The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has initiated investigations into government assets that have been reportedly hijacked and used for purposes other than those intended, resulting in massive state revenue losses running into billions of maloti over the years.
The committee which is tasked with overseeing government spending has flagged several cases where government-owned assets have been misappropriated, mismanaged or diverted, raising concerns about government accountability and transparency.
The probe follows the findings of the auditor general’s report which shows that government-owned assets under the purview of various ministries both in Lesotho and abroad have been mismanaged and misused.
In the annual consolidated financial report for the year ended March 31, 2022, the auditor general, ‘Mathabo Makenete, expressed concern that several government ministries fail to maintain asset registers.
She said this leads to inadequate disclosures of government-owned assets, including infrastructure, property, and equipment.
Many of the government-owned assets under scrutiny were in a state of despair and abandonment.
The neglect had potentially caused the government to incur substantial losses in terms of foregone revenue and maintenance costs, Makenete noted. However, she did not provide figures.
“Most of these government-owned assets are abandoned and dilapidated,” Makenete pointed out.
In an interview with theReporter this week, interim PAC chairperson, Thabiso Lekitla, indicated that during the course of the investigation, the committee has discovered that the nine-storey government-owned building for embassies in Klerksdorp and Gauteng in South Africa, administrated by the ministry of foreign affairs and international relations, have been hijacked by unauthorised individuals (mostly foreign African nationals). These individuals have transformed the assets into residential units and shops without the government deriving any revenue from them.
Lekitla pointed out that during its visit to the Maseru industrial area, the committee discovered that there is a government building that was initially sub-leased for 45 years to an Indian national who had said he would be using it as a dry clean, with the tenant paying M3,000 monthly, including Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) ground rent and Maseru City Council (MCC) services.
According to Lekitla, the Indian businessman who was given a sub-lease by LNDC is now renting out the building to a Chinese business man at a staggering M200,000 per month.
The building has since been converted to a wholesale.
And despite the significant profits that the sub-lessee is making, he has allegedly been demanding a rent holiday from LNDC, Lekitla noted.
He said the sub-lessee’s original plans for the property appear to have been a ruse to obtain a lease at low rate before exploiting the situation for own financial gain.
Neither the government assert manager and LNDC had been monitoring the building as they should, he observed.
He also cited another incident in Maseru West near State House, where an Indian national had purchased a plot of land that was under the purview of the ministry of public works.
The Maseru City Council had prohibited the Indian national from constructing flats on the site due to concerns that the building would compromise the security of the prime minister’s home, the State House.
Lekitla added that in a unilateral decision, without consulting the board, the then principal secretary in the ministry of public works, Mothabathe Hlalele, opted to compensate the Indian national by allocating him another plot of land.
The move, he said raised concerns as the original site was never transferred from the Indian in terms of lease and documentation, as the foreign national is now in possession of two plots.
The PAC also criticised the Land and Administration Authority (LAA) for its apparent lack of diligence in verifying proper ownership and lease arrangements before issuing leases to the Indian national.
Lekitla further indicated that the committee will investigate issues of mismanagement and misappropriation of government-owned assets, including houses under the administration of public service, where former public servants are no longer staying but renting the houses out to individuals. Others are no longer public servants but they are still occupying state houses.
Lekitla asserted that the misappropriation of government assets does not only deprive the country of significant revenue, but also undermines public trust in institutions entrusted to manage state properties.
“The misappropriation of government-owned assets also sends a message that rules can be bent or circumvented by those with the right connections, leading to a culture of corruption that hinders development and growth.
“The economic toll of these incidents is also substantial. When government assets are misused or misappropriated, the country misses out on opportunities for revenue generation and job creation. This has a ripple effect on the economy, hindering investment and deterring businesses from setting up operations in Lesotho. These acts of corruption are a cancer that must be rooted out for the sake of our country’s future,” he pointed out.
Lekitla added that after completion of the inquiry, the PAC will compile a comprehensive report detailing their findings and proposed actions to be taken against individuals.
The committee will also expect the relevant ministries to address these issues and prevent them from recurring.
The investigations including the site visits were conducted by the PAC in the presence of representatives from the Lesotho Mounted Police Services (LMPS), Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO), LNDC, MCC and LAA.
The auditor general in her report for 2021 had also noted that the houses meant for refugees no longer served the purpose of giving exiles accommodation.
She said most of the houses are occupied or rented to civil servants and other members of the public as little as M100 per month, without documentation or authority arrangement, while refugees and asylum seekers have no accommodation.
She added that part of these houses includes the 46 that were donated by the United Nations, and located in Mohalalitoe, Borokhoaneng, and Ha Matala Maseru. The houses are under the administrative of the commissioner of refugees.
The audit discovered that there were no proper records for the houses, and no contracts or documentation for the rented-out houses. Tenants did not pay rent as expected and there was no follow-up made, said the then auditor general, Monica Besetsa in her report.
In case where revenue on rent was received, Besetsa said, it was not accounted for and not traceable.
In response to the reports of government houses being improperly occupied, the director of the recovery unit in the prime minister’s office, Seeng Matšoasa, told theReporter that the government had made some progress in regaining control of the houses that under the administration of the ministry of public service. However, she was unable to provide specific details on the number of houses reclaimed or their location, stating she did not have records at the time of going for print yesterday.
