KANANELO BOLOETSE MASERU – Basotho miners employed by one of the contracting companies at Letšeng mine in Mokhotlong - Minopex Lesotho – have accused their employer of unfair labour practices, alleging the company hired them on short-term contracts to avoid paying higher wages. A three-month investigation has found that the miners employed
Author: news@lescij.org
Lekhetho is Founding Editor and Journalist at MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism. He is 2016 First-Prize Investigative Journalism Award Winner – a first initiative by MISA – Lesotho and US Embassy – Maseru. Lekhetho holds aDiploma in Mass Communications from Institute of Extra Mural Studies (IEMS) (National University of Lesotho).
Lekhetho joined Public Eye in October 2009. In August 2014, he left Public Eye and joined Africa Media Holdings (Lesotho Times and Sunday Express) where he contributed investigative stories and general news. Lekhetho further holds SARW Certificate on Reporting the Extractive Industries having successfully completed an intensive seven-day media training in Lusaka, Zambia in October 2012. He also holds Investigative Journalism Certificate for attending the capacity building workshop for media professionalisation organised by the US Embassy and MISA Lesotho on November 2015
Local company cries for stake in bulk fuel tender
…as Lesotho prepares to secure its energy security KANANELO BOLOETSE MASERU – With government searching for a service provider for design, development and maintenance of highly specialised fuel storage facility, there is a growing consternation by a potential bidder that the tender is skewed in favour of foreign contractors to the
Youths want Polihali project stopped
KANANELO BOLOETSE MASERU – The Youth Leagues Forum of Lesotho has resuscitated its seemingly desperate effort to convince government to halt the long-awaited construction of Polihali Dam until a hydropower station for generation of electricity is built. Polihali Dam is partly Phase Two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) that was
A teenager’s story of hope in HIV, AIDS fight
Letšeng locks horns with villagers
SECHABA MOKHETHI MOKHOTLONG - Enraged communities surrounding the Letšeng diamond mine have listed a plethora of grievances they want the mine to address. The MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism learned recently about the villagers’ complaints that include cracked houses and toilets, blockaded river sources, polluted water, seized pastures and exotic animal diseases
Media a catalyst in Lesotho’s HIV/AIDS response
Mpho Thaathaa The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has solidified its partnership with the media in Lesotho in the fight against HIV and AIDS. A one-day media session organised by the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism at the American Corner, State Library in Maseru on Friday, saw relations between the
Kao saga takes new twist
A bloody war pitting two villages over the mine’s relocation plan looms THUSO MOSABALA A protracted dispute simmering between the Storm Mountain Diamonds’ (SMD) Kao mine and the surrounding community has taken a new twist; this time igniting rivalry between two villages and threatening bloodbath. The MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism
John reveals how he helped fund politicians in Lesotho – but denies claim of state capture
LEKHETHO NTSUKUNYANE Lesotho-based Chinese business tycoon Yan Xie has lifted the lid on his extensive generosity to Lesotho’s political elite, saying that he helped fund Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s lavish wedding last year and has donated money to “almost every party in the country”. In an exclusive interview in Johannesburg, Xie also
Polihali communities demand review of paltry compensation rates
Billy Ntaote and Lerato Matheka Communities within the Polihali Dam site are up in arms contesting compensation rates they argue to be too low, and demand market-value-based compensation for their land and assets. This is amid the rigorous process of public consultations which have resulted in the formulation of the Lesotho Highlands
Polihali Communities in tussle for lifetime compensation
…as LHDA offers once-off payment or once-off compensation paid in instalments for a period not exceeding 50 years Billy Ntaote and Lerato Matheka Residents in the catchment area of the massive multi-million Maloti Polihali water dam, whose construction is set to commence the Phase II of the giant Lesotho Highlands Water Project