
In
such
a
state,
fantastic
dreams
appear
to
come
true.
Possibly
the
San
artist
is
depicting
a
fantasy
in
which
San
men
have
acquired
agropastoralist
weaponry
and
accoutrements
which
make
them
so
attractive
to
agropastoralist
maidens
that
they
are
happily
being
abducted!
▲back
to top
The
document
Poverty
reduction
strategy
2004/2005
-
2006/2007
finally
became
available
in
published
form
in
late
2006,
although
in
the
absence
of
a
Government
Bookshop
(an
unfortunate
deficiency
in
Lesotho,
long
pointed
out
but
yet
to
be
rectified),
was
not
easily
obtainable.
Prior
to
this
document,
the
last
published
development
plan
was
the
Sixth
National
Development
Plan
1996/97
-
1998/99.
This
was
supposed
to
be
the
first
of
a
proposed
series
of
‘rolling’
(overlapping)
plans,
but
in
the
event
it
was
the
only
one
of
the
‘rolling’
plans
published.
It
is
believed
that
there
were
negotiations
for
the
second
rolling
plan
to
be
prepared
on
behalf
of
government
by
consultants
but
after
disagreements
this
did
not
happen.
Meanwhile
there
has
been
a
parallel
activity,
the
Poverty
Reduction
Strategy
(PRS),
which
has
engaged
the
Ministry
of
Finance
and
Development
Planning
for
a
long
time.
It
derives
ultimately
from
the
UN-sponsored
World
Summit
for
Social
Development
held
in
Copenhagen
in
1995.
This
led
to
donors
committing
US$200
million
to
Lesotho
at
a
Round
Table
Conference
in
November
1997
so
that
a
Poverty
Action
Plan
could
be
formulated
‘with
focus
on
grassroots
level’.
The
PRS
document
which
has
finally
emerged,
states
that
it
‘presents
a
situation
analysis
for
each
priority
area
and
an
overview
of
the
objectives,
strategies
and
activities
that
will
be
pursued
during
the
three
year
period’.
It
resembles
the
earlier
five
and
three
year
plans
in
that,
like
these,
it
was
not
published
ahead
of
the
planning
period,
but
rather
after
the
period
was
well
advanced.
In
fact
at
the
stated
publication
date
(June
2006,
but
some
months
before
actual
distribution)
the
period
to
which
it
actually
relates
was
already
75%
over.
Earlier
drafts
had,
however,
been
circulated
and
were
available
on
the
internet.
There
had
also
been
wide
stakeholder
involvement,
with
20
000
people
in
200
villages
participating
in
consultations
leading
to
an
earlier
publication,
The
voice
of
the
people.
The
technical
working
group
which
devised
the
published
PRS
had
over
50
members,
not
counting
donor
representatives,
two
teams
of
consultants
and
several
persons
also
employed
as
consultants
in
an
individual
capacity.
Just
as
in
the
case
of
the
Five
Year
Plans,
there
are
useful
summaries
of
the
past,
particularly
on
matters
such
as
the
structural
changes
in
Lesotho’s
economy.
However,
the
projections
for
the
three
years
have
of
course
by
now
been
overtaken
by
actual
events.
The
strategy
identifies
eight
key
priorities:
Creation
of
Employment
comes
first
because
it
is
seen
as
the
best
means
of
addressing
poverty.
Measures
are
described
to
attract
domestic
investment
and
foreign
direct
investment
through
streamlining
procedures
to
improve
the
investment
environment.
Amongst
areas
needing
attention
are
improvements
in
water
supply
reliability,
and
modernizing
the
Maseru
rail
terminal
so
that
it
can
handle
containers
efficiently.
Passports
are
needed
both
for
local
identification
and
travel
purposes,
and
the
backlog
of
service
delivery
and
increased
corruption
in
the
department
are
noted
as
needing
attention.
Of
particular
importance
is
improving
the
efficiency
of
the
Department
of
Immigration
and
improving
labour
productivity
and
stability.
The
need
to
produce
new
investment
promotion
materials
is
noted,
as
well
as
the
challenges
presented
by
competition
in
the
textile
sector.
It
is
noted
that
small,
medium
and
micro
enterprises
can
make
an
enormous
contribution
to
economic
development
and
poverty
reduction.
Agribusiness,
tourism,
and
mining
are
mentioned
as
areas
with
employment
potential
and
part
of
key
strategies
for
employment.
Amongst
other
strategies
mentioned
here
is
establishing
a
comprehensive
social
security
system
and
(as
was
in
fact
implemented
in
November
2005)
a
pension
for
all
citizens
over
70
years.
Improvement
of
Agricultural
Production
and
Food
Security
is
discussed
in
the
light
of
Lesotho
having
been
unable
to
grow
enough
food
to
feed
its
population
for
decades.
Food
security
is
seen
as
coming
primarily
from
expanding
formal
and
informal
work
opportunities
and
through
boosting
the
purchasing
power
of
those
with
employment.
Thus
the
food
purchased
will
be
mostly
imported
rather
than
grown
nationally.
However,
in
relation
to
improving
domestic
production
a
series
of
improved
practices
are
advocated,
including
reforms
in
the
land
tenure
system,
and
methods
by
which
the
poor,
who
do
not
have
the
means
to
fully
utilize
their
land
(which
often
lies
fallow),
can
release
it
for
use
by
others.
Development
of
Infrastructure
is
seen
as
essential
for
the
creation
of
a
conducive
investment
climate.
Areas
needing
attention
include
roads,
water
supply,
town
planning,
electricity
and
housing.
Deepening
of
Democracy,
Governance,
Safety
and
Security
is
noted
as
important
in
the
light
of
the
damage
caused
by
the
events
of
1998.
Further
steps
are
needed
to
consolidate
democracy
at
national
and
local
levels.
Amongst
a
list
of
some
13
areas
needing
attention
are
the
inefficiencies
and
delays
in
the
justice
system
and
the
overcrowding
of
prisons.
Improving
Access
to
Health
Care
and
Social
Welfare
is
a
further
priority
for
which
a
number
of
strategies
are
listed,
mainly
improvements
in
the
existing
system.
Although
‘insufficient
numbers
of
health
personnel
especially
in
rural
areas’
is
mentioned,
rather
surprisingly
it
is
not
given
particular
prominence,
and
amongst
the
proposed
strategies
the
document
fails
to
mention
any
strategy
to
train
and
recruit
more
doctors
and
nurses,
other
than
the
rather
weak
strategy
‘train
health
personnel
at
all
levels’.
Under
Improving
Quality
and
Access
to
Education
the
theme
is
mainly
expansion,
although
in
relation
to
technical,
vocational
and
tertiary
education
the
strategy
does
mention
‘bringing
the
courses
offered
at
these
levels
more
in
line
with
manpower
needs’.
However,
the
laxity
in
this
area
is
not
firmly
addressed.
Students
with
government
loan
bursaries
have
in
recent
years,
compared
with
the
more
distant
past,
been
relatively
free
to
study
what
they
liked,
with
the
consequence
that
there
are
many
unemployed
graduates,
while
in
certain
professions,
notably
nursing,
medicine,
paramedical
areas
such
as
radiography
(not
a
single
trained
Mosotho
working
in
Lesotho!),
primary
school
teaching
and
secondary
school
science
teaching
there
are
chronic
shortages.
In
relation
to
Management
and
Conservation
of
the
Environment
a
number
of
strategies
are
mentioned
including
increasing
the
capacity
of
the
National
Environment
Secretariat
and
implementing
the
Environment
Act
2001,
which
is
at
present
dormant
legislation.
The
problem
of
Improvement
of
Public
Service
Delivery
is
related
to
that
of
poor
attitudes
of
civil
servants,
and
it
is
stated
that
the
Lesotho
Government
is
committed
towards
identifying
public
service
delivery
bottlenecks
and
rooting
out
corruption.
The
strategy
mentions
improvements
and
reforms,
although
these
are
stated
in
rather
general
terms.
(This
is
an
area
where
reforms
are
frequently
stated
to
be
necessary,
but
are
rarely
effectively
implemented.)
Apart
from
these
eight
key
priorities
identified
by
the
strategy,
certain
other
issues
cut
across
all
others.
These
are
the
Combating
of
HIV
and
AIDS,
now
believed
to
account
for
70
deaths
a
day
in
Lesotho
and
by
1999
already
having
resulted
in
90
000
AIDS
orphans.
Another
is
addressing
problems
relating
to
Gender,
Youth
and
Children,
where
a
number
of
strategies
are
listed
including
legislation
to
remove
gender
discrimination,
and
the
improvement
of
social
services.
In
relation
to
Implementation,
Monitoring
and
Evaluation,
mention
is
made
of
strengthening
a
Project
Appraisal
Committee.
Amongst
risks
and
assumptions,
it
is
stated
that
the
most
critical
assumption
is
the
need
for
Political
Will.
The
table
of
incremental
costs
assigns
M1
546
million
to
infrastructure
development,
42.0%
of
the
total
costs,
followed
by
M598
million
to
‘Essential
Health
Care
and
Social
Welfare’
(16.2%),
M525
million
to
‘Increasing
Human
Resource
Capacity’,
and
M431
million
to
‘Improving
Public
Service
Delivery’.
Smaller
amounts
are
allocated
to
the
other
strategies.
At
the
end
of
the
document,
there
is
a
series
of
core
indicators
in
each
of
the
sectors
with
most
recent
available
figures
(usually
for
years
from
about
1998
to
2003),
and
against
these
are
the
2006
targets.
For
example
the
2002
primary
and
secondary
school
teacher
to
pupil
rates
were
respectively
47:
1
and
24:
1
and
the
aim
is
to
change
these
by
2006
to
40:
1
and
30:
1.
However,
there
does
not
seem
to
be
any
strategy
mentioned
which
addresses
the
need
to
train
more
primary
school
teachers.
Of
course
we
have
now
reached
the
end
of
the
year
2006,
and
it
would
be
of
interest
to
know
how
many
of
the
targets
have
been
reached
and,
if
not,
a
diagnosis
of
the
reasons
for
failure.▲back
to top
The
annual
revision
of
minimum
wages
appeared
as
the
Labour
Code
Wages
Order
2006
(
Legal
Notice
No.
165
of
2006
in
Supplement
No.
2
to
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
no.
49
of
Friday
29
September
2006).
It
provides
for
new
minimum
wages
to
come
into
force
on
1
October
2006.
Minimum
wages
for
agricultural
workers
are
no
longer
gazetted
and
right
at
the
bottom
of
the
gazetted
wages
schedule
are
domestic
workers
whose
minimum
monthly
wage
rises
from
M230
to
M240,
which
is
less
than
a
third
of
the
minimum
wage
for
this
category
in
South
Africa.
However
the
minimum
monthly
wage
for
domestic
workers
who
have
had
more
than
twelve
months
service
is
now
gazetted
separately
and
is
M252
per
month.
These
represent
rises
of
4.3%
and
9.6%
compared
with
an
inflation
rate
(August
2006,
the
latest
available)
of
6.8%.
Small
businesses
are
defined
as
undertakings
which
do
not
employ
more
than
5
persons
and
are
wholly
owned
by
Basotho
companies
or
partnerships,
with
majority
shareholding
of
Basotho
‘as
natural
persons’
and
include
butcheries,
snack
bars,
coal
and
wood
dealers,
general
cafés
(i.e.
small
shops),
greengrocers,
caterers
and
guest
houses).
The
minimum
monthly
wage
in
such
enterprises
rises
from
M466
to
M480,
but
for
employees
with
more
than
12
months
service
the
rise
is
from
M466
to
M490.
These
represent
rises
of
3.0%
and
5.2%
compared
with
the
inflation
rate
of
6.8%.
In
manufacturing
industry,
the
minimum
wages
have
risen
from
M643to
M660
per
month
for
a
trainee
and
for
a
‘textile
general
worker’
and
from
M686
to
M710
for
a
trained
textile
machine
operator,
respectively
rises
of
2.6%
and
3.5%,
in
both
cases
far
less
than
the
inflation
rate,
but
presumably
reflecting
the
precarious
profitability
of
this
sector
where
there
have
been
many
retrenchments,
although
recent
signs
of
recovery.
Workers
in
the
construction
industry
fare
little
better
with
the
minimum
wage
for
a
construction
worker
now
M818
compared
with
M794
a
year
ago,
a
rise
of
3.0%,
while
the
minimum
for
a
construction
machine
operator
or
certificated
employee
such
as
a
bricklayer,
carpenter,
steel
fixer,
welder
or
electrician,
has
risen
from
M1400
to
M1442,
also
a
rise
of
3.0%.
In
the
previous
year
the
rises
had
been
10.0%
and
11.4
%.
Those
working
in
the
wholesale
and
retail
business
have
fared
somewhat
better.
The
minimum
wage
for
workers
in
wholesales,
supermarkets
and
furniture
shops
has
gone
up
from
M779
to
M830
(6.5%),
and
for
minisupermarkets,
bakeries
and
cafés
(other
than
those
classified
as
small
businesses)
it
has
gone
up
from
M758
to
M810
(6.9%).
In
the
hospitality
sector
workers
in
hotels,
motels
and
lodges
have
had
their
minimum
monthly
wage
increased
from
M779
to
M840
(7.8%),
while
those
working
for
restaurants,
caterers
and
guest
houses
have
received
an
increase
from
M758
to
M800
(5.5%).
A
trained
security
guard
now
has
a
minimum
monthly
wage
which
has
risen
from
M934
to
M982
(5.1%),
while
a
trainee
security
guard’s
wage
has
risen
from
M750
to
M800
(6.7%).
The
minimum
wage
for
funeral
parlour
workers
has
risen
from
M779
to
M810
(4.0%),
but
for
those
with
more
than
12
months
service
with
the
same
employer
it
is
now
M818,
a
rise
of
5.0%.
Minimum
wages
in
the
transport
sector
have
not
been
gazetted
separately
since
2003,
but
they
now
reappear
in
the
Order.
They
range
from
M909
to
M1318
for
drivers,
while
the
minimum
monthly
wage
for
a
certified
auto
electrician,
motor
mechanic
or
panel
beater
is
M1442.
Overall
the
‘general
minimum
wage’
has
risen
from
M673
to
M686,
a
rise
of
only
1.9%,
but
for
employees
with
more
than
12
months
service
with
the
same
employer
it
has
risen
from
M673
to
M697,
a
rise
of
3.6%.
This
year,
2006,
employees
may
have
suffered
because
of
the
census.
The
Bureau
of
Statistics
has
failed
to
keep
to
its
schedule
and
has
been
publishing
retail
price
indices
very
late.
The
reason
given
for
this
has
been
that
employees
have
been
working
on
the
census,
which
was
held
in
April
2006,
but
seems
to
have
occupied
staff
for
the
whole
year.
