PAC unfazed by LEC court bid

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says it is unfazed by the Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) board of directors’ legal action to block its probe into allegations of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds at the state-owned power utility.

PAC chairperson, ‘Machabana Lemphane-Letsie, yesterday said her committee was concerned by this week’s High Court application by the LEC, aimed at preventing the PAC from carrying out its statutory oversight duties.

Lemphane-Letsie told a press conference in Maseru that the action undermines the rule of law, disrupts parliamentary processes, and challenges the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

She warned that when public institutions resort to judicial intervention to avoid scrutiny, it sets a dangerous precedent — one that weakens transparency and erodes trust.

The three arms of government must operate within their distinct roles, not as instruments to bypass accountability, but as complementary forces that uphold democratic governance and the public interest, she noted.

Lemphane-Letsie added that no institution or individual would be permitted to operate beyond the reach of the law or evade parliamentary oversight.

“The PAC remains steadfast in its mission to safeguard the public purse and ensure that every money spent is accounted for,” she stated.

The PAC’s declaration comes after the LEC’s board of directors ran to the High Court seeking to halt its ongoing probe into alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of funds at the state-owned entity.

Investigations by the PAC have revealed that over M2.1 million has been spent on salaries and benefits for acting and suspended LEC executives since March this year.

The probe was prompted by queries raised in the Auditor General’s reports on statutory bodies for financial years ending March 2017 to March 2022, and the audited financial statements of LEC for the year ended March 31, 2023.

The chairperson and acting corporate secretary of the LEC board, Thabo Khasipe and Dr Phoka Matete filed an urgent application on Tuesday this week, seeking the court to compel PAC to furnish and or dispatch the record of the board’s testimony before the committee between May 6 and June 2, 2025, within 14 days, or within a timeframe determined by the court.

The board also request that the PAC be interdicted from summoning the board to appear before it for questioning on matters pertaining to the company’s operations.

They are seeking a declaratory order asserting that the PAC acted beyond its authority in investigating matters not covered by the law in its proceedings.

The Speaker of the National Assembly Tlohang Sekhamane, the Clerk of the National Assembly Lebohang Maema, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Attorney General Rapelang Motsieloa are cited as respondents in the High Court case.

In his founding affidavit, Khasipe argued that the manner in which PAC is investigating matters is causing significant damage to the professional reputation of individual board members and LEC staff, entrusted with the vital task of revitalising the company.

“It is crucial to bring to the attention of the hounourable court that the manner in which the PAC proceedings have been conducted leaves quite a lot to be desired. In the board’s considered opinion, the interactions have frequently been accusatory, judgmental and fundamentally unfair,” Khasipe wrote.

While he acknowledges that it is PAC’s prerogative to seek information and form opinions based on the reports presented to it, Khasipe states that the board’s expectation in attending the proceedings was to have a genuine opportunity to respond to committee’s questions.

“Regrettably, the experience has been markedly different. LEC board members and staff have often been denied the opportunity to adequately respond to questions and serious allegations levelled against them, including insinuations of bad faith, fraudulent intent, and professional incompetence.

“It has become a pattern for PAC members to make lengthy pronouncements that appear to be based on preconceived conclusions, with any attempts by the board to provide answers and explainations being consitently and prematurely curtailed.

“This approach has left the board and its staff with the distinct impression that the PAC is not genuinely interested in our responses but rather seeks to publicly humiliate and disparage us,” Khasipe submitted.

He also indicated that the board feels the current PAC approach unjustly subjects them to public scrutiny without affording them fair opportunity to present their case.

Further, they have observed a disparity in the committee proceedings, where those making allegations against the board are given ample opportunity to elaborate, while the board chairperson or any member attempting to respond is quickly silenced.

This approach erodes public confidence of the public enterprise and casts undue aspersions on the professionals who are holding the fort without justifiable case, he contended.

“As the chairperson of the board, I consider it my duty to seek protection for the board members and the institution by requesting the PAC to allow us to fully and completely account for the affairs of the LEC by providing comprehensive answers to their often-comprehensive questions.

“Failure to do so carries the risk of undermining the board’s effectiveness and could have severe negative consequences for the critical national mission of rectifying the challenges facing the LEC, an objective we believe is shared by the PAC, the board, the shareholder and the Basotho nation at large,” Khasipe noted.

Khasipe said they have also noted with concern that the PAC has been issuing specific instructions to the board, including directives to implement actions that contradict existing board decisions.

The board is of the view that such direct instructions constitute an overeach of its powers and risk further weakening the already fragile internal control systems with the LEC.    

For his part, Matete submitted that on April 11, LEC received a formal invitation issued by the principal secretary in the Ministry of Energy, requesting the attendance of LEC management at a PAC session scheduled May 6, 2025.

Matete submitted that despite having assumed their acting roles barely two months before the PAC proceedings, the acting executives were interrogated extensively about legal decisions taken under the previous executive regime.

He said the responsible parties were barely held to investigation, and no fair distinction was drawn between historical and contemporary operational accountability.

“This was a flagrant affront to the principles of natural justice. Throughout the hearing, acting executives were maligned and mischaracterised. Some PAC members and non-members insinuated incompetence and dishonesty without evidence. Moreover, we were ordered to disclose private salary and benefits information without statutory authority,” Matete wrote in his founding affidavit.

The fate of the board’s efforts to halt a PAC probe will be decided on Monday, as the court hears arguments over whether the case warrants urgent consideration.