…government denounces foreign minister Makgothi’s mysterious foreign policy shift Matiisetso Mosala Lesotho government washed hands and negated what was announced by Moroccan media this week as ‘the new foreign policy shift’ to neutrality from the stance against illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco. The denounced shift is instigated by Foreign Affairs Minister Lesego Makgothi. Morocco’s press, on Tuesday
Author: LESCIJ LESCIJ
Lesotho groans under hefty data price rises
Data giants-VCL and ETL-also accused of ducking regulatory levies and government loan repayments TUMISANG SERAME Skyrocketing data prices continue to hit the pockets of poor Basotho consumers. Yet an investigation by the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism (the Centre ) has found that one of Lesotho’s mobile network companies has defaulted on regulatory fees, while the other
Lesotho youth hard hit by corruption
TUMISANG SERAME The kingdom of Lesotho is one of the countries in the world whose corruption perception seems to be escalating daily with youths among the loudest crying for an end to corruption and abuse of public office. According to the 2018 transparency international report, Lesotho is ranked 78 out of 180 countries on corruption. The country
Gendered impact of corruption
…as women are proportionally more vulnerable to corruption than men MATIISETSO MOSALA Corruption is referred to as a global phenomenon and serious impediment to development and economic growth. Although it affects all social classes in communities we live in, poor women and young girls are among the most affected. In order to understand corruption best in Lesotho,
Reflection on corruption in Lesotho
Billy Ntaote For many Basotho today, talking about sustainable development goals and why their country fails to attain these important milestones and realise prosperity is mostly blamed on a corrupt cabal influential over state power referred to as State House. State House, under normal circumstances, is an eminent house in any country, of course, second after
Government and corporates suck LEC dry
…allegedly owe nearly M200 million in bill arrears KEISO MOHLOBOLI and MANTSALI PHAKOANA The government owes the Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) more than M50 million in unpaid electricity bills while private companies and some embassies owe the struggling state-owned enterprise an additional M140 million, MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism can reveal. The size of debt
Parliamentarians in bloody scuffle over wool and mohair farmers
Billy Ntaote Lesotho’s wool and mohair farmers’ protracted fight to see a localisation policy imposed on their business reversed yesterday precipitated a bloody scuffle in the national assembly of Lesotho. Farmers demands to see the wool and mohair marketing regulations of 2018 imposed on their business by small business, cooperatives and marketing minister Chalane Phori were
Female condom low demand widens inequality gap
Matiisetso Mosala Cultural norms have dictated that women shy away from acts that expose their sexual desires. Women in Lesotho are frowned at if found carrying condoms on them. This exposes them to unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and further elevates their risk of contracting HIV. The female condom, known as femidom, was developed in the
Wool and Mohair farmers in limbo, despite victory
BILLY NTAOTE The Lesotho Parliament has agreed to scrap a controversial ban on the export of locally produced wool and mohair – but there is no end in sight to the woes of the country’s 40 000 mainly poor producers The decision by MPs followed a sustained campaign by farmers, their association and opposition parties, alleging
SA new laws expose Lesotho to trafficking
MATIISETSO MOSALA South Africa’s decision to scrap laws that required travelers to produce unabridged birth certificates and supporting documents for children travelling across its borders has left Basotho minors prone to human trafficking. From June 01, 2015, Department of Home Affairs in South Africa introduced immigration regulations that required all passengers under the