While
the
inflation
rate
reached
a
low
of
2.9%
in
August
2005,
it
has
been
climbing
fairly
steadily
ever
since,
with
a
particularly
steep
rise
between
April
2006
and
May
2006
from
5.1%
to
6.7%,
after
which
it
has
fluctuated
in
the
6%
to
7%
band.
▲back
to top
The
end
of
September
and
beginning
of
October
2006
were
marked
by
an
unprecedented
choice
of
activities.
The
Morija
Arts
&
Cultural
Festival
spanned
the
period
28
September
to
1
October,
but
its
attendance
was
relatively
low,
particularly
because
many
of
those
who
might
have
attended
were
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
Graduation
Ceremony
on
Saturday
30
September.
Meanwhile
there
were
several
days
of
celebrations
for
the
40th
Anniversary
of
Independence.
The
Independence
anniversary
celebrations
included
daytime
events
such
as
public
lectures,
an
exhibition
at
the
National
Convention
Centre
and
horse
and
donkey
racing.
At
midnight
on
the
evening
of
3
October,
the
new
national
flag
was
unfurled.
Finally,
on
the
evening
of
Wednesday
4
October,
there
was
a
gala
banquet
in
rather
chilly
weather
under
three
huge
marquees
erected
in
the
grounds
of
the
Royal
Palace.
Guests
included
the
Presidents
of
Botswana
and
Sierra
Leone
and
the
Vice-President
of
South
Africa.
None
of
these
were
strangers
to
Lesotho.
Five
weeks
earlier,
President
Festus
Mogae
of
Botswana
had
handed
over
the
SADC
Chairmanship
to
the
Lesotho
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili
in
Maseru.
President
Ahmad
Tejan
Kabbah
of
Sierra
Leone
was
even
more
familiar
with
Maseru
but
at
an
earlier
period,
because
he
had
once
worked
there
as
the
United
Nations
Development
Programme
Resident
Representative.
In
the
case
of
South
African
Vice-President
Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka,
her
stay
had
been
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
for
four
years
as
a
student.
A
number
of
awards
were
made
but
heading
the
list
was
ex-President
Kenneth
Kaunda
of
Zambia.
He
emerged
from
the
dinner
as
Sir
Kenneth
Kaunda,
having
been
dubbed
with
a
sword
by
His
Majesty
King
Letsie
III
and
made
a
Knight
Commander
of
the
Most
Courteous
Order
of
Lesotho.
.
▲back
to top
The
Anglican
Church
in
Lesotho
is
the
third
largest
denomination,
but
unlike
the
Lesotho
Evangelical
Church
and
Catholic
Church
has
never
had
its
own
newspaper.
As
a
result,
information
on
the
church
is
not
very
widely
available.
However,
the
most
recent
twice-yearly
UK-based
Lesotho
Diocesan
Association
Newsletter
does
provide
a
list
of
parishes
and
priests.
As
listed
there
are
30
Anglican
parishes
in
Lesotho,
and
19
full-time
clergy
receiving
stipends.
These
are
supported
by
16
non-stipendiary
or
self-supporting
clergy
in
the
parishes.
However,
8
parishes,
most
of
them
in
remote
areas,
are
without
a
rector.
The
Newsletter
reports
on
the
Lesotho
Diocesan
Association’s
annual
meeting
where
the
problem
of
HIV/AIDS
in
Lesotho
was
highlighted.
It
is
noted
that
the
former
bishop,
Philip
Mokuku,
is
now
Vicar-General,
in
effect
acting
in
his
former
capacity
as
bishop,
and
it
is
reported
that
relationships
in
the
diocese
are
improving.
There
is
a
great
need
for
a
Diocesan
Treasurer
and
Secretary
and
the
Association
is
trying
to
recruit
a
suitable
person.
Amongst
other
news
was
the
blessing
of
a
new
church
at
Ha
Rankhelepe
(on
the
west
side
of
the
Qeme
Plateau,
and
possibly
the
first
new
Anglican
church
in
the
Lowlands
of
Lesotho
to
be
built
for
over
50
years).
This
had
been
funded
by
the
Southern
African
Church
Development
Trust.
The
retirement
was
also
announced
of
Michael
Pocock
after
more
than
20
successful
years
as
Headmaster
of
St
Stephen’s
Diocesan
High
School
in
Mohale’s
Hoek.
In
that
time,
the
school
has
shown
itself
to
be
one
of
the
academically
best
schools
in
Lesotho.
Amongst
activities
of
the
Lesotho
Diocesan
Association
have
been
the
provision
of
funds
to
build
new
rectories
in
Anglican
parishes
in
Lesotho.
The
secretary
of
the
association
for
many
years
has
been
Canon
Ron
Tovey,
a
former
priest
in
Lesotho.
He
will
shortly
be
80
and
he
has
announced
his
retirement
from
the
secretaryship
of
the
association.
▲back
to top
It
was
reported
in
The
Star
of
5
October
2006
that
a
603-carat
diamond
had
been
found
at
the
Letšeng
Mine,
which
is
situated
at
3000
metres
above
sea
level
in
Mokhotlong
District.
Named
the
Lesotho
Promise,
the
diamond
is
the
largest
ever
recovered
from
Lesotho,
and
worldwide
it
is
the
15th
largest
diamond
ever
found.
There
are
5
carats
to
a
gram,
so
the
new
diamond
weighs
in
at
just
over
120
g,
about
twice
the
mass
of
a
hen’s
egg,
which
typically
has
a
mass
of
about
60
g.
(The
largest
diamond
ever
found
was
the
3106-carat
Cullinan
Diamond,
which
was
discovered
at
the
Premier
Diamond
Mine
near
Pretoria
on
26
January
1905.)
As
reported
by
the
mine’s
joint
owners
who
are
Gem
Mining
Company
and
the
Lesotho
Government,
the
new
diamond
is
a
white
stone
which
is
rated
D,
the
top
colour
for
diamonds.
The
diamond,
which
is
rather
larger
than
a
golf
ball,
was
sent
for
sale
at
the
Antwerp
World
Diamond
Centre
in
Belgium
where
it
realised
$12.4
million
(about
M90
million)
and
was
purchased
by
the
South
African
Diamond
Corporation.
After
cutting,
the
individual
stones,
probably
a
large
heart-shaped
gem
and
several
smaller
stones,
are
considered
likely
to
raise
M150
million.
Lesotho’s
previous
largest
diamond
was
the
601-carat
Lesotho
Brown,
found
at
Letšeng
in
1967.▲back
to top
A
National
Independent
Party
Member
of
Parliament,
Ford
Jobo,
was
shot
dead
by
armed
robbers
at
his
home
at
Lihaseng,
Thaba-Bosiu
on
the
night
of
6
October
2006.
Money
and
a
gun
were
stolen.
Ford
Jobo,
born
in
1931,
was
a
descendant
of
King
Moshoeshoe’s
younger
brother,
Jobo
Mokhachane,
and
was
himself
the
current
Chief
of
Lihaseng.
For
much
of
his
life
he
had
worked
as
a
manager
of
Frasers
stores.
He
became
a
proportional
representation
MP
after
the
elections
of
May
2002,
one
of
five
representing
the
National
Independent
Party.
His
funeral
was
held
at
Lihaseng
on
Saturday
21
October
2006,
where
the
speakers
included
the
Principal
Chief
of
Thaba-Bosiu,
Senator
Khoabane
Theko;
the
Speaker
of
the
National
Assembly,
Ms
Ntlhoi
Motsamai;
and
the
nonogenarian
Leader
of
the
National
Independent
Party,
Mr
Anthony
Manyeli.
Ford
Jobo
survived
by
his
widow,
5
sons,
a
daughter
and
8
grandchildren.
Sebolai
Sebolai,
aged
39,
was
sworn
in
as
a
replacement
National
Independent
Party
MP
on
Monday
23
October
2006.
He
is
a
former
policeman,
who
was
later
employed
successively
by
Lesotho
Bank,
the
Agricultural
Development
Bank
and
the
Boliba
Cooperative
Society.
The
Feasibility
Study
for
Phase
II
of
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Project
has
now
apparently
reached
the
point
of
deciding
shortly
on
the
location
of
the
recommended
dam
site.
Advertisements
(for
example
in
Mopheme
of
11
October
2006)
called
for
labour
based
contractors
to
undertake
test
pitting
and
trenching
at
either
the
Polihali
or
the
Taung
dam
site.
The
Taung
dam
site
is
a
short
distance
downstream
from
the
confluence
of
the
Malibamatšo
and
Senqu
rivers,
the
two
largest
rivers
draining
the
northern
Maloti.
The
resulting
reservoir
would
reach
the
base
of
the
Katse
Dam,
but
water
would
then
have
to
be
pumped
up
into
the
Katse
Reservoir.
The
alternative
Polihali
dam
site
is
upstream
on
the
Senqu
about
half
way
between
the
confluence
with
the
Malibamatšo
and
Mokhotlong.
A
lengthy
tunnel
would
be
needed
to
link
the
resulting
reservoir
to
the
Katse
Reservoir,
but
if
the
dam
were
high
enough
to
allow
gravity
transfer,
there
would
be
considerable
saving
in
recurrent
costs,
because
pumping
would
be
avoided.
▲back
to top
TRumours
had
been
circulating
for
some
time
that
the
unity
of
the
ruling
party,
the
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy
(LCD),
was
under
threat
and
that
Motsoahae
Thomas
(‘Tom’)
Thabane,
the
Minister
of
Communications,
Science
&
Technology,
was
making
overtures
to
his
fellow
MPs
to
help
him
form
a
new
opposition
party.
The
break
was
formalized
on
13
October
2006
when
18
MPs
crossed
the
floor
to
form
the
new
All
Basotho
Convention
Party,
which
immediately
became
known
as
the
ABC
Party.
17
of
the
MPs
in
the
new
party
were
from
the
LCD,
and
the
eighteenth
was
Lehlohonolo
Tšehlana,
representing
Mokhotlong
(constituency
no.
79).
He
was
an
Independent
MP,
who
had
been
expelled
from
the
LCD
early
in
2004
by
the
party’s
National
Executive
Committee
for
‘misconduct
against
the
Constitution
of
the
party’.
Of
the
other
17
MPs,
5
were
from
the
8
Maseru
urban
constituencies
and
were
Seeiso
Simon
Sehloho
(Mabote,
constituency
no.
29);
Lehlohonolo
Mafaesa
(Stadium
Area,
no.
31);
’Mapheello
B.
Tšuluba
(Qoaling,
no.
33);
Molobeli
Bernard
Soulo
(Lithoteng,
no.
34);
and
the
party
leader
Tom
Thabane
(Abia,
no.
36).
This
means
that
more
than
half
of
the
Maseru
urban
constituency
members
had
defected
to
the
new
party.
Outside
Maseru,
the
party’s
MPs
extend
to
all
districts
except
Quthing
and
Qacha’s
Nek.
In
the
north
there
are
7
MPs:
M.
Maliehe
(Butha-Buthe,
no.
5);
Sello
Peter
Maphalla
(Hlotse,
no.
13);
Mokholane
Pita
(Maputsoe,
no.
15);
Lijane
Edwin
Selikane
(Mosalemane,
no.
19);
Matooane
Mokhosi
(Bela-Bela,
no.
21);
Clement
S.
Machakela
(Mahlatsa,
no.
22);
and
Mabuo
Kojoana
(Thupa-Kubu,
no.
26).
From
south
of
Maseru,
there
are
just
3
MPs,
one
in
each
of
Maseru,
Mafeteng
and
Mohale’s
Hoek
Districts,
respectively:
Molebatsi
Khaile
(Qeme,
no.
42);
Retšelisitsoe
Ranooe
(Kolo,
no.
48);
and
Seabata
Joseph
Monare
(Qhalasi,
no.
57).
The
remaining
two
MPs
are
from
constituencies
in
the
Maloti:
Freddy
Rantelali
Shea
(’Maletsunyane,
no.
46);
and
’Nyane
Mphafi
(Thaba-Tseka,
no.
74).
Following
the
formation
of
the
ABC,
the
LCD’s
strength
in
the
National
Assembly
was
reduced
to
61
MPs
only,
with
the
opposition
parties
holding
59
seats.
40
of
these
are
proportional
representation
seats,
and
for
such
MPs,
there
is
no
provision
for
crossing
the
floor,
a
resignation
or
death
resulting
in
the
next
person
on
the
p.
r.
list
taking
over.
▲back
to top
A
case
which
has
been
given
headline
treatment
by
newspapers
resulted
in
the
Prime
Minister
Pakalitha
Mosisili
giving
evidence
in
the
packed
court
of
the
Chief
Magistrate
of
Maseru,
Molefi
Makara,
on
Monday16
October
2006.
Three
former
members
of
the
ruling
party,
the
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy,
’Maketso
Motjope
(37),
Methe
Pekeche
(61)
and
Qamaka
Ntšene
(45)
were
charged
with
criminal
defamation,
a
charge
which
arose
from
a
pamphlet
which
was
circulated
alleging
that
the
Prime
Minister
had
had
a
sexual
relationship
with
a
cabinet
member
colleague,
Dr
Pontšo
Sekatle.
The
hearing
was
reported
in
Mopheme
of
18
October
2006
and
Public
Eye
of
20
October
2006,
both
of
which
gave
it
front
page
treatment.
The
Prime
Minister
spoke
of
the
great
distress
the
pamphlet
had
caused
him,
and
said
the
pamphlet
was
‘scurrilous
and
preposterous’.
The
pamphlet
had
been
found
by
his
daughter
Thato
who
had
thrown
it
at
him
asking
whether
he
knew
anything
about
it.
The
pamphlet
was
most
devastating
to
him
personally
and
to
his
wife
and
children.
‘To
my
great
shock,
my
children
believed
it
to
be
true
and
so
did
my
wife’.
He
also
said
that
at
Cabinet
level
he
was
confronted
by
Dr
Sekatle
who
was
in
tears
and
wanted
to
resign
because
of
the
allegation.
The
pamphlet
had
affected
the
stability
of
Cabinet,
because
at
Cabinet
meetings
some
ministers
would
eye
himself
and
Dr
Sekatle
mischievously.
The
case
was
due
to
proceed,
but
despite
its
high
profile
nature
it
fell
victim,
like
so
many
other
cases
in
Lesotho,
to
inefficiencies
in
the
justice
system.
As
reported
in
Mopheme
of
22
November
2006,
it
could
not
proceed
because
the
State
provided
defence
attorney,
Advocate
Thabo
Mpaka,
was
currently
not
available,
nor
would
he
be
available
until
March
2007
and
he
had
not
briefed
another
lawyer
to
take
his
place.
