Government was caught napping

Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro has become adept at rolling from crisis to crisis with one temporary extension after another. He learned these bad habits from his leader, former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane. There is a phrase for these terrible habits that everyone will agree with. When you “kick the can down the road,” you are not just solving the immediate problem, you actually guaranteeing the arrival of a new problem. You kick the can down the road, you will get to the can again. There is no question that Majoro is kicking the can down the road. The recent scandal between Frazer Solar and the government of Lesotho will shock many in a kingdom which has always been led by unscrupulous individuals who are determined to enrich themselves by any means necessary! When former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Temeki Tsolo, took this matter to the then Prime Minister Thabane, I am reliably informed that it had been rejected by the Ministry of Energy and the Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) but Cabinet rejected the advice of experts and somehow deceived themselves by resolving to go ahead with the idea: kicking the can down the road, avoiding one crisis while setting up another. When the agreement was signed in September 2018, Majoro was Minister of Finance. Majoro knew then that Minister Tsolo had no right to commit the government of Lesotho on the procurement of anything but he delayed therefore failing to “nip it in the bud” while it was still early: kicking the can down the road, avoiding one crisis while setting up another. Majoro then refused to have anything to do with the project. He was supposed to finalise the financing model of the project and the implications to the government of Lesotho. Frazer wrote to the then Minister of Finance and Majoro responded by telling Frazer that the matter was yet to be finalised by cabinet: kicking the can down the road, avoiding one crisis while setting up another. In March 2019, Frazer’s lawyers wrote a letter of demand to the then Prime Minister Thabane making the government aware of the breach of contract and giving the government of Lesotho 60 days to provide remedies but the Prime Minister failed to respond, therefore, kicking the can down the road, avoiding one crisis while setting up another. In July 2019, Frazer Solar made the government of Lesotho aware that the matter was going for arbitration. But the government of Lesotho that included Majoro decided to ignore the arbitration proceedings: kicking the can down the road, avoiding one crisis while setting up another. The arbitrator ordered the government of Lesotho to pay Frazer Solar damages of €50 million, in addition to pre-award interest of €754 273, and post-award interest of 1.7% per annum. When Basotho received the breaking news that Frazer Solar was awarded M1.6 billion in damages after our government breached the contract, Prime Minister Majoro’s government issued a statement which said: “The Government of Lesotho is aware of the circulating media articles purporting exposure to an arbitral award in favour Frazer Solar GmBH. Whilst the government is trying to understand this issue, it urges both the public and it’s international partners to remain calm pending investigations. The Government further wishes to reassure the public that as a sovereign state, its properties, locally and internationally, are safe and protected from seizure by anyone or organisations.” While we were shocked by the government’s response, we learned that Frazer Solar had approached the High Court in South Africa where it received an order that attached our Lesotho Highlands Development Water royalties. Our government failed to approach the courts of law. I suspect they are still investigating the matter. The government has been at pains to convince us that this was done by Hon Temeki alone. Instead of appealing the judgement or rather oppose this issue from when they first received court summons they deliberately did not oppose them so that they could get this country into debt. The government of Lesotho will be garnished M1.6 billion and Hon Temeki and his party will leave Lesotho with a huge debt. The PM of this land thinks he is dealing with kids, pleading ignorance will not work this time, they know what they have done and they should account! As I conclude please tell Prime Minister Majoro that there is no need to investigate nor to reassure us. Majoro’s government must do the correct thing – appeal the arbitration judgement. Let us all admit that our government was caught napping! They failed to pay attention to important matters. As a politician I understand the pressures of dealing with the ABC split but the Prime Minister should understand that he took an oath of office to defend Lesotho’s interests and this happened under his watch. He is responsible and must account. The only reassurance we will accept is for the government to appeal the case. Please stop giving empty promises, with press statements. This will not remove our fears. Act now Mr Prime Minister and stop sleeping on the job. I understand it is hard to make tough choices at any time, and it is especially hard when Prime Minister Majoro hoped just to stay popular a little bit longer. Majoro will never move against former Prime Minister Thabane nor former Minister Tsolo over what happened in authorising this controversial deal. In the meantime, Tsolo must tell us what law allowed him to sign any agreement on behalf of the government. Ramahooana Matlosa