Billy Ntaote A whistleblower as well as employees of Lesotho’s biggest diamond mine — Letšeng Diamond Mine — have raised questions about the way in which a catering, housekeeping and laundry services contract on the mine was awarded. While the losing bidder of this contract also lodged concerns, the mine’s owners have

MATIISETSO MOSALA Her promotion to the top job in Lesotho’s Smallholder Agriculture Development Project (SADP II) raised eyebrows and questions, especially after the job requirements were lowered to suit her qualification and experience. ‘Malichaba Nkhethoa started working at the SADP in 2014 as a deputy competitive grant officer, and has risen steadily

MATIISETSO MOSALA A government agricultural project, which attracts millions of US dollars in donor funding, has been turned into a personal get-rich-quick scheme by the public servant who heads it up, leaving the farmers who are supposed to benefit out of pocket and unable to grow their businesses. This public servant

…investment promotion agency shields Nien Hsing from water pollution exposé  This is the fourth part of a five-part investigation by MNN into how Lesotho’s textile factories operate with a disregard for labour laws and with apparent impunity as tests confirm that factories release toxic wastewater into water courses, including the Mohokare

This is the third part of a five-part investigation by MNN into how Lesotho’s textile factories operate with a disregard for labour laws and with apparent impunity as tests confirm that factories release toxic wastewater into water courses, including the Mohokare/Caledon River. PASCALINAH KABI This series is supported by the Pulitzer

The United States says it won’t offer Lesotho a USD 300 million compact unless overhauled labour, health and safety laws are implemented in textile factories This is the second part of a five-part investigation by MNN into how Lesotho’s textile factories operate with a disregard for labour laws and with apparent

This is the first of a five-part investigation into chemical pollution by textile factories in Lesotho. This is not just affecting Lesotho. The rivers into which chemicals are being released extend into other countries in southern Africa. SECHABA MOKHETHI This series was supported by Pulitzer Centre Lesotho’s water-quality authorities have rejected independent, scientific

PASCALINAH KABI Bertha Foundation Fellow Letšeng Diamonds, Lesotho’s most lucrative mine, has awarded contracts worth M6.7 billion to MGC Mining, a company that is ultimately owned by Prime Minister Sam Matekane. The value of the contracts was disclosed in a 16-page response by Letšeng to a number of reports by the MNN Centre

MNN Reporters Phase II of the Lesotho Water Highlands Project is well underway. It is billed as a project with significant financial benefit to Lesotho but it carries devastating social implications for women, including under-age girls, who are selling their bodies to contractors working on the project. Healthcare workers have noticed that

PASCALINAH KABI Bertha Foundation Fellow A confidential report that flags harmful levels of toxic mining effluent in Lesotho’s key rivers feeding the Lesotho Water Highlands Project (LWHP) has raised uncomfortable questions in the government and set the cat among the pigeons in cabinet, as ministries shift the blame and justify not doing