Moreover
an
order
from
the
court
that
the
three
defendants
should
be
provided
with
legal
aid
had
not
been
complied
with.
It
was
not
clear
when
the
hearing
would
resume.▲back
to top
For
the
first
time,
Lesotho
will
have
a
diplomatic
mission
in
Japan,
a
country
which
in
recent
years
has
provided
considerable
donor
aid.
As
reported
in
Lesotho
Today
of
19
October
2006,
the
new
Ambassador
is
Mokhele
Likate
who
was
recently
commissioned
by
His
Majesty
King
Letsie
III.
Mokhele
Likate,
born
in
1952,
has
degrees
in
Administration
from
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
and
the
University
of
Southern
California.
He
has
had
a
variety
of
posts
in
the
public
and
private
sectors.
From
1986-1992
he
was
Registrar
of
the
National
University
of
Lesotho,
and
more
recently
from
2000
to
2004,
he
was
a
member
of
the
Independent
Electoral
Commission.
He
was
also
one
of
the
founders
of
the
firm
Moradi
(Pty)
Ltd,
a
firm
which
since
1981
has
specialized
in
quarrying
and
crushing
gravel
for
building
purposes.▲back
to top
At
question
time
in
the
National
Assembly
on
19
October
2006
(as
reported
in
Hansard),
the
Member
of
Parliament
for
Hlotse
asked
a
question
about
the
operation
of
radio
stations
in
Lesotho.
In
the
absence
of
the
Minister
of
Communications,
Science
and
Technology
(who
had
left
the
government
to
form
the
ABC
Party)
the
reply
was
given
by
Mrs
M.
Mahase-Moiloa,
Minister
of
Employment
and
Labour.
She
reported
that
currently
there
are
10
licensed
radio
stations
in
Lesotho,
although
one
(LEC
Radio,
with
the
licence
held
by
the
Lesotho
Evangelical
Church)
was
not
yet
operating.
Two
of
the
remaining
radio
stations
were
owned
by
government
and
these
were
Radio
Lesotho,
which
began
broadcasting
in
1966,
and
‘The
Ultimate
FM’
which
began
operations
on
9
May
2006.
Most
of
the
other
stations
were
owned
by
religious
broadcasting
organizations
and
were
(in
order
of
the
first
date
of
broadcasting)
People’s
Choice
Radio
(8
December
1998);
Moafrika
Radio
(said
to
be
owned
by
the
3rd
World
Evangelical
Movement
for
Human
Rights
and
Democracy)
(3
January
1999);
Joy
Radio
(owned
by
Multimedia
Communications)
(15
August
1999);
Catholic
Radio
(4
October
1999);
Harvest
Radio
(30
May
2003);
Thaha
Khube
Radio
(1
October
2003);
and
Fill
the
Gap
Radio
(27
June
2005).
The
list
provided
is,
however,
not
complete,
because
it
omits
such
stations
as
DoPE
Radio
which
is
run
by
the
Department
of
Physics
and
Electronics
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
at
Roma.
The
answer
to
the
question
revealed
that
government
was
aware
of
the
absence
of
proper
broadcasting
legislation,
something
which
would
be
remedied
in
due
course.
▲back
to top
The
Minister
of
Finance
&
Development
Planning,
Dr
T.
Thahane
(as
reported
in
Hansard)
addressed
the
National
Assembly
on
Thursday
19
October
2006
on
the
operation
of
the
pension
scheme
in
Lesotho.
He
said
that
he
was
doing
this
in
response
to
many
questions
which
had
been
raised
recently
by
MPs
on
the
operation
of
the
scheme.
He
recalled
that
pensions
were
first
paid
in
November
2005,
and
when
the
scheme
began,
the
number
of
registered
elderly
people
was
64
171.
Pensions
were
paid
out
through
135
post
offices
and
postal
agencies,
and
amongst
difficulties
which
arose
were
a
shortage
of
vehicles
to
deliver
the
money
to
some
post
offices;
shortages
of
staff;
long
queues
which
developed;
old
people
who
registered
at
one
payment
point
but
expected
to
be
paid
out
at
another;
delays
in
paying
out
back
pensions
to
people
who
had
not
been
able
to
collect
their
pensions
in
the
first
month;
failure
to
meet
the
needs
of
those
standing
in
queues
for
a
long
time,
even
to
the
extent
of
providing
seats
and
toilet
and
other
facilities;
the
problem
of
people
who
deliberately
registered
twice
for
pensions
under
different
names;
the
problem
of
people
who
were
already
receiving
army
pensions
(these
were
apparently
about
672
in
number)
but
also
registered
for
old
age
pensions;
the
problem
of
chiefs
who
certified
that
certain
people
were
still
alive
when
in
fact
they
were
dead;
and
chiefs
who
certified
that
people
had
reached
the
age
of
70
when
they
had
not.
The
minister
went
on
to
say
that
the
number
of
people
receiving
pensions
at
the
end
of
September
2006
had
risen
to
76
048,
and
3
933
people
had
been
removed
from
the
list
because
they
had
died
in
the
interim.
The
Pensions
Office
together
with
the
Department
of
Posts
had
travelled
round
the
districts
and
had
meetings
with
chiefs,
elected
representatives,
district
administrators
and
members
of
the
police
and
army
to
eliminate
anomalies
and
to
facilitate
the
working
of
the
pension
scheme.
Also
the
Pensions
Office
had
come
to
an
agreement
with
the
postal
authorities
about
improving
facilities
at
places
of
payment,
including
protection
from
the
weather,
provision
of
toilets,
and
expanding
the
number
of
places
of
payment
in
each
district.
There
were
10
597
people
entitled
to
pensions
who
had
not
been
paid.
Of
these
some
5
700
had
been
paid
before
the
end
of
March,
and
it
was
hoped
that
the
rest
would
be
paid
before
Christmas.
Although
the
number
of
payment
points
had
now
been
increased
to
209,
it
was
apparent
that
more
were
needed,
and
the
Ministry
would
investigate
the
possibility
of
expanding
the
numbers
with
school
managers,
churches
and
government
departments.
It
was
also
apparent
from
the
investigations
of
his
Department
that
there
were
people
who
had
deliberately
broken
the
law
by
changing
their
date
of
birth,
even
to
the
extent
of
obtaining
new
passports
showing
revised
dates
of
birth.
Members
of
Parliament
posed
a
number
of
questions
after
the
statement
including
whether
the
payment
of
pensions
could
not
be
undertaken
by
local
government
structures.
The
reply
was
that
to
improve
the
system,
local
government
members
at
the
lowest
structural
level
would
need
to
be
involved,
ones
which
were
in
close
proximity
to
where
old
people
lived,
and
that
such
structures
were
still
being
developed
after
the
recent
local
government
elections.
The
present
pension
is
M150
per
month
for
persons
70
or
over
only,
and
amongst
the
problems,
although
not
mentioned
by
the
Minister,
has
also
been
the
problem
of
armed
robbery
of
cash
while
it
is
being
delivered
to
the
places
of
payment
at
post
offices.
Armed
guards
have
had
to
be
deployed
to
protect
post
offices,
which
hitherto
did
not
normally
have
large
amounts
of
cash
on
the
premises.▲back
to top
On
the
night
of
Tuesday
24
October
2006,
three
armed
robbers
attacked
the
Mazenod
Mission14
km
south-east
of
Maseru.
The
incident,
with
different
details,
was
reported
in
Lesotho
Today
of
26
October
2006,
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
of
29
October
2006
and
in
the
Mosotho
supplement
to
Public
Eye
of
10
November
2006.
Apparently
the
robbers
first
entered
the
room
of
Brother
Mabilikoe
Mahao
demanding
money,
and
when
they
found
none
he
was
shot
dead.
They
then
entered
the
room
of
Brother
Mosoeu
Setsomi
through
the
window,
where
they
also
demanded
money,
but
were
dissatisfied
when
they
only
found
M50.
He
led
them
to
the
room
of
another
brother,
Brother
Thabiso
Sephamola,
which
he
managed
to
enter
and
the
two
brothers
then
barricaded
it
against
the
robbers.
However,
they
shot
through
the
door
and
managed
to
break
in
and
in
the
ensuing
affray
both
brothers
were
injured.
The
noise
finally
alerted
the
mission’s
security
guards
who
shot
dead
one
of
the
robbers
while
the
other
two
robbers
escaped.
The
dead
robber
is
Seabata
Motja
of
the
village
of
Ha
Takalimane,
about
3
km
from
the
mission.
His
accomplices
were
not
immediately
arrested.
The
two
injured
brothers
were
taken
to
hospitals
in
Maseru,
where
one
was
shortly
afterwards
discharged,
but
Brother
Sephamola
was
admitted
with
six
gunshot
wounds.
Police
investigations,
as
reported
in
the
Catholic
newspaper,
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
of
19
November
2006,
later
indicated
that
they
suspected
Lehlohonolo
Possa
of
Thota-Moli
near
Mazenod
to
have
been
one
of
the
attackers.
His
house
at
Upper
Thamae
in
Maseru
was
searched
and
the
murder
weapon
discovered
in
the
possession
of
his
brother
who
was
taken
into
custody
for
having
an
unlicensed
weapon
and
bullets.
They
also
learned
that
Lehlohonolo
had
been
wounded
in
the
left
hand
and
head
but
had
nevertheless
escaped
and
was
believed
to
have
crossed
into
South
Africa.
However
in
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
of
3
December
2006,
it
was
reported
that
the
police
had
found
the
body
of
Lehlohonolo
Possa
on
24
November
in
a
donga
near
the
abattoir
beyond
Khubetsoana,
north-east
of
Maseru.
He
had
a
bullet
wound
in
his
stomach
and
had
apparently
been
killed
by
an
unknown
assailant.
The
newspaper
quoted
from
the
Bible:
‘Those
who
kill
with
the
sword
shall
die
by
the
sword’.▲back
to top
Human
rights
and
environmental
issues
report
is
an
undated
publication
which
was
released
to
the
press
late
in
July
2006.
It
is
produced
by
the
Lesotho
Council
of
Non-Governmental
Organizations
(LCN)
in
conjunction
with
the
Lesotho
Clothing
and
Allied
Workers
Union.
It
is
the
result
of
factory
inspections
and
interviews
with
20
workers
in
each
of
six
textile
factories
located
in
either
Maseru
or
Maputsoe.
It
estimates
that
the
total
number
of
textile
workers
is
about
45
000,
and
the
vast
majority
of
these
are
women.
The
report
refers
to
the
legal
rights
of
workers
under
the
Constitution
and
under
legislation
such
as
the
Labour
Code
Order
1992.
Of
those
interviewed,
22%
stated
they
had
observed
unfair
discrimination
in
factories,
citing
cases
where
Basotho
workers
were
subjected
to
disciplinary
procedures
and
dismissed,
whereas
this
did
not
happen
to
Chinese
workers.
On
the
matter
of
strikes,
even
though
40%
of
employees
were
members
of
trade
unions,
in
practice
there
were
no
strikes,
employees
no
doubt
fearing
that
they
might
be
dismissed
en
masse
if
they
took
strike
action.
On
the
matter
of
sick
leave,
it
is
noted
under
the
Labour
Code
that
employees
are
only
entitled
to
paid
sick
leave
after
six
months
of
employment,
and
that
paid
sick
leave
is
limited
to
twelve
days
in
the
second
six
months.
It
was
found
that
in
quite
a
number
of
cases
these
rules
were
not
being
adhered
to,
and
deductions
from
salaries
were
being
made
even
when
medical
certificates
were
being
supplied.
On
safety,
63%
of
workers
reported
that
some
safety
precautions
were
being
taken
by
employers.
However,
it
was
observed
that
even
when
protective
masks
were
supplied,
many
workers
were
not
using
them
and
they
were
hanging
loose
round
their
necks.
On
maternity
leave,
it
seems
that
employers
are
observing
the
requirements
of
the
Labour
Code,
namely
allowing
12
weeks
unpaid
maternity
leave,
and
in
fact
they
had
improved
on
this
by
allowing
women
to
be
paid
for
the
first
two
weeks
of
maternity
leave.
On
hours
of
work,
the
survey
found
that
almost
all
workers
were
exceeding
the
maximum
45
hours
of
work
during
the
week.
Moreover,
many
reported
that
they
did
not
get
the
full
1
hour
break
they
were
entitled
to
during
the
working
day.
It
was
found
that
some
workers
were
working
as
many
as
10
to
11
hours
per
day.
There
was
a
general
finding
that
workers
were
not
aware
of
their
rights.
On
wages,
a
parallel
survey,
As
you
sew,
by
the
Federation
of
Women
Lawyers
is
quoted,
showing
that
on
average,
workers
in
the
textile
industry
earn
only
M713.80
per
month.
Many
women
complement
their
low
wages
by
acting
as
sex
workers.
Although
details
specific
to
textile
workers
are
not
available,
it
is
estimated
that
about
a
third
of
the
work
force,
15
000
women,
are
infected
with
HIV/AIDS.
Although
the
report
includes
‘environmental
issues’
in
its
title,
it
does
in
fact
have
very
little
to
say
about
these.
It
refers
briefly
to
research
at
the
Lerotholi
Polytechnic
on
the
‘Blue
River’,
a
stream
of
effluent
at
the
Thetsane
Industrial
Estate
which
is
well
known
to
travellers
along
the
Maseru
by-pass
road
which
crosses
this
stream.
The
Blue
River
is
said
to
contain
carcinogenic
heavy
metals
and
to
be
dangerous
to
human
and
animal
health.
The
report
includes
a
photograph
of
a
pig
drinking
water
at
the
Blue
River.
The
report
contains
a
number
of
recommendations,
some
of
them
obvious
but
some
of
them
costly.
Some
are,
however,
clearly
impractical
on
a
large
scale,
such
as
decentralising
the
industry
to
the
highlands
of
Lesotho.
This
is
seen
as
helping
to
unite
families
and
to
prevent
the
spread
of
HIV/AIDS.
It
is
also
recommended
that
textile
workers
be
trained
so
that
they
can
continue
with
their
work
and
not
be
left
destitute
when
factories
are
closed.
Public
Eye
in
its
issue
of
28
July
2006
had
profiled
the
report
under
the
headline
‘Inhuman
and
Unbearable!’
In
its
issue
of
11
August
2006,
it
interviewed
the
Secretary
of
the
Lesotho
Textile
Exporters
Association
(LTEA),
Thabo
Mohaleroe,
and
the
Association’s
Chairperson,
Jennifer
Chen.
However,
both
said
that
although
they
had
seen
the
Public
Eye
report,
they
had
not
seen
the
report
itself.
They
disagreed
with
the
findings
reported
in
Public
Eye
,
and
disputed
the
information
given
about
working
hours,
because
overtime
was
permitted
under
the
law.
