DCEO, Trade poised for a headbutt

TEBOHO MOLEFI KHATEBE and

MOTSAMAI MOKOTJO  

MASERU – The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) has quashed claims that it has halted investigations into the M200 million for the construction Lesotho Standards Institute funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Last month the Ministry of Trade informed Public Eye that the deal for LSI, which is located at Ha Tikoe on the outskirts of the capital Maseru, was above board and DCEO had cleared them to go ahead with the facility.

However, this week the anti-corruption body via its spokesperson, ‘Matlhokomelo Senoko was emphatic that investigations were proceeding.

“I asked the investigator conducting the matter and I was informed that as far he knows he’s continuing with the probe.

“The investigator was told by the Ministry’s Procurement Director, Seriti Khabisi about the alleged letter clearing the department,” Senoko said.  

She maintained that the novel anti-graft head, Director General Advocate Brigadier Mantšo Sello is yet to appraise himself with the contents of the said case.

“We are currently under a new management, this case (LSI [mis] procurement) is identified for investigations,” she said.   

After raising the flag, Khabisi was suspended for insisting that her office was not consulted according to those privy to the matter.

Khabisi confirmed to this paper that indeed she was on suspension but has since launched a case before courts.

The ministry’s Principal Secretary (PS) Palesa Matobako when contacted said then that the deal was above-board.

“The tender was even investigated by DCEO (Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences) which indicated that there was no foul-play in the awarding of the tender,” Matobako said.

Matobako confirmed that Khabisi asked the anti-corruption agency to investigate the tender which “was cleared as legal procedures were followed…she (Khabisi) has an axe to grind.”

“She has been suspended for buying phones and placing adverts in newspapers without following proper procedures not what is being peddled,” the PS said.

Last week this paper revealed that AfDB was pissed off by lack of information and the breaking of its rules by government in commencing with the construction at the project site while pre-requisites such as an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) had not been done – as well as the acquisition of a building permit.

“The AfDB made it clear that there is no way that they can support either the construction or purchase of equipment to be installed whilst commencement of the project is surrounded by so many dubious issues and with relevant ministries failing to provide required answers,” a source told this paper.   

Last month Minister of Public Works and Transport, Neo Matjato Moteane, sensationally revealed that Trade has not given them official documents relating to the construction of LSI.

A low-spirited Moteane informed Public Eye that as principal agents, standard practice documents related to the edifice have not reached his office; thus, exposing poor coordination between the two ministries.

“We have not seen documents of the building although we are empowered to as a way of supervising such projects; trade has not yet opened doors for us.

“We need a letter that indicates that X Company has been awarded a contract, but we have not received such documentation,” Moteane indicated.

He further highlighted that since the LSI building has been on and off, it makes it difficult for him to track its progress.

For his part, Minister of Trade Mokhethi Shelile explicitly said, “An EIA is not a requirement,” before dropping the phone and informing these reporters to speak to Principal Secretary Palesa Matobako.

However, Matobaka has since indicated that she will never give an interview to this paper.

The construction, as per investigations, goes against the Building Control Act, 1995, since Moteane indicated that he hasn’t received any form of documentation.

Under Part III Duties and Powers of Building Authorities Approval by building authorities of the application in respect of the building operations section 18 (1) read with (2) reads: “(1) No person shall, without the prior approval in writing of the building authority in question, commence any building; (2) A person who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (1) commits an offense and is liable on conviction to the penalties prescribed in the regulations.”

Adding more pressure, according to the Act, 18 subsection (5) stipulates that “the Ministry of Works shall, in respect of all government buildings, submit all plans, specifications, documents, or information as may be required under this Act to the building authority in whose jurisdiction building operations will be carried out.”

The E-Regulations website lists twenty-four steps required before starting any construction work for big projects, of which the Land Administration Authority (LAA), Maseru City Council (MCC), Water Sewage Company (WASCO), Lesotho Electricity (LEC), Maseru Fire Brigade, and Roads Directorate are stakeholders.

LSI construction was also identified by Minister of Finance, Dr Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane, during her 2025/2026 budget speech, noting that it is meant “to improve market access, the Lesotho Standards Institution (LSI) will be operationalized to handle standards development, testing, and certification. Construction of LSI facilities will begin in the upcoming financial year.”

The current chief accounting officer, Matobako simply ignored the red flags notwithstanding issues raised.

This is against articles in this publication indicating that government is aware of the Lesotho Promotion and Marketing Services (LPMS) building located in the Maseru Industrial Area, where LSI equipment is stored.

The Ministry of Trade was denied access to their equipment by the infamous Yan “John” Xie on account that the government owes him, according to the PS.   

According to her, before Parliament’s Economic Cluster, they (ministry) then went for inspection with Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL) and the marketing department staff where they subsequently met John who indicated he has a signed sub-lease for the building in question.

She indicated that there’s a joint venture agreement with Africomforter where the ministry bought machines for manufacturing duvet covers which are placed in LPMS building.

“John said he was not going to grant us permission to the building because the government owes him, although he did not disclose the amount”, she said, further narrating, “After that incident, we concluded with RSL to open a case in court because what we need is our property and a month after, we requested to have access to at least one machine to continue work and we were granted only that one machine.”

She highlighted that to date, they still have not been assisted.