PAC hearings suspended

‘Mantšali Phakoana

The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has suspended its proceedings after the acting principal secretary in the prime minister’s office, ‘Mapeo Matlanyane, resigned on Wednesday last week.

Matlanyane, who was the chief accounting officer in the premier’s office, was appearing before the committee to answer questions on the alleged misuse of funds allocated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The committee’s chairperson, ‘Machabana Lemphane-Letsie, confirmed this to theReporter this week.  

“Yes, it’s true that the Public Accounts Committee proceedings have been suspended. This follows the resignation of the acting PS in the prime minister’s office last week,” Letsie said on Wednesday in a brief response to questions by theReporter.

She however, could not give further details on the suspension of the hearings or when they would resume.

The national assembly last week issued a brief announcement that the PAC proceedings had been suspended until further notice.

The development comes when the committee was investigating alleged irregularities related in the use of funds under the coordination of the National Emergency Command Centre (NECC) during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The investigation was triggered by the findings of the then acting auditor general, Monica Besetsa, who unearthed irregular expenditure of funds allocated to assist the country in fighting the pandemic.

The auditor general’s report for the year 2021 had discovered that a total of M22, 443, 781 was spent on lunch meals for officers on duty at ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre in Maseru. The officials were from the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), Lesotho Defence Force (LDF), National Security Service (NSS), cabinet staff, and drivers, among others.

The report further noted that of this amount, M16, 249 went towards dry rations (snacks) and lunch for LMPS and LDF officers deployed on COVID-19 operations in 2020 and 2021.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the command centre had determined a standard price of M100 per meal to be used by all caterers for lunch and dinner.

However, the report indicated that in spite of this limit, some caters charged meals prices ranging from M150 to M200 per meal.

It further revealed that as a result of such overcharging, four suppliers were paid M416, 000 instead of M279, 500, thereby resulting in an over payment of M136, 500.

According to the Auditor-General’s report, the declaration of State of Emergency on COVID-19 by the Prime Minister in terms of Section 8 of Disaster Management Act 1997 was a commendable move to contain the virus with a view to protect the nation, support the economy, and strengthen health care systems to cope with the pandemic.

“But I noticed with dismay that despite the good intention of the right honourable prime minister, the bulk of public funds were not used at critical events or activities aimed at saving the lives of citizens,” reads part the Auditor-General’s report.

The bulk of expenditure was mainly on food and other activities and not towards addressing the pandemic, it added.

The companies in question include Double Joy Energy & Lubricants (Pty) Ltd, which according to the company registry ministry of trade belongs to ‘Matšoanelo Nkoefoshe. The others are Rhythm and Blues Catering and Events Management Services (Pty) Ltd owned by Matšeliso Mary and Refiloe Mokuoane, and Jabie Snack Bar.

Letsie told the last PAC sitting on September 11, 2023 that they were informed that some of the companies were registered a day before they were awarded tenders.

“This gives us the impression that they were registered specifically for these tenders, which they were pretty sure they would win,” she said.

The committee was meeting with officials from the prime minister’s office and the Disaster Management Authority (DMA).

Addressing Matlanyane, Letsie said the committee was not just going to let her off the hook without her providing documents belonging to the companies that were awarded tenders.

Letsie further accused Matlanyane and her office of taking the committee’s hearings for granted since they were given time to collect such documents but failed.

The officials told the committee that they had struggled to get the documents from the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) which was already investigating the awarding of the tenders.

Cabinet procurement officer, Lillane Qhobela failed to convince the committee that the companies were awarded tenders fairly.

Qhobela admitted that the companies were awarded tenders without verification of ownership, legality, and without checking the unit prices of the items supplied by such companies.

He also stated that the M100 standard price for a meal was communicated verbally by the procurement cluster and there were no documents to be submitted before the committee on that.

“During the payment of the companies, my duty was just to check traders’ licence and tax clearance to check their validation, not who the companies belonged to or their existence,” Qhobela told the PAC.

Matlanyane’s resignation comes a week before she was due to present before the PAC documents belonging to the companies that were awarded tenders during that period, after failing to produce them several times as required by the committee.

The documents were expected to be presented before the committee between Monday and yesterday.

Director public relations in the prime minister’s office, Refiloe Kepa, this week confirmed Matlanyane’s resignation as acting chief accounting officer.

She said Matlanyane started acting in the position from June this year after leaving her post as the director administration in the prime minister’s office.

“On Wednesday last week, she handed over her letter requesting that she be released from the chief accounting officer position and allowed to go back to her position as the director administration. Her request was approved,” Kepa noted, adding that currently the office was vacant.

Speaking before the PAC, Matlanyane said the then government led by Thomas Motsoahae Thabane did not issue a legal instrument for the establishment of the NECC and the National Covid Secretariat (Nacosec).

She said she had never seen a cabinet document indicating the government’s decision to establish the two structures.

Matlanyane was given time to recollect all evidence to prove the government’s decision but on September 6, she returned empty handed saying such formal and documented decision did not exist.

Again, during its last sitting on September 11, the PAC instructed Matlanyane to present procurement documents belonging to the catering companies that were allegedly awarded tenders without proper procedure, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commenting on the allegations that the security cluster had issued directives to the procurement cluster regarding the usage of funds to buy food, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) Ezekiel Senti and LDF’s Major-General Ramanka Mokaloba said they were not involved in anything to do with procurement.

They told the PAC that theirs was only to provide specifications of the food needed by the security officers deployed in different areas to enforce the regulations during that period.

They noted that at one point, security cluster members declined a salary of M90 000 per month each when “recruited” to go to Avani Maseru where NACOSEC was operating, saying they could not draw such huge remuneration when clinics and hospitals were in need of oxygen supplies.

Major General Mokaloba told the PAC that at some point during the COVID-19, they witnessed a shocking incident where two catering companies were supplying food for between M120 and M170 as opposed to the standard price of M100.

He further revealed that there were reports of deaths of procurement officers in the cabinet due to the ongoing investigations.

He also warned of more deaths should the government fail to provide the witnesses with protection.

“This process of investigating procurement officers is very serious. There are officers who have been killed and more are likely to die because clearly there is more that needs to be uncovered from procurement offices.

“Such matters should be handled with urgency and care and the witnesses should be protected,” Mokaloba warned. He did not substantiate these claims.