On
the
minimum
wage
it
was
noted
that
this
stands
at
M686
per
month,
but
some
employers
paid
more.
The
textile
sector
was
competing
against
countries
such
as
Vietnam,
Bangladesh
and
Cambodia,
where
wages
were
only
about
US$40
(M272)
per
month.
It
was
also
having
to
take
account
of
and
to
conform
to
codes
of
conduct
prescribed
by
some
of
its
main
US
purchasers
such
as
Wal-Mart,
Levi’s
and
Gap.
Lesotho’s
Labour
Department
had
upgraded
its
factory
inspection
unit,
and
LTEA
was
also
developing
its
own
code
of
conduct
in
association
with
the
Lesotho
National
Development
Corporation.
The
LTEA
representatives
noted
that
the
largest
union,
the
Factory
Workers
Union
(FAWU)
had
distanced
itself
from
the
report.
▲back
to top
A
Basotho
National
Party
proportional
representation
Member
of
Parliament,
Joseph
Seabata
Thabisi,
on
25
October
2006
moved
in
the
National
Assembly:
That
time
is
now
opportune
for
this
Honourable
House
to
consider
amending
Section
41(2)(a)
&
(b)
of
the
Constitution
to
provide
for
dual
citizenship
(Lesotho
and
the
Republic
of
South
Africa)
now
many
Basotho
already
hold
Lesotho
passports
and
RSA
identity
cards.
The
matter
was
subjected
to
considerable
debate
and
the
eventual
outcome
on
Friday
10
November
2006
was
a
resolution
as
follows:
That
time
is
now
opportune
for
this
Honourable
House
to
consider
amending
Section
41(2)(a)
&
(b)
of
the
Constitution
to
provide
for
dual
citizenship
‘and
that
the
matter
be
subsequently
[?
consequently]
referred
to
a
relevant
Portfolio
Committee
for
in-depth
study
and
report
to
the
whole
House’.
South
Africa
allows
dual
citizenship,
but
it
is
forbidden
in
Lesotho.
However,
like
a
number
of
Lesotho
laws,
this
one
is
very
frequently
disregarded,
especially
by
the
large
numbers
of
Basotho
in
South
Africa
who
can
only
regularize
their
employment
status
by
obtaining
South
African
IDs,
and
thereby
effectively
acquiring
dual
citizenship.
It
appears
that
under
Section
85
of
the
Constitution
of
Lesotho,
Section
41
is
not
an
entrenched
Section,
and
could
be
amended
by
a
simple
majority
vote
in
the
National
Assembly
and
Senate.▲back
to top
On
Wednesday
25
October
2006,
the
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili,
travelled
to
the
National
University
at
Roma
(where
he
had
once
been
a
student
and
also
a
lecturer)
to
inaugurate
two
new
government-funded
buildings.
These
are
the
M15.5
million
extension
to
the
Thomas
Mofolo
Library
and
a
new
M14.4
million
student
residence
which
can
accommodate
some
300
students.
This
is
the
14th
student
residence,
although
two
of
the
earlier
student
residences,
Moshoeshoe
Hall
and
the
Old
Monastery
have
now
been
taken
over
as
office
accommodation.
The
oldest
of
the
residences
still
in
use
is
Guilbeault
Hall,
which
was
built
in
1959,
and
its
construction
was
followed
by
Khama
Hall,
Mswati
Hall,
Chancellor
Hall,
Machabeng
House,
Africa
Hall,
Murtala
Muhammed
Hall,
Canada
Hall,
Khotso
Hall,
Tšepo
Hall
and
Tšepo
Extension.
At
the
time
of
its
inauguration,
the
new
hall
had
yet
to
receive
an
official
name..
▲back
to top
Amongst
significant
improvements
for
pedestrians
in
peri-urban
Maseru
in
the
past
ten
years
has
been
the
construction
of
traffic
calming
bumps
and
chicanes
at
pedestrian
crossings,
while
at
the
busiest
spots,
pedestrian
overbridges
have
been
provided.
Seven
such
bridges
have
been
constructed
in
Maseru:
at
Orpen
Road
on
the
Inner
Relief
Road;
at
Cathedral
Circle
over
Moshoeshoe
Road;
next
to
St
James’
High
School
on
the
Main
South
Road;
on
the
road
to
the
Maseru
Bridge
Border
post,
and
at
three
points
on
the
Maseru
Bypass,
before,
at,
and
beyond
the
Thetsane
Industrial
Estate.
There
are
however
now
only
six
such
bridges.
On
Thursday
26
October
2006,
a
lorry
carrying
an
excavator
with
a
high
extension
arm
collided
with
the
bridge
on
the
bypass
near
Ha
Tsolo.
In
a
spectacular
accident
the
bridge,
which
was
not
high
enough
to
allow
the
load
on
the
lorry
to
pass,
collapsed
onto
the
lorry
cutting
into
half.
Amazingly
it
seems
no
one
was
injured,
but
the
debris
completely
blocked
the
bypass
for
several
days,
and
a
diversion
road
had
to
be
used.▲back
to top
The
Mail
&
Guardian
of
27
October
2006
reported
an
interview
with
Tom
Thabane,
the
leader
of
the
new
All
Basotho
Convention
(ABC)
Party.
The
interview,
in
South
Africa,
was
with
Fikile
Ntsikelelo
Moya.
Tom
Thabane,
born
in
1939,
has
served
every
government
since
independence,
namely
those
of
Leabua
Jonathan
(where
he
was
Permanent
Secretary
for
Health);
the
Military
Government
(from
which
he
eventually
fell
from
favour
and
spent
three
years
in
South
Africa
during
which
he
acquired
a
flat
in
Sandton);
and
eventually
the
Basutoland
Congress
Party
(where
he
was
brought
in
to
try
to
help
sort
out
major
conflicts
with
the
military
after
the
restoration
of
democracy).
He
helped
Ntsu
Mokhehle
survive
by
devising
the
newly
formed
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy
in
June
1997.
At
the
time
of
his
resignation
early
in
October
2006
he
had
been
Minister
of
Communications,
Science
and
Technology.
When
asked
what
was
wrong
with
the
present
government,
Tom
Thabane
said
that
the
health
system
had
completely
broken
down.
It
could
not
even
deal
with
a
car
accident.
Moreover
water
was
mismanaged.
It
was
being
sold
to
South
Africa
but
often
was
not
available
in
the
capital
Maseru.
When
it
was
available,
the
water
bills
were
so
high
that
for
many
unemployed
people,
water
was
unaffordable.
Moreover,
amongst
the
many
unemployed
were
many
university
graduates
with
skills
the
country
could
use,
but
they
were
crossing
over
to
work
in
South
Africa.
Tom
Thabane
was
asked
for
his
views
on
the
incorporation
of
Lesotho
into
South
Africa,
and
he
rejected
this
totally,
referring
to
his
belief
that
King
Moshoeshoe’s
kingdom
had
formerly
extended
as
far
as
the
Vaal
river
and
that
the
Treaty
of
Aliwal
North
had
given
away
the
whole
of
the
Orange
Free
State.
It
was
as
irrational
to
think
of
South
Africa
swallowing
Lesotho,
as
for
some
European
country
swallowing
Belgium
which
is
the
same
size
as
Lesotho,
or
swallowing
Switzerland
which
is
even
smaller
than
Lesotho.
[Tom
Thabane,
if
reported
correctly,
erred
in
some
of
his
historical
and
geographical
facts.
Although
Belgium
(30528
km2)
is
very
close
in
area
to
Lesotho
(30355
km2),
Switzerland
is
actually
considerably
larger
(41284
km2).]
As
the
campaign
hotted
up,
the
new
Acting
Minister
of
Communications,
Mpho
Malie,
annoyed
that
two
well-known
popular
musicians,
Lephatšoa
‘Selomo’
Lebajoa
and
Mokete
‘Mosotho’
Chakela,
had
appeared
at
ABC
rallies,
decided
that
their
music
could
no
longer
be
played
on
Radio
Lesotho
or
Lesotho
TV.
However,
this
did
not
stop
gospel
singer
Tšepo
‘Village
Pope’
Tšola
and
jazz
singer
Bhudaza
‘Buddha’
Mapefane
also
appearing
at
ABC
rallies.
At
the
end
of
the
year
they
had
not,
however,
been
banned▲back
to top
TLesotho
has
22
Principal
Chiefs
under
whom
other
area
chiefs
and
subchiefs
fall
in
a
well-established
hierarchy.
There
are
however
two
exceptions.
These
are
the
so-called
‘Independent
Chiefs’
of
Likoeneng
and
Thaba-Tšoeu
(both
in
Mohale’s
Hoek
District)
who
have
long
aspired
to
be
Principal
Chiefs,
but
in
practice
have
an
equivocal
status.
For
example,
they
do
not
have
the
right
to
be
ex
officio
Members
of
the
Senate,
although,
in
recent
years,
they
have
been
amongst
the
11
nominated
members
of
the
Senate.
These
two
Independent
Chiefs
are
both
descendants
of
King
Moshoeshoe’s
younger
brother,
Mohale,
and
while
his
senior
son,
Molomo,
founded
a
dynasty
of
Principal
Chiefs,
the
younger
sons,
Nkhahle
and
Potsane,
who
were
from
other
wives
of
Mohale,
had
to
be
content
with
lesser
status.
However
their
descendants
in
the
male
line
sought
over
several
generations
to
increase
their
status
by
marriages
to
daughters
of
the
senior
wives
of
the
Paramount
Chiefs.
Coming
to
the
present
time,
on
the
death
of
Nkhahle
Phakiso
Qajela
Lebona
Nkhahle,
great-great-grandson
of
the
founder
of
the
Thaba-Tšoeu
chieftainship,
his
widow
’Maqajela
took
over
as
Senator
and
Chieftainess.
After
she
died
in
1999,
Qajela
de
facto
succeeded
her,
and
was
also
a
nominated
member
of
Senate.
However,
he
had
never
been
formally
installed
in
front
of
his
people.
This
was
rectified
on
Friday
27
October
2006
when
a
formal
installation
by
King
Letsie
III
took
place
in
the
presence
of
other
Principal
Chiefs
and
government
ministers.
Chief
Qajela
Lebona,
as
he
is
known,
is
Chief
of
Thaba-Tšoeu,
Ntjepeleng,
Ketane
&
Ketanyane,
comprising
a
relatively
small
area
of
the
Lowlands
and
Foothills,
together
with
a
very
remote
detached
area
in
the
Maloti.back
to top
The
newly
formed
All
Basotho
Convention
(ABC)
Party,
as
reported
by
Mopheme
of
1
November
2006,
held
its
first
major
public
rally
in
Maseru
on
29
October
2006.
Party
colours
were
much
in
evidence
and
consisted
of
gold,
orange
and
green,
the
gold
and
orange
also
appearing
as
a
sun
with
its
rays,
the
new
party
emblem.
The
party
cry
is
La
chaba
letsatsi!
‘the
sun
is
rising’
(or
usually
simply
La
chaba!),
and
the
party
gesture,
reinforced
by
the
ideophone
toala,
is
an
opening
hand
at
arm’s
length
in
which
the
palm
signifies
the
sun,
and
the
fingers
represent
the
rays
of
the
sun.
The
Sesotho
name
of
the
party
is
Kobo-tata
ea
Basotho,
‘the
blanket
covering
the
Basotho’.
Speaking
at
the
rally,
the
party
leader,
Tom
Thabane,
recalled
that
he
had
been
Foreign
Minister
from
1998
to
2002,
and
afterwards
Minister
of
Home
Affairs,
in
which
position
he
found
the
elimination
of
crime
his
biggest
challenge.
However
‘crime
continues
to
soar
and
the
government
is
still
bumbling
along’.
He
listed
a
number
of
other
government
failures
‘because
of
lack
of
political
will’.
Also
invited
to
speak
at
the
rally
were
Moeketse
Vincent
Malebo
MP,
of
the
Marematlou
Freedom
Party,
speaking
on
behalf
of
a
number
of
opposition
parties;
and
Macaefa
Billy
MP,
speaking
on
behalf
of
trade
unions
and
textile
workers.
A
question
arose
about
the
Mercedes
Benz
vehicle
which
had
been
acquired
at
next
to
nothing
from
Imperial
Fleet
Services
as
a
result
of
a
scheme
by
which
cabinet
ministers
and
principal
secretaries
were
sold
relatively
new
vehicles
at
1%
of
their
original
price,
something
which
was
described
at
the
rally
as
a
‘crooked
government
scheme’.
Tom
Thabane
asked
the
crowd
to
decide
and
the
decision
was
that
it
should
be
returned
to
IFS.
Thabane
called
his
wife
up
onto
the
podium
and
they
both
washed
their
hands
there
in
public,
reportedly
like
Pontius
Pilate
(although
perhaps
that
was
not
a
good
analogy)
to
protest
their
innocence
of
the
scheme.
Thabane
then
said
‘I
want
this
car
out
of
my
home’
to
roars
of
deafening
approval
from
the
crowd.
There
was
a
sequel
to
this
on
the
following
Friday.
Accompanied
by
supporters
in
party
colours
and
the
press
(the
event
had
been
publicised
ahead
of
time)
the
Mercedes
Benz
E240,
registration
AB
036,
was
driven
to
the
Imperial
Fleet
Services
gate.
The
car
was
bedecked
in
ABC
party
colours,
with
a
bright
yellow
and
orange
sun
on
green
cloth
covering
the
bonnet.
However,
it
was
not
admitted,
and
a
letter
from
IFS
was
made
available
to
the
media
saying
that
the
car
had
been
sold
to
the
Government
Car
Ownership
Scheme
by
IFS
and
had
become
the
property
of
the
Lesotho
Government
after
which
Thabane
had
acquired
the
car
by
opting
to
pay
the
settlement
amount,
and
had
done
so
on
12
May
2006.
Thabane
was
therefore
the
owner
and
IFS
did
not
want
to
buy
it
back.
A
few
days
later
there
was
an
attempt
to
return
the
Mercedes
Benz
to
the
Government,
and
it
was
driven
to
the
Qhobosheaneng
Office
complex.
It
was
refused
by
the
Government
Secretary,
Tlohang
Sekhamane,
and
after
it
had
been
abandoned
at
the
complex,
the
police
took
it
over,
drove
it
and
parked
it
outside
the
gate
at
Thabane’s
home.back
to top
Appalling
conditions
in
Lesotho’s
prisons
have
in
recent
years
been
revealed
by
reports
from
the
White
Commission
(tabled
before
Parliament
as
recently
as
24
February
2004)
and
more
recently
from
the
Ombudsman.
However,
there
are
signs
that
there
has
recently
been
an
improvement,
if
speeches
made
on
the
Fifth
Annual
Prisons
Day
in
late
October
are
any
indication.
