Govt gobbles M2m on Brazil trip

The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning advanced more than M1 million from the Contingency Fund for Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara’s trip to Brazil this week.

The funds are meant for airfares and subsistence for the three-man delegation, calculated at international rates.

Majara is leading a government delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which started yesterday and ends on 21 November in Belém, Brazil.

The DPM is standing in for Prime Minister Sam Matekane.

The meeting will bring together world leaders, scientists, non-governmental organisations, and civil society to discuss priority actions to tackle climate change.

COP30 will focus on the efforts needed to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C, the presentation of new national action plans (NDCs) and the progress on the finance pledges made at COP29 that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22, 2024 

In a circular, No. 15 of 2025/2026 dated October 30, 2025, Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Nthoateng Lebona, authorised that a payment in the amount of M1,087,468 be paid out for the trip as additional funding.

The minister of finance and development planning Retŝelisitsoe Matlanyane signed it the following day.

The government spokesperson, Thabo Sekonyela, yesterday confirmed that Majara had left for Brazil for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, accompanied by her political advisor Mofota Kale, and personal aid.

“They left the country on Saturday to be in time for the start of the conference,” Sekonyela said.

He however, said he could not disclose exactly how much was set aside by the government in total for the trip but it could be in the region of M2million.

“Why are you as media so interested in knowing how much will be spent on the trip, not what the conference is all about and how Lesotho will benefit. Everyone is interested in knowing the cost and nothing else,” he quipped.

“I will have to enquiry from the ministry about the exact figure,” he told theReporter in an interview last night.

Sekonyela noted that the government was doing a lot, like employing people at Home Affairs, yet no one is talking about this.

He added that it was important for Lesotho to attend the Brazil conference because it is a member of the United Nations family.

The country is also significantly affected by the effects of climate change, like many other nations across the world, he added.

The trip has attracted sharp criticism from some people, who feel that the government has pressing issues that need to be addressed urgently.

Democratic Congress Member of Parliament, Katleho Mabeleng, said he is unhappy that the Contingency Fund was used for the trip.

Mabeleng explained that the Fund is solely reserved for disasters and “COP30”is not one.

“The Contingency Fund always has to have money for disasters. Lesotho was not prepared financially for COVID-19. That was a lesson that the government should save up as much as it can,” he told theReporter in an interview last night.

“Lesotho is in danger of different natural disasters due to climate change. It is not fair; it’s heartbreaking that the Contingency Fund is use for COP39,” he added.

Government spending on international travel also came under scrutiny in the National Assembly in September this year, with MPs demanding answers for the millions of maloti allocated each year.

During an oral question-and-answer session recently, Remaketse Sehlabaka, leader of the Mpulule Political Summit (MPS), pressed the government to account for the total cost of foreign trips in the 2024/25 financial year and to compare it with funds set aside for youth employment initiatives.

Sehlabaka also sought clarification on how much had been drawn from the contingency fund and the tangible benefits of such travel.

In response, Majara disclosed that M145 million had been budgeted for international travel this year, with an additional M13 million later allocated, M9 million of which has already been spent.

Last month, Opposition leader, Mathibeli Mokhothu also criticised the government over the Supplementary Appropriation Bill for 2024/2025, calling it irregular.
“How can they bring additions for 2024/2025 when we are already in the 2025/26 financial year? They have already blown M3 billion,” he said at an opposition party press conference.
He stressed that only the National Assembly has the power to approve such expenditure, accusing the government of bringing the Bill without the necessary statements of account.

“Something is fishy here. They are hiding information. The law is clear that where additional funds are taken, they must be justified to parliament,” he said.

Mokhothu further argued that supplementary funds are meant for emergencies such as natural disasters or pandemics, but the government instead used them for constructing the Petroleum Fund headquarters and international trips.”

In her circular, PS Lebona said whereas it has become necessary in the interest of the Public Service to incur certain urgent and unforeseen expenditure not provided in the estimate, authority is sought until such time as a supplementary estimate of the sum required can be laid before the Parliament in terms of Section 114 (2) of the Constitution.