As
reported
by
Hape
Nthongoa
in
Mopheme
of
1
November
2006,
a
prisoner’s
representative,
Mtimkulu
Thobela,
was
invited
to
speak
and
he
said
that
there
had
been
improvement
after
the
change
in
name
from
the
Lesotho
Prisons
Service
to
the
Lesotho
Correctional
Service.
‘We
are
now
eating
a
balance
diet,
taught
on
HIV/AIDS,
able
to
go
for
voluntary
counselling
and
testing
(VCT),
and
have
healthy
talks
about
prevention
and
care
for
people
living
with
HIV,
and
voting
rights.’
However,
Thobela
added
that
despite
the
improvements
there
were
many
other
needs
including
refurbished
prison
buildings,
flush
sanitation,
warm
water,
proper
beds
and
warm
blankets.
There
was
also
need
for
training
in
skills
such
as
auto
mechanics,
welding,
and
chicken,
cattle
and
rabbit
rearing.
Also
needed
were
recreational
facilities
for
prisoners
and
competitions
between
prisons
at
district
level.
Prisoners
would
also
appreciate
having
radio
and
television
sets
and
Bibles.
A
number
of
awards
were
presented
at
Prisons
Day.
The
Butha-Buthe
Correctional
Institution
received
an
award
for
four
years
without
an
escape,
and
also
an
award
in
the
arts
category.
Maseru
Central
Institution
received
an
award
for
soccer,
and
one
of
its
inmates,
Teboho
Khoaeane,
also
received
a
cash
prize
from
the
Morija
Arts
and
Cultural
Festival
for
being
the
best
morabaraba
player.▲back
to top
A
motion
proposed
in
Senate
by
the
Principal
Chief
of
Mokhotlong,
Chief
Mathealira
Seeiso,
occupied
considerable
debating
time
in
early
November.
It
drew
attention
to
the
state
of
the
Oxbow
to
Mokhotlong
road,
which
had
deteriorated
badly
as
a
result
of
the
formation
of
potholes
and
needed
urgent
rehabilitation.
Work
began
on
the
Mokhotlong
road
in
1993
and
it
was
completed
in
1998,
but
whether
through
inexperience
or
poor
design
(or
both),
the
tarred
road
as
completed
by
the
contractor
did
not
stand
up
to
the
harsh
weather
conditions
across
the
summit
plateau
(the
road
rises
to
3270
m).
As
a
result,
the
road
soon
afterwards
developed
potholes
throughout,
and
as
the
debaters
agreed,
potholes
in
a
tarred
road
are
much
more
serious
and
damaging
to
vehicles
than
potholes
in
a
gravel
road.
It
was
noted
that
because
the
road
was
essential
for
access,
the
Letšeng
Diamond
Mine
had
been
for
the
past
18
months
filling
potholes
with
waste
from
its
spoil
heaps
and
that
it
was
incurring
in
this
way
a
cost
of
M60
000
per
month.
However,
these
were
temporary
repairs
and
no
substitute
for
proper
rehabilitation.
At
the
end
of
the
debate
on
Thursday
9
November
2006,
Senate
unanimously
agreed
that:
With
the
ever-worsening
condition
of
the
Oxbow
-
Mokhotlong
road,
the
Honourable
Senate
urges
the
Government
of
Lesotho
to
consider:
(a)
the
urgent
need
for
the
rehabilitation
of
this
portion
of
the
Butha-Buthe
-
Mokhotlong
road
as
an
emergency
deserving
to
be
addressed
during
the
current
Parliament,
as
waiting
beyond
now
will
only
perpetuate
the
inconvenience
of
the
general
public,
business
community
and
the
Letšeng
Diamond
Mine
who
depend
on
this
road
for
delivery
of
services;
b)
placing
maintenance
crew
camps
strategically
along
the
road
to
service
this
road
regularly
and
in
time
to
check
its
deterioration.
Senate’s
prayer
was
answered
possibly
sooner
than
it
could
have
reasonably
expected.
As
reported
in
Mopheme
of
22
November
2006,
the
Minister
of
Finance
and
Development
Planning,
Timothy
Thahane
had
just
signed
a
M171.6
million
agreement
with
the
Lesotho
World
Bank
country
director,
Ritva
Reinikka,
acting
on
behalf
of
the
International
Development
Association,
one
of
the
four
institutions
which
make
up
the
World
Bank.
Of
this
money
M89.7
million
is
an
outright
grant
and
M81.7
million
is
a
credit
on
favourable
terms.
One
portion
will
be
used
on
the
Oxbow
to
Mokhotlong
road
which
had
deteriorated
rapidly
‘due
to
frost
susceptible
material
in
the
base
course’.
Another
portion
would
go
towards
the
multi-donor
funded
road
from
Roma
to
Qacha’s
Nek
via
Semonkong
and
Sekake,
reducing
the
distance
to
Qacha’s
Nek
by
140
km.
In
relation
to
this
road
the
money
would
be
used
for
the
two
most
expensive
elements,
the
bridges
across
the
Senqunyane
and
Senqu
rivers.
A
third
project
was
to
upgrade
the
road
from
Mantšonyane
to
Lesobeng
in
Thaba-Tseka
District.
Finally,
there
was
the
project
to
build
an
8
km
feeder
road
from
Lintša
to
Likotopong.
The
exact
location
of
this
last
road
was
not
stated,
but
Likotopong
is
on
the
east
bank
of
the
Makhaleng
and
presumably
the
feeder
road
completes
a
road
route
from
Ha
Khanyetsi
to
link
with
the
Semonkong
road
near
Ramabanta.▲back
to top
At
a
meeting
held
at
Maseru
Club
on
Monday
6
November,
the
leaders
of
three
‘congress’
parties
signed
a
Memorandum
of
Understanding
and
agreed
to
work
as
an
Alliance
of
Congress
Parties.
The
parties
involved
in
the
Alliance
are
the
Basutoland
African
Congress
led
by
Dr
Deborah
Khauhelo
Raditapole;
the
Lesotho
People’s
Congress
led
by
Advocate
Kelebone
Maope;
and
the
Basutoland
Congress
Party
whose
former
leader,
Ntsukunyane
Mphanya,
had
convened
the
meeting.
The
Alliance
still
does
not
have
a
constitution
but
an
Interim
Governing
Council
was
appointed.
Moreover,
the
Alliance
would
stand
for
elections
under
one
symbol,
a
picture
of
the
late
Dr
Ntsu
Mokhehle,
holding
knobkerrie
in
one
hand
and
raising
a
thumb
(the
old
BCP
salute)
on
the
other.
It
transpired
after
the
meeting
that
Mphanya
was
not
representing
the
BCP,
but
himself,
or
as
he
himself
said,
a
rather
nebulous
organization
called
Mahatammoho
a
Poelano
le
Kopano
(Congress
for
Reconciliation
and
Union).
A
letter
was
sent
to
the
Director
of
Elections
by
M.
Noko,
Secretary-General
of
the
BCP,
indicating
that
the
BCP
was
not
part
of
the
Alliance
and
objecting
to
its
party
symbol,
a
knobkerrie,
being
used
by
the
Alliance
as
part
of
its
proposed
symbol.
▲back
to top
A
religious
studies
teacher
at
St
Mary’s
High
School,
Roma,
Mookho
Mpoko,
died
late
in
October
2006.
She
lived
at
Mafikeng,
not
far
from
her
place
of
work,
and
died
after
complaining
of
headache
and
stomach
pains.
Mookho’s
relatives,
even
before
she
was
buried,
began
to
believe
that
her
death
was
not
natural.
This
was
reinforced
by
the
discovery
of
an
anonymous
SMS
on
her
mobile
phone
which
contained
a
grossly
insulting
message.
This
was
reported
to
the
police
who
were
able
to
trace
the
message
as
coming
from
one
’Mamolula
Mosotho
also
known
as
’Mamolula
Khoete.
When
they
telephoned
her
number,
she
replied,
but
said
she
was
in
Mokhotlong.
However,
when
they
went
to
her
house
at
Thoteng,
Roma,
they
found
that
she
was
there.
It
was
common
knowledge
in
the
village
that
both
Mookho
and
’Mamolula
had
a
relationship
with
the
same
married
man
in
Roma,
as
a
result
of
which
they
were
bitter
rivals.
The
family
of
Mookho
immediately
attributed
her
death
to
witchcraft,
organised
by
a
third
woman,
a
traditional
doctor
living
in
Mafikeng
named
’Mantsoaki
Thoola.
Matters
came
to
a
head
when
crowds
of
villagers
threatened
to
take
matters
into
their
own
hands,
the
police
not
having
made
any
arrest.
So
the
keeping
of
the
peace
and
the
meting
out
of
justice
reverted
to
traditional
authorities
and
traditional
methods
rather
than
the
police
and
the
judicial
system.
The
traditional
authority
in
this
case
was
Chieftainess
’Mamohale
Seeiso,
the
daughter-in-law
of
the
late
Chief
Maama
Mafefoane
Maama.
Her
area
of
jurisdiction
covered
the
residences
of
the
three
ladies,
one
now
deceased,
involved
in
the
dispute.
A
pitso
(village
meeting)
was
called
at
Ha
Mafefoane
on
18
November
2006
and
the
two
surviving
ladies,
’Mamolula
and
’Mantsoaki,
were
required
to
be
present.
However,
according
to
a
report
in
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
of
26
November
2006,
the
daughter
of
the
traditional
healer,
’Mantsoaki,
went
to
Chieftainess
’Mamohale
to
report
that
her
mother
could
not
be
present
because
she
had
gone
to
South
Africa.
She
also
said
that
she
knew
that
’Mamolula
had
visited
her
mother
to
seek
help
to
win
the
disputed
man.
A
large
and
noisy
crowd
escorted
’Mamolula
to
the
pitso,
so
that
she
could
not
fail
to
be
there.
At
the
pitso,
after
discussion,
it
was
decided
that
both
women
should
be
required
to
leave
Roma
within
24
hours.
After
the
pitso,
it
was
necessary
for
’Mamolula
to
be
escorted
back
to
her
house
by
the
police
because
of
threats
from
people
that
she
should
be
treated
more
severely.
As
has
been
seen,
’Mantsoaki
had
already
left
Roma,
but
’Mamolula
decided
to
appeal
to
the
Principal
Chief
of
Ha
Maama,
Chieftainess
Mabela
Seeiso
Maama.
This
resulted
in
her
summoning
everyone
concerned
as
well
as
local
residents
to
a
major
pitso
to
be
held
at
her
official
seat
at
Boinyatso
(St
Michael’s)
on
Thursday
23
November
2006.
A
large
number
of
people
assembled
at
Boinyatso,
and
’Mamolula
was
present,
accompanied
by
her
relatives.
However,
Chieftainess
Mabela
was
not
there
when
the
crowd
assembled,
and
it
was
believed
by
many
that
there
was
likely
to
be
some
difficulty
because
’Mamolula
and
Chieftainess
Mabela
were
related
to
each
other.
’Mamolula
from
the
beginning
was
under
threat
from
the
hostile
crowd,
no
doubt
frustrated
because
of
the
lack
of
activity.
Together
with
her
relatives
she
took
refuge
in
the
Principal
Chief’s
office,
but
the
crowd
broke
in
and
assaulted
her
with
sticks
and
stones
at
the
same
time
causing
damage
to
the
office
and
its
equipment.
Her
relatives
meanwhile
were
urgently
summoning
the
police
by
mobile
phone,
police
whom
one
might
have
thought
should
have
in
any
case
been
at
the
gathering
to
keep
the
peace.
The
police
did
arrive
in
time
to
save
’Mamolula’s
life,
and
she
was
then
taken
under
police
escort
to
Queen
Elizabeth
II
Hospital
in
Maseru.
(The
nearest
hospital,
St
Joseph’s
at
Roma,
was
regarded
as
insufficiently
secure,
given
its
proximity
to
the
homes
of
the
angry
crowd.)
’Mamolula
was
stated
to
have
been
admitted
to
hospital
severely
injured,
but
likely
to
survive.
Meanwhile,
another
group
of
villagers
had
gone
to
’Mamolula’s
house
at
Thoteng
the
same
morning
as
the
pitso
at
Boinyatso.
They
attempted
to
destroy
her
house
by
fire.
Considerable
damage
was
done
to
one
room
before
the
university
fire
engine
arrived
and
extinguished
the
fire.▲back
to top
A
book
much
used
by
lawyers
in
Lesotho,
but
long
out-of-print,
was
reprinted
by
the
Morija
Museum
&
Archives
in
November
2006.
It
is
Patrick
Duncan’s
Sotho
laws
and
customs
and
represents
a
distillation
of
customary
law
as
determined
by
decisions
in
the
Judicial
Commissioner’s
Court.
It
was
in
this
Court
that
Patrick
Duncan
himself
sat
as
Judicial
Commissioner,
assisted
by
two
Assessors
chosen
for
their
knowledge
of
customary
law.
The
book,
first
published
by
Oxford
University
Press
in
1960,
also
includes
a
reprint
of
the
English
version
of
the
Laws
of
Lerotholi,
a
codification
of
customary
law
first
passed
by
the
Basutoland
National
Council
in
1903,
and
subsequently
amended
several
times.
The
book
includes
a
foreword
by
Justice
W.
C.
M.
Maqutu,
referring
to
the
author’s
preface
in
which
Patrick
Duncan
said
of
the
book:
‘It
is
the
first
thing
of
its
kind
in
Basutoland;
I
regard
it
as
the
first
brick
on
which
others
will
build’.
Maqutu
then
refers
to
those
who
have
laid
other
bricks
through
later
legal
works,
the
list
including
himself.
It
is
a
pity
that
the
reprinting
of
the
book
was
not
used
as
an
opportunity
for
including
an
introduction
with
a
sketch
of
Patrick
Duncan’s
own
most
unusual
life.
The
book
by
C.
J.
Driver,
Patrick
Duncan,
South
African
and
Pan-African
(1980)
provides
much
detail
and
the
following
is
partly
based
on
this
book.
Patrick
Duncan
was
born
in
Johannesburg
in
1918,
and
educated
at
first
in
South
Africa,
then
at
Winchester
College
(an
English
public
school
renowned
for
its
academic
prowess),
and
finally
Balliol
College,
Oxford.
His
father,
born
in
Scotland,
had
also
been
educated
at
Balliol,
had
been
brought
to
South
Africa
by
Lord
Milner
in
1901,
and
became
both
a
lawyer
and
a
politician
who
eventually
rose
to
become,
as
Sir
Patrick
Duncan,
Governor
General
of
South
Africa
(1937-43).
Patrick
Duncan
junior
was
disabled
from
the
age
of
11
after
an
injury
from
a
cricket
ball,
and
he
walked
with
difficulty
for
the
rest
of
his
life.
His
association
with
Lesotho
began
in
1941,
when
he
joined
the
colonial
administration,
rising
to
the
post
of
Judicial
Commissioner
in
1950.
He
resigned
in
1952
to
enter
South
African
politics
and
in
1952
also
published
a
polemical
and
prophetic
pamphlet
about
South
Africa,
Three
centuries
of
wrong
(it
was
the
tercentenary
of
Van
Riebeeck’s
arrival),
in
which
he
wrote
that
‘change
is
inevitable,
totally
and
absolutely’.
He
also
asked
in
the
pamphlet:
‘How
can
mines
dug
by
underpaid
Basuto
shaftsinkers
belong
alone
to
the
Whites?’
During
the
period
1952-8,
the
Duncan
family
was
based
at
Riverside
Farm,
across
the
Mohokare
from
Maseru,
and
Patrick
Duncan
acted
at
different
times
as
Registrar
of
the
Anglican
Diocese
of
Basutoland
(creating
a
stir
by
supporting
equal
stipends
for
black
and
white
clergy
in
1952);
as
adviser
to
Ntsu
Mokhehle
and
Leabua
Jonathan;
and
also
as
adviser
to
Denis
Cowen
(his
sister’s
husband,
who
became
special
constitutional
adviser
to
the
Basotho
after
a
general
public
rejection
of
the
reactionary
Moore
Report
of
1954).
The
first
issue
of
the
political
newssheet
Mohlabani
was
also
printed
at
Riverside
in
1954.
Also
at
Riverside,
Patrick
Duncan
ran
a
successful
farm
and
dairy
and
also
managed
an
Africana
bookshop.
During
the
period
1958-62,
Patrick
Duncan
was
editing
the
Liberal
Party
newspaper
Contact
in
Cape
Town.
He
also
printed
Mohlabani
on
the
same
press
after
the
colonial
administration
tried
to
suppress
it.
The
period
was
marked
by
increasing
unrest
and
repression
in
South
Africa,
and
during
this
period
Patrick
Duncan’s
belief
in
non-violence
as
the
appropriate
weapon
against
apartheid
changed.
Banned
in
South
Africa,
he
moved
to
Lesotho,
joined
the
Pan-African
Congress,
and
purchased
trading
stores
at
Kubung
and
Mohlakoana’s
in
Quthing
District,
apparently
as
part
of
a
scheme
to
set
up
PAC
training
bases
in
a
remote
part
of
Lesotho
inaccessible
by
road.
On
4
June
1963,
while
in
London,
he
was
declared
a
prohibited
immigrant,
and
was
unable
to
return
to
Lesotho.
Duncan
then
acted
as
PAC
representative
in
Algiers
1964-5,
and
died
in
1967
while
working
on
a
book
(published
posthumously
in
1975
as
Man
and
the
Earth),
in
which
he
propounded
an
ethical
system
called
‘Geism’,
‘a
new
morality
based
on
the
totality
of
the
planet’.
This
work
was
the
culmination
of
ideas
first
expressed
in
print
in
1943
in
a
Morija-printed
pamphlet
about
soil
erosion,
The
Enemy,
which
Duncan
wrote
as
‘Melanchthon’,
an
appropriate
if
scholarly
pseudonym,
because
in
Greek
it
means
‘black
earth’,
but
it
is
also
a
translation
into
Greek
of
his
Scots
name
‘Duncan’.
As
an
environmentalist,
he
was
an
original
thinker
living
a
generation
before
such
views
began
to
be
widely
propounded
by
others.
▲back
to top
TFor
the
second
time
in
Lesotho’s
post-Independence
history,
a
National
Education
Dialogue
was
held
on
8
-10
November
2006.
The
venue
was
the
’Manthabiseng
Convention
Centre
in
Maseru,
and
there
were
invited
speakers
and
participants
not
only
from
stakeholders
in
Lesotho
but
also
from
Botswana,
Ireland,
the
African
Development
Bank
and
the
World
Bank.
Major
themes
were
access,
relevance
and
quality
within
the
educational
system
at
all
levels
including
pre-school
(‘early
childhood
care
and
development’).
During
the
opening
ceremony,
the
Deputy
Prime
Minister,
Mr
Lesao
Lehohla
(himself
a
former
teacher),
referred
to
Lesotho
having
one
of
the
highest
proportional
allocations
to
education
in
the
world,
12%
of
the
Gross
National
Product
and
25%
of
the
national
recurrent
budget.
The
Minister
of
Education
and
Training,
Mr
Mohlabi
Tsekoa,
referred
to
the
UNESCO
vision
of
Education
for
All,
with
all
children
receiving
basic
primary
education
by
2020.
However,
in
the
Maloti,
there
were
still
herdboys
who
did
not
go
to
school,
while
in
the
Lowlands
girls,
rather
than
complete
primary
education,
leave
to
work
in
factories
or
as
domestic
workers.
A
number
of
recommendations
emerged,
some
of
the
more
significant
of
which
were
the
localization
of
the
Cambridge
Overseas
School
Certificate,
and
the
need
to
revise
the
admissions
policy
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
so
that
English
ceases
to
be
a
barrier
for
potential
science
students.
It
may
be
of
interest
to
recall
what
happened
at
and
following
the
previous
National
Education
Dialogue.
It
was
prompted
by
a
UNICEF
initiative,
and
was
undertaken
in
1977-8,
with
recommendations
being
formulated
after
a
series
of
lipitso
countrywide.
These
public
meetings,
announced
on
the
radio
and
by
a
press
release,
were
eventually
held
at
49
locations
covering
all
of
Lesotho’s
districts
in
the
period
October
1977
to
March
1978.
They
were
followed
by
a
National
Seminar
in
May
1978,
although
the
initiative
lost
some
momentum
because
the
report
covering
both
the
National
Dialogue
and
Seminar
was
not
published
until
considerably
later.
The
consolidated
recommendations
deriving
from
this
process
were
later
refined
into
Educational
policy
guidelines
(1981),
which
provided
a
framework
for
the
activities
of
a
14-person
Educational
Task
Force
to
lay
down
broad
objectives
and
strategies
for
the
educational
system
in
Lesotho
to
the
year
2000.
The
Task
Force
contained
representatives
of
the
churches,
the
Ministry
of
Education
and
the
University
and
was
supported
by
outside
expertise
provided
by
UNESCO
which
provided
documentation
in
the
form
of
an
extensive
survey
of
technical,
vocational
and
technician
training;
and
also
some
insights
into
defects
in
the
examinations
system.
As
a
description
of
the
problems
and
challenges
facing
the
educational
system
in
1982,
the
Task
Force
Report
became
an
important
document.
Its
recommendations
were
adopted
by
the
Lesotho
Government
in
1983
as
a
policy
guideline
and
the
United
States
supported
Basic
and
Non-Formal
Educational
Systems
(BANFES)
Project
in
part
derived
its
terms
of
reference
from
the
report.
A
particularly
useful
spin-off
from
the
Task
Force
Report
was
a
volume
of
annexes,
which
contained
some
detailed
descriptions
of
the
organisation
and
financing
of
the
educational
system
at
the
time.
These
threw
some
light
on
a
period
otherwise
not
easily
documented
because
the
Ministry
of
Education
failed,
as
so
often
has
been
the
case,
to
produce
regular
annual
reports.
The
sequence
of
annual
reports
which
had
continued
unbroken
from
1929
to
1975
(although
latterly
sometimes
with
two
or
three
years
combined)
ceased
with
the
report
for
the
two
years
1974
&
1975,
and
did
not
resume
again
until
1986,
but
subsequently
lapsed.
The
Task
Force
Report
ought
to
have
been
a
blueprint
for
educational
reform,
but
despite
the
increasing
number
of
professional
staff
in
the
Ministry
of
Education,
the
pace
of
implementation
was
slow.
The
change
of
government
in
January
1986
brought
in
a
new
Minister
of
Education
(M.
M.
Tiheli,
who
had
been
a
member
of
the
Task
Force)
and
a
new
Principal
Secretary
(M.
K.
Tsekoa,
who
had
been
Director
of
the
Lesotho
Distance
Teaching
Centre
and
is
now
the
Minister
of
Education
&
Training).
They
commissioned
seven
separate
task
forces
to
look
into
progress
in
subsectors
of
the
educational
system
and
report
to
a
seminar
at
which
a
diverse
group
of
educators
and
leaders
from
outside
the
Ministry
would
be
represented.
The
seminar
was
held
in
September
1987
and
the
report
noted
amongst
its
general
concerns
that
‘There
is
an
apparent
lack
of
will,
determination
or
desire
to
implement
recommendations
and
decisions
to
enforce
policies,
regulations
and
standards’.
Whilst
there
had
been
progress
in
some
areas,
in
secondary
education
it
was
said
that
despite
recommendations
of
the
Task
Force
being
reasonable,
appropriate,
pertinent
and
timely,
there
was
no
discernible
change
and
‘the
situation
has
actually
deteriorated
in
some
respects’.
This
was
no
doubt
a
reference
in
part
to
the
uncontrolled
growth
in
secondary
school
numbers,
which
rose
from
63
schools
in
1978
to
133
in
1984.
That
the
Ministry
had
exercised
no
control
in
this
area
was
in
part
due
to
there
having
been
only
one
secondary
education
inspector.
However,
there
has
been
very
little
subsequent
control
and
the
number
of
secondary
schools
is
now
around
twice
the
1984
figure.
The
1987
seminar
came
up
with
its
own
recommendations,
but
with
earlier
recommendations
unimplemented,
few
people
(as
the
seminar
evaluation
indicated)
were
confident
that
they
were
any
more
likely
to
be
implemented
than
earlier
ones.
In
effect,
after
ten
years
not
very
much
had
been
achieved
following
the
earlier
National
Education
Dialogue,
but
it
had
the
disadvantage
of
being
held
in
a
period
when
democracy
in
Lesotho
had
been
suspended.
We
now
have
democratic
institutions,
and
it
will
be
interesting
to
see
to
what
extent
the
new
National
Education
Dialogue
is
implemented.
The
first
stage,
however,
will
be
for
the
proceedings
to
be
published,
and
a
strategy
devised.
▲back
to top
The
death
was
reported
in
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
of
12
November
2006
of
Clement
Setlae
(‘C.
S.’)
Maboloka,
a
veteran
journalist
and
editor.
He
died
at
the
age
of
86
on
7
October
after
a
lengthy
illness
and
his
son
Joseph
Maboloka
aged
54
died
one
day
later.
They
were
buried
together
at
Villa
Maria,
Quthing
on
21
October
2006.
Born
in
a
village
near
Semonkong,
‘C.
S.’
trained
as
a
teacher,
but
from
1966
to
1986
worked
in
the
government
of
Chief
Leabua
Jonathan
both
in
the
Department
of
Information
and
Communications
and
the
Department
of
the
Interior,
where
his
work
included
translating
laws
into
Sesotho.
He
later
worked
as
a
journalist
for
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
and
many
articles
in
the
late
1980s
and
later
were
signed
by
him.
With
the
restoration
of
democracy
and
the
creation
of
the
BNP
party
newspaper,
Mohlanka,
he
became
its
editor,
working
from
an
office
in
the
mansion
of
the
party
leader,
E.
R.
Sekhonyana
(today
a
B
&
B
known
as
Mpilo
Lodge).
He
was
an
inveterate
smoker
and
ruled
the
office
so
that
he
treated
with
disdain
the
No
Smoking
notice
placed
on
the
wall
by
his
unfortunate
secretary,
who
actually
computer
typeset
the
pages
of
the
newspaper.
C.
S.’
had
10
children
(7
surviving),
together
with
16
grandchildren
and
6
great-grandchildren.▲back
to top
Millennium
Challenge
Corporation
(MCC)
is
a
United
States
initiative
designed
to
reward
countries
which
score
well
on
a
series
of
indicators
including
civil
liberties,
political
rights,
accountability,
government
effectiveness,
control
of
corruption
and
control
of
inflation.
Lesotho
scored
well,
and
indeed
was
one
of
the
best
performing
nations
in
Africa.
As
a
result,
as
reported
at
a
press
conference
by
the
Minister
of
Finance
and
Development
Planning
on
16
November
2006,
if
all
goes
well,
after
acceptance
of
a
revised
proposal
to
the
MCC,
Lesotho
hopes
to
sign
an
agreement
in
mid-2007
after
which
some
M2
billion
may
be
released.
The
Minister
said
that
the
money
would
be
used
on
health
sector
improvement,
urban
and
rural
water
supply
through
the
Metolong
Dam
project,
and
private
sector
development.
All
of
these
have
potential
to
stimulate
sustainable
development
and
to
reduce
poverty,
which
are
amongst
the
major
goals
of
the
MCC.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Moafrika
of
17
November
2006,
64
unclaimed
corpses
were
buried
in
Maseru
on
16
November
2006.
Burial
was
at
the
graveyard
for
unclaimed
corpses
near
to
the
old
police
stables.
A
service
was
held
at
the
grave
side
by
Rev.
Mavis
Mochochoko
of
the
Ministry
of
Insured
Salvation.
Most
of
the
corpses
had
been
collected
by
the
police
at
different
locations.
It
was
noted
that
despite
the
proliferation
of
mortuaries,
they
are
reluctant
to
accept
corpses
unless
an
amount
is
paid
equal
to
the
minimum
charge
for
a
coffin,
which
normally
costs
at
least
M800.
Few
of
the
families
of
those
who
had
died
had
the
resources
to
pay
for
a
funeral.▲back
to top
A
new
quarterly
periodical,
Ka
Paramenteng
(‘In
Parliament’)
appeared
early
in
November
2006.
Although
it
has
a
Sesotho
title,
it
is
in
English
but
it
is
said
that
subsequent
copies
will
be
in
both
Sesotho
and
English.
Ka
Paramenteng,
a
12-page
A4
colour
production,
is
published
by
the
Lesotho
Parliament
and
edited
by
Rabele
Mokiti.
In
a
foreword,
the
Speaker,
Hon.
Ntlhoi
Motsamai
emphasizes
that
there
is
a
need
for
elected
people
to
account
for
their
actions
and
for
people
to
be
supplied
with
information
that
empowers
them
to
make
informed
choices.
Reference
is
made
to
current
parliamentary
reforms
with
the
purpose
of
taking
Parliament
back
to
the
people.
The
first
issue
includes
a
history
of
Parliament
from
early
draft
plans
in
1889-90
to
the
first
meeting
of
the
Basutoland
National
Council
in
July
1903,
and
the
subsequent
evolution
(but
also
disruption
by
non-democratic
interventions)
to
the
present
Sixth
Parliament
since
Independence.
There
is
also
information
about
the
five
newly
established
portfolio
committees
(although
this
article
breaks
off
tantalizingly
incomplete
in
mid-paragraph).
The
decorum
expected
by
visitors
to
Parliament
is
also
outlined:
men
are
expected
to
wear
jackets,
and,
although
not
stated,
it
is
known
that
women
must
also
not
wear
trousers.
Parliament
now
has
its
own
website,
www.parliament.ls.▲back
to top
At
the
end
of
the
17
November
sitting
of
the
National
Assembly,
the
13th
Meeting
of
the
First
Session
of
the
Sixth
Parliament
was
adjourned
sine
die.
There
had
been
only
one
Session
in
the
Sixth
Parliament
since
the
official
opening
of
parliament
on
Friday
12
July
2002,
so,
with
no
prorogation
in
the
interim
(which
would
have
led
to
a
Second
Session),
there
had
not
been
a
Speech
from
the
Throne
since
12
July
2002.
It
is
in
this
speech
that
the
King
traditionally
outlines
the
policy
of
the
government.
It
turned
out
also
to
be
the
last
sitting
of
the
Sixth
Parliament,
in
which
the
ruling
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy
(LCD)
party
now
had
only
a
precarious
majority
in
the
National
Assembly.
On
Friday
24
November,
on
the
advice
of
the
Prime
Minister
and
in
terms
of
Section
83
of
the
Constitution,
Parliament
was
dissolved
by
the
King.
This
required
a
General
Election
to
be
held.
The
election
timetable
was
published
by
K.
Ralitsie,
Director
of
Elections,
as
Legal
Notice
No.
209
of
2006
(Lesotho
Government
Gazette
Extraordinary
no.
59
of
2006
(1
December
2006)).
The
information
was
also
communicated
by
sending
out
SMSs
to
those
with
mobile
phones.
The
period
1
December
to
8
December
was
set
aside
for
registration
of
electors
and
in
particular
17
year
olds
who
will
be
18
by
the
time
of
the
election.
Political
parties
who
had
not
done
so
must
register
before
8
December
2006.
The
provisional
list
of
electors
would
be
available
from
25
December
(it
seems
the
office
is
working
overtime
over
Christmas),
and
the
final
list
on
16
January
2007.
Party
lists
for
proportional
representation
have
to
be
submitted
in
the
period
18-19
January
2007,
and
the
nomination
day
for
candidates
in
constituency
elections
is
Friday
19
January
2007.
Tuesday
13
February
day
is
the
polling
day
for
advance
electors
(those
such
as
election
officials
whose
duties
prevent
them
voting
on
polling
day)
and
Polling
Day
is
Saturday
17
February
2007.
Election
results
will
be
published
over
the
period
Monday
19
February
to
Monday
26
February
2007.▲back
to top
The
meteorite
fall
on
the
afternoon
of
21
July
2002
was
accompanied
by
a
loud
noise
heard
over
much
of
western
Lesotho,
and
more
dramatically
for
those
in
the
strewn
field
by
over
a
thousand
recorded
stones
which
fell
from
the
sky
in
the
space
of
a
few
seconds.
Those
who
attempted
to
pick
up
the
larger
ones
found
that
they
were
still
hot.
The
event
attracted
considerable
interest
internationally
and
resulted
in
a
number
of
scientific
and
popular
articles.
Stones
had
fallen
over
nine
villages
and
the
escarpments,
fields
and
waste
land
between.
The
sale
of
the
stones
to
meteorite
dealers
who
arrived
from
Tucson,
Arizona
(the
centre
of
the
world
meteorite
trade)
not
only
brought
in
local
income
but
provided
a
surplus
used
for
a
number
of
projects,
including
a
new
building
at
the
Boqate
Lesotho
Evangelical
Church
Primary
School.
The
pupils
at
that
school
had
collected
many
of
the
smaller
stones.
The
meteorite
fall
was
in
daylight
and
in
winter,
when,
as
a
result
of
the
lack
of
rain,
the
ground
was
so
hard
that
most
of
the
stones
were
subsequently
found
on
the
surface.
The
map
made
of
the
strewn
field
reproduced
here
was
thought
at
the
time
to
encompass
the
places
where
the
stones
fell.
They
apparently
fell
within
an
ellipse
some
7.8
km
from
east
to
west
and
1.9
km
north
to
south.
It
could
be
worked
out
from
the
eccentricity
of
the
ellipse
that
the
meteorite
came
in
at
a
low
angle
travelling
east
to
west.
This
was
reinforced
by
the
distribution
of
the
sizes
of
the
stones,
which
were
found
to
increase
in
size
from
east
to
west,
the
largest,
some
of
mass
more
than
a
kilogram,
being
in
Zone
A
on
top
of
the
Thuathe
Plateau.
This
was
thought
to
be
the
end
of
the
story
until
Sunday
19
November
2006.
On
that
day,
Tšeliso
Mofoka
of
the
village
Baruting
was
a
tractor
driver
ploughing
fields
on
the
Thuathe
Plateau.
The
soil
there
is
rich
without
rocks
or
stones.
However,
the
ploughshare
to
his
surprise
twice
appeared
to
hit
a
rock,
and
the
second
time
he
noticed
the
rock
on
the
surface
as
he
returned
to
plough
furrows
in
the
opposite
direction.
He
stopped
his
tractor
beside
the
rock,
and
when
he
examined
the
blades
of
the
plough,
found
one
of
them
was
bent
and
moreover
that
the
force
of
the
impact
had
broken
one
of
the
connecting
pins.
He
took
the
rock
home
as
evidence
of
what
had
happened.
(The
site
where
the
meteorite
was
found
is
shown
on
the
map.)
Others
in
his
family
knew
something
about
meteorites
because
they
had
collected
them
after
the
2002
fall,
and
the
rock
he
had
found
did
indeed
turn
out
to
be
a
meteorite.
It
weighed
in
at
5864
g,
nearly
6
kg,
and
turned
out
to
be
by
far
the
largest
meteoritic
stone
to
be
recovered
from
the
fall.
It
now
seems
that
what
must
have
happened
was
that
while
most
stones
were
recovered
lying
on
the
ground,
the
very
largest
stones
beyond
the
western
end
of
the
mapped
strewn
field
became
embedded
at
some
depth
in
the
soil,
and
were
not
noticed
at
the
time,
very
likely
because
the
disturbances
in
the
soil
where
they
were
completely
buried
were
hidden
amongst
the
stubble
from
the
previous
year’s
maize
crop.
From
what
Tšeliso
Mofoka
says,
his
plough
hit
at
least
one
other
stone,
presumably
also
a
large
one,
but
that
one
is
still
in
the
field,
and
currently
has
maize
growing
on
top
of
it.
The
strewn
field
is
now
documented
to
extend
some
700
metres
farther
west
than
previously
thought.
The
event
has
changed
Tšeliso’s
way
of
life.
Although
a
skilled
tractor
driver,
he
had
never
been
to
school,
but
with
a
lump
sum
arriving
equal
to
20
months’
wages,
he
is
learning
to
operate
a
Post
Bank
account
...
and
then
of
course
when
he
ploughs
the
field
next
year
and
hits
the
other
stone
again,
he
might
be
even
better
off.▲back
to top
As
reported
in
the
National
University
of
Lesotho’s
periodical,
Information
Flash
of
24
November
2006,
biodiversity
has
become
a
buzzword
and
indeed
the
importance
of
its
preservation
has
attracted
funds
from
bodies
such
as
the
Global
Environment
Facility,
which
is
a
collective
partnership
of
the
United
Nations
Development
Programme,
the
United
Nations
Environment
Programme
and
the
World
Bank.
GEF
funded
work
led
to
the
book
Biological
diversity
in
Lesotho,
published
by
the
National
Environment
Secretariat
in
2000.
This
was
a
book
to
which
several
National
University
of
Lesotho
staff
contributed
as
authors
and/or
editors.
A
particular
problem
encountered
was
to
establish
quantitatively
the
number
of
plant
and
animal
species
in
Lesotho.
The
findings
in
relation
to
vertebrates
appear
in
the
following
table:
Since
2000,
considerable
work
has
been
undertaken
to
refine
the
original
assessment
of
Lesotho’s
biodiversity,
and
five
updated
volumes
on
vertebrates
have
been
published
as
House
9
Publications
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho.
These
are:
Amphibians
(3rd
ed.,
November
2004),
iv
+
44pp.;
Birds
(2nd
ed.,
March
2005),
iv
+
242pp.;
Mammals
(2nd
ed.,
May
2006),
iv
+
90pp.;
Fish
(2nd
ed.,
June
2006),
iv
+
74pp.;
and
Reptiles
(3rd
ed.,
August
2006),
iv
+
52pp.
As
a
result
of
this
the
previous
table
has
been
updated
as
follows:
The
various
categories
Abundant,
Common
etc
are
defined
in
the
publications,
and
some
of
the
changes
between
2000
and
2006
are
because
of
new
assessments
of
the
numbers
of
individuals
of
particular
species.
For
example,
Abundant
in
the
case
of
Birds
means
a
population
of
over
100
000.
At
the
other
end
of
the
scale,
Historical
means
that
there
are
authenticated
past
records,
but
all
records
of
the
particular
species
are
from
before
1950.
In
the
case
of
mammals,
the
historical
species
include
lion,
cheetah,
aardwolf
and
many
different
antelopes.
Four
historical
species
have
been
added
because
of
new
archaeological
records.
In
the
case
of
Birds,
the
historical
species
include
the
Ostrich
and
several
species
of
Vultures,
Crakes
and
Coursers.
On
the
other
hand,
partly
because
of
the
increase
in
wooded
areas
and
water
bodies
in
Lesotho,
birds
have
shown
the
largest
number
of
new
species,
and
certain
species
such
as
the
Fork-tailed
Drongo
and
Lesser
Flamingo,
previously
regarded
as
only
historical,
have
reappeared.
The
increase
in
reptile
species
results
from
the
two
new
species
of
snakes
recorded
by
Johann
van
As
in
the
Mohale
catchment
as
part
of
the
NUL-CONSULS
contract
for
biological
resource
monitoring.
Van
As
collected
5:R
of
blood
from
his
lizards
and
snakes,
and
his
report
(surely
a
work
of
supererogation)
describes
various
reptile
diseases
including
lizard
malaria.
Amphibians
have
not
undergone
change
in
status,
and
the
two
additional
fish
are
species
of
carp
which
are
introduced
species
but
are
now
known
to
be
well-established
in
certain
water
bodies.▲back
to top
Lesotho’s
vertebrate
total
has
now
risen
from
515
to
516!
On
21
November
2006,
a
local
ornithologist,
David
Maphisa,
was
driving
between
Maseru
and
Teyateyaneng,
when
to
his
astonishment
a
bird
flew
over
the
road
near
Ha
Souru
which
he
recognized
as
a
Southern
Ground-Hornbill.
He
brought
his
vehicle
to
an
abrupt
halt
despite
the
heavy
traffic,
and
was
able
to
photograph
clearly
a
pair
of
the
birds,
a
first
record
for
Lesotho.
Until
recently
known
simply
as
the
Ground
Hornbill,
the
Southern
Ground-Hornbill
has
been
renamed
to
avoid
confusion
with
the
Northern
Ground-Hornbill,
formerly
known
as
the
Abyssinian
Ground
Hornbill.
The
SGH
is
a
spectacular
bird,
the
size
of
a
turkey
and
weighing
as
much
as
a
Black
Eagle.
The
drawing
reproduced
here
is
by
S.
MacLarty
and
is
from
The
atlas
of
southern
African
birds
(1997).
Overall
the
SGH
appears
black
except
for
a
red
face
and
throat
patch,
but
when
it
flies,
the
hidden
underwing
primary
coverts
are
seen
to
be
white.
SGHs
can
apparently
live
for
30
to
40
years.
How
did
the
birds
come
to
be
in
Lesotho?
Their
normal
range
is
from
the
east
of
the
Eastern
Cape
through
KwaZulu-Natal
where
they
are
nowhere
particularly
common
to
eventually
the
Kruger
Park
where
they
are
a
common
and
familiar
sight,
being
tall
enough
(although
the
practice
is
discouraged)
to
accept
titbits
from
car
windows.
In
the
Free
State,
there
are
a
few
scattered
records
from
near
Harrismith
from
past
years,
but
not
from
elsewhere
until
a
few
months
ago,
when
a
pair
was
reported
on
farmland
close
to
the
Lesotho
border
near
Ladybrand.
It
seems
to
be
this
pair
which
has
now
crossed
into
Lesotho.▲back
to top
Missing
persons
are
often
reported
to
the
police
for
them
to
help
to
find
them,
but
in
the
police
newspaper,
Leseli
ka
Sepolesa
of
24
November
2006,
the
situation
is
reversed.
The
newspaper
carries
the
pictures
of
four
policemen
who
have
disappeared
in
the
period
September
to
November
2006,
and
asks
members
of
the
public
to
report
to
the
nearest
police
station
if
they
see
any
of
the
missing
policemen.▲back
to top
Late
at
night
of
Friday
24
November,
gunmen
opened
fire
on
a
taxi
which
had
stopped
so
that
passengers
could
disembark
at
the
house
at
Hillsview,
Maseru,
of
the
Minister
of
Trade
and
Industry,
Mpho
Malie.
The
taxi
driver
was
severely
injured
and
one
of
his
passengers
was
killed.
She
was
Samuella
Jacobina
(‘Ellen’)
Verweij,
aged
36,
a
Dutch
national
working
for
the
Clinton
Foundation
HIV/AIDS
Support
Project.
She
had
been
staying
at
a
guesthouse
in
the
grounds
of
the
Minister’s
house.
There
were
no
immediate
arrests
and
the
motive
for
the
killing
was
not
clear.
There
was
speculation
that
the
attack
might
have
been
aimed
at
Malie
himself,
because
the
taxi
happened
to
have
similar
colouring
to
his
personal
car.
Malie
was
in
fact
away
from
Maseru
that
night.
A
reward
of
M200
000
has
been
offered
by
the
government
for
information
leading
to
the
arrest
and
sentencing
of
those
responsible
for
the
murder.▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Lentsoe
la
Basotho
of
7
December
2006,
on
Wednesday
30
November,
at
a
ceremony
at
the
Bambatha
Tšita
Stadium,
93
persons
who
were
already
long-term
residents
of
Lesotho
were
formally
accepted
as
Lesotho
citizens.
Speaking
at
the
ceremony,
the
Deputy
Prime
Minister,
Mr
Lesao
Lehohla,
who
is
also
the
Minister
of
Home
Affairs
and
Public
Security,
welcomed
the
new
citizens.
As
new
Basotho,
they
were
joining
a
nation
with
a
culture
of
tolerance
and
peace.
The
new
citizens
were
expected
to
observe
tradition,
partake
in
national
events,
learn
about
the
history
and
development
of
Lesotho,
and
above
all
to
learn
the
language.
The
new
citizens
include
men,
women
and
children,
and
their
countries
of
origin
are
mainly
in
Asia
or
other
parts
of
Africa.▲back
to top
.The
new
Vice-Chancellor
of
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
assumed
office
on
Monday
4
December
2006.
He
is
Professor
Adelani
(Ade)
F.
Ogunrinade,
by
profession
a
veterinary
parasitologist,
whose
most
recent
appointment
was
five
years
spent
as
Associate
Vice-President
in
the
University
of
Technology
in
Jamaica.
Prior
to
that
he
was
a
Deputy
Vice-Chancellor
at
the
University
of
the
Witwatersrand
and
before
that
Dean
of
the
Postgraduate
School
at
the
University
of
Ibadan
in
his
home
country,
Nigeria.
Earlier
in
his
career,
he
undertook
postdoctoral
studies
at
the
School
of
Public
Health,
Harvard
University.
Professor
Ogunrinade
is
the
seventh
substantive
Vice-Chancellor
of
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
and
the
first
scientist
to
head
the
institution.
Indeed,
tertiary
education
has
not
been
headed
by
a
scientist
at
Roma
since
the
days
of
Father
F.
Banim,
the
biologist
who
was
the
last
Rector
of
Pius
XII
College
in
the
years
1962-3.
With
the
assumption
of
office
of
the
new
Vice-Chancellor,
the
Acting
Vice-Chancellor,
Professor
Mafa
Sejanamane,
who
had
been
a
candidate
for
the
Vice-Chancellorship,
tendered
his
resignation
not
only
from
the
Pro-Vice-Chancellorship
to
which
he
would
normally
have
reverted,
but
also
from
the
University
as
a
whole.
The
Council
announced
that
it
had
appointed
Professor
E.
Molapi
Sebatane
to
be
the
new
Acting
Pro-Vice-Chancellor
with
effect
from
1
January
2007.
Professor
Sebatane
of
the
Institute
of
Education
has
been
a
staff
member
of
the
University
for
some
30
years,
and
will
provide
the
valuable
institutional
knowledge
necessary,
given
that
it
is
‘all
change
at
the
top’back
to top
The
trial
is
proceeding
in
the
High
Court
of
Reatile
Mochebelele,
Lesotho’s
senior
representative
on
the
Highlands
Water
Commission
(formerly
known
as
the
Joint
Project
Technical
Commission).
Mochebelele
is
being
charged
with
receiving
bribes
along
with
Letlafuoa
Molapo
who
has
been
a
Lesotho
representative
on
the
Commission
since
1986.
Lahmeyer
International,
Germany’s
largest
engineering
company,
was
originally
also
accused
of
bribery
(and
was
fined
M10
million),
but
it
is
now
giving
evidence
for
the
prosecution.
As
reported
in
Business
Report
of
10
December
2006,
evidence
which
has
recently
emerged
at
the
trial
is
that
the
British
firm
Mott
Macdonald
is
also
allegedly
implicated
in
bribery.
A
forensic
audit
submitted
on
behalf
of
the
prosecution
had
indicated
that
Mott
Macdonald
paid
the
two
accused
£283
000
(M3.96
million)
through
Lahmeyer.▲back
to top
In
the
Lesotho
High
Court
on
Thursday
7
December
2006,
as
reported
by
Mopheme
of
13
December
2006,
Justice
’Maseshophe
Hlajoane
sentenced
three
men,
Thabiso
Mothobi,
Bokang
Molongoane
and
Kutoane
Kori
to
death
after
finding
them
to
have
murdered
Mr
Peter
Mokheseng,
Regional
Manager
of
the
Precious
Garments
factory
in
Maseru.
Three
accomplices
who
were
found
guilty
of
murder
with
extenuating
circumstances
were
sentenced
to
periods
of
imprisonment
of
20,
15
and
10
years.
Three
accomplices
who
had
turned
state
witnesses
escaped
prosecution.
Nokoli
Hloloane,
who
received
the
10
year
sentence,
was
found
guilty
as
an
accessory
after
the
fact
because
she
took
the
accused
persons
to
a
traditional
healer
at
Maputsoe,
with
the
purpose
of
seeking
help
to
conceal
the
crime.
Lesaoana
Molomo
who
received
the
15
year
sentence
was
said
to
have
been
always
in
the
company
of
the
accused
and
his
mobile
phone
was
used
to
pass
messages
immediately
after
the
murder.
Mosoaboli
Molai,
who
received
a
20
year
sentence,
was
the
owner
of
the
car
used
in
the
murder,
and
knew
about
what
had
happened
even
though
he
did
not
take
part
in
the
attack.
Although
the
evidence
given
in
mitigation
was
that
the
men
had
families,
some
with
minor
children,
and
they
had
already
spent
two
years
in
gaol
‘under
terrible
conditions’,
the
judge
was
seemingly
not
impressed.
She
stated
that
the
accused
did
not
show
any
remorse,
and
had
been
disrespectful
to
the
court
during
the
hearing
by
keeping
on
smiling
and
laughing
while
they
were
in
the
dock.
Mokheseng
died
from
a
fusillade
of
bullets
after
his
car
was
ambushed
in
the
Maseru
suburb
of
Qoaling
on
26
March
2004.
Two
of
those
who
have
been
sentenced
to
death,
Kutoane
Kori
and
Thabiso
Mothobi,
are
former
policemen,
and
their
pictures
were
displayed
on
the
front
page
of
the
newspaper,
Leseli
ka
Sepolesa
of
8
December
2006.▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Moeletsi
oa
Basotho
of
10
December
2006,
the
split
in
the
Basotho
National
Party
has
now
been
formalized.
A
new
party,
the
Basotho
Democratic
National
Party
(BDNP)
(in
Sesotho
Mokha
oa
Manashenale
a
Puso
ea
Sechaba
ka
Sechaba)
was
announced
on
30
November
2006,
led
by
Thabang
Nyeoe.
Its
election
symbol
will
be
a
portrait
of
former
Prime
Minister
Leabua
Jonathan.
As
is
well
known,
there
has
also
been
fissiparity
in
the
Congress
parties.
The
BCP
has
its
dissident
group
led
by
Ntsukunyane
Mphanya
who
calls
his
party
Mahatammoho
a
Poelano
le
Kopano
(Congress
for
Reconciliation
and
Union).
The
Basutoland
African
Congress
has
also
split
into
factions
led
by
Khauhelo
Raditapole
and
Molapo
Qhobela.
The
latter
is
now
called
the
Basutoland
African
National
Congress
(BANC),
but
it
seems
that
it
failed
to
register
as
a
new
party
in
time
to
fight
the
forthcoming
General
Election.▲back
to top
A
horrific
accident
occurred
on
the
South
African
side
of
the
Maseru
Bridge
at
about
8
p.m.
on
Sunday
10
December
2006.
The
brakes
failed
on
a
lorry
descending
the
steep
hill
from
the
Ladybrand
side
and
the
lorry
careered
through
the
entry
side
of
the
border
post
killing
three
people
instantly,
while
a
fourth
died
later
in
hospital.
Six
people
were
injured,
some
of
them
critically.
The
lorry
driver
was
amongst
those
critically
injured.
The
lorry,
which
was
carrying
fruit,
hit
parts
of
the
border
post
and
several
cars
before
finally
crashing
through
the
fence
onto
the
pedestrian
entry
pathway.
Two
of
those
who
died
were
women
hawkers
from
Zimbabwe,
who
were
on
their
way
back
home
through
South
Africa.
By
pure
chance
the
accident
took
place
on
a
Sunday
evening,
a
very
quiet
time
at
the
border
post.
If
it
had
occurred
on
a
weekday
morning
the
number
of
casualties
might
have
been
very
much
larger.
It
is
not
the
first
accident
of
its
kind.
For
example,
on
Friday
24
July
1998
a
minibus
taxi
carrying
Lesotho
miners
from
Kloof
Mine
went
out
of
control
on
the
same
slope
approaching
the
border
post.
It
hit
another
taxi
and
women
vendors
who
were
selling
fruit
by
the
roadside.
Five
people
were
killed,
most
of
them
passengers
in
the
minibus
taxi.
More
than
20
people
were
injured.
Given
the
steep
hill
on
the
South
African
side
of
the
border,
and
the
large
numbers
of
people
who,
at
least
during
the
daytime,
are
queuing
to
have
their
documents
processed
or
six
months
concession
passes
issued,
the
border
post
at
the
bottom
of
the
hill
is
becoming
a
very
dangerous
place.
The
danger
has
obviously
increased
as
large
numbers
of
heavy
lorries
now
pass
through,
although
many
such
lorries
are
also
parked
for
long
periods
on
the
hill
itself
facing
downhill
(another
dangerous
practice,
should
their
brakes
fail).
It
would
seem
that,
in
the
interests
of
safety,
escape
lanes
should
be
provided
and
clearly
marked
on
the
steep
hill,
so
that
vehicles
out
of
control
have
an
option
other
than
crashing
into
the
border
post.
There
is
space
for
such
escape
lanes
and
they
could
be
relatively
easily
constructed
leading
off
on
the
left
hand
side
of
the
road
with
deep
sand
barriers
or
rises
onto
waste
ground
which
would
slow
any
out
of
control
vehicle
harmlessly.▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Lesotho
Today
of
14
December
2006,
a
new
UNICEF
Representative
has
been
appointed
to
Lesotho.
She
is
Ms
Aichatou
Diawara-Flambert,
a
native
of
Mali,
and
she
replaces
the
former
representative,
Mr
Bertrand
Desmoulins
whose
term
of
office
has
expired.
There
is
also
a
new
World
Food
Programme
representative
in
Lesotho.
He
is
Mr
Bhim
Udas
who
assumed
office
on
31
October
2006,
taking
over
from
Mr
Techeste
Zergaber.▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Mopheme
of
20
December
2006,
a
new
film
called
Untitled
had
its
premiere
at
the
Kingsway
Cinema
on
Friday
15
December
2006.
It
is
apparently
the
story
of
a
young
man
trapped
in
a
world
of
poverty,
unemployment
and
corruption,
but
whose
life
is
temporarily
given
new
meaning
by
a
girl
who
engages
him
on
the
deeper
meaning
of
life
and
death.
The
filmmaker,
Kaizer
Matsumunyane,
had
his
story
chosen
from
16
different
scripts
which
were
submitted
to
a
SADC
short
story
competition,
and
he
was
given
€12
000
to
develop
and
shoot
the
story.
It
is
apparently
the
first
such
film
ever
to
have
been
wholly
produced
in
Lesotho.▲back
to top
Libya
calls
its
diplomatic
mission
in
Maseru
the
‘People’s
Bureau
of
the
Great
Socialist
People’s
Libyan
Jamahiriya’.
The
head
of
the
mission
is
styled
Secretary
of
the
Libyan
People’s
Bureau,
and
he
is
accompanied
in
Maseru
by
his
wife,
while
there
are
five
other
Libyan
staff
at
the
People’s
Bureau
including
a
Deputy
Secretary
and
Consular
Attachés.
However,
recently
all
has
not
been
well
with
the
Secretary
of
the
People’s
Bureau
to
the
extent
that
he
was
ordered
to
leave
the
country
within
72
hours,
at
the
expiry
of
which
he
was
taken
via
Maseru
Bridge
border
post
to
Bloemfontein
to
begin
the
flight
back
to
Tripoli.
A
press
release
dated
Friday
15
December
2006
stated
that
‘Due
to
persistent
abuse
of
diplomatic
privilege
and
flagrant
violation
of
municipal
and
international
law,
the
Government
of
Lesotho
no
longer
finds
Libya’s
Ambassador
to
the
Kingdom
of
Lesotho,
His
Excellency
Mr
Mohamed
Algamudi,
acceptable
as
a
person
holding
a
diplomatic
immunity
appointment
in
this
country.’
Public
Eye
of
22
December
2006
reported
an
interview
on
the
matter
with
the
Acting
Foreign
Minister,
Ms
Lebohang
Ntšinyi.
When
asked
whether
the
Ambassador
was
being
booted
out
because
he
was
supporting
the
ABC
Party,
she
said
she
was
hearing
this
for
the
first
time.
Instead
she
referred
to
Algamudi
ill-treating
local
staff
at
the
Libyan
Embassy.
Her
ministry
had
been
asked
to
intervene
on
several
occasions
when
Mr
Algamudi
had
had
problems
with
his
local
staff.
Algamudi’s
expulsion
would
not
affect
relations
between
Lesotho
and
Libya,
as
discussions
had
already
taken
place
on
the
matter
between
the
foreign
ministers
of
the
two
countries.
Lesotho
has
a
similarly
sized
mission
in
Libya,
with
an
Ambassador,
First
Secretary,
Third
Secretary
and
Administrative
Attaché
stationed
in
Tripoli,
together
with
the
wives
of
the
Ambassador
and
First
Secretary.
▲back
to top
The
Lesotho
inflation
rate
rose
steeply
in
May
2006
from
5.1%
to
6.7%
because
of
the
impact
of
oil
price
increases
and
particularly
the
impact
of
tariff
increases
implemented
in
the
new
financial
year.
In
the
past
these
had
lagged
behind
inflation,
but
were
now
necessary
in
large
steps
(for
example
18%
in
electricity
tariffs)
to
make
parastatals
profitable
ahead
of
proposed
privatization.
After
the
sharp
rise,
the
rate
stabilized
at
6.6%
a
month
later,
dropped
to
6.4%
in
July
but
was
up
to
6.8%
in
August
2006,
the
highest
rate
since
September
2003
when
it
stood
at
6.9%.
Enquiries
at
the
Bureau
of
Statistics
about
the
September,
October
and
November
2006
inflation
rates
(which
would
normally
be
published
by
the
end
of
December)
revealed
that
they
had
not
in
fact
yet
been
computed.
The
staff
who
normally
had
this
responsibility
were
out
on
fieldwork
relating
to
the
census,
and
would
not
be
able
to
prepare
the
figures
until
the
new
year.Quite
why
it
was
still
necessary
to
have
fieldwork
for
the
census
eight
months
after
it
had
been
officially
completed
was
not
clear.
Normally
a
preliminary
figure
for
Lesotho’s
population
might
have
been
expected
by
late
in
the
same
year
as
the
census,
but
it
was
still
not
available
at
the
end
of
December.
▲back
to top
Summary
of
Events
in
Lesotho
is
a
quarterly
publication
compiled
by
David
Ambrose
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho,
P.
O:
Roma
180,
Lesotho
▲back
to top
|
