Storm as Chinese turn govt warehouse into shop

A storm is brewing in Mohale’s Hoek where a Chinese businessman has turned a government warehouse into a supermarket, much to the chagrin of local farmers who have been left without access to agricultural input supplies.

The warehouse, owned by the now defunct Lesotho Cooperatives Limited (Coop Lesotho), was allegedly rented out to the businessman by a former senior official without proper authorisation and under unclear circumstances.

The Tsoloane warehouse, built to serve local farmers, has now been converted into a supermarket. Another warehouse at Silioe in the same constituency remains non-functional for unknown reasons, theReporter has learnt.

Local farmers are feeling the pinch. They are forced to travel long distances to Mafeteng district or Mohale’s Hoek town, spending M60 on transport to access basic supplies such as fertilisers.

A frustrated farmer from Taung Mohale’s district, Molefinyane Lebesa said the closure of the warehouse in Tsoloane has had a devastating impact on their livelihoods, consuming both time and money.

“I am a crop farmer producing more than 100 bags of maize per year, and vegetables, but I’m struggling to get a fair price for my produce following the closure of the warehouse where we used to get inputs subsidised by the government,” he noted.

Lebesa warned that if not addressed, the collapse of such agricultural warehouses could be a major setback for the country’s efforts to boost agricultural production and food security.

Lebesa pleaded with the Ministries of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition and Trade, Industry and Business Development to take collective responsibility to urgently intervene and revive the warehouse for the benefit of the farmers.

Authorities and community want the Chinese businessman gone, citing his lack of support and collaboration during emergencies and disrespectful behaviour.

Area Chief of Tsoloane, ‘Makabelo Ramokhele, said they do not want the Chinese in the area.

“We do not need Chinese here. We want the cooperatives to be revived and provide agricultural inputs for the community,” Chief Ramokhele noted.

She recounted that when the Chinese started operating at the warehouses, they were already not functional, and the villagers did not know the reason for their closure.

“We never welcomed them (Chinese businesses) because our community needed the agricultural storage, not a supermarket, especially not from a foreign nation taking over Basotho business,” Chief Ramokhele added.

Community Councillor for Tsoloane, Thebe Mohapi, echoed the same sentiments, alleging that the Chinese businessman several times refused to help the community fix the roofing of a primary school in the area after it collapsed.

“This Chinese businessman is not working well with the surrounding community. He can’t even support the villagers in times of emergencies and always declines our requests for help,” Mohapi said.

He added: “We need the warehouse to serve its purpose and benefit Basotho, not these Chinese businessmen taking advantage of the situation and pushing their businesses which at the end benefit their countries.”

Mohapi said they were concerned about the closure of the cooperatives which helped farmers save time and money.

The Department of Cooperatives under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development has moved in and now seeking to reclaim the asset, along with others to ensure they serve their intended purposes.

Commissioner Mokheseng Notši confirmed that the department is working to ensure Coop Lesotho’s assets are used for the benefit of the cooperative movement.

“The fate of Coop Lesotho is in the High Court, where we seek to reclaim all assets and protect them for the movement,” Notši told this publication in a telephone interview yesterday.

Efforts to get comment from the Chinese businessman were unsuccessful.

However, Chief Ramokhele explained that the warehouse has been in the hands of different Chinese businesspersons since 2004.

“The authorities referred the first Chinese businessman to the Cooperatives Department in Mohale’s Hoek, which referred him to the Maseru department, which reportedly eventually offered him access to the building. However, we do not have an idea of the terms under which the warehouse was rented to the Chinese businessman,” she added.

The farmers are anxiously waiting for the court’s judgement, hoping for a revival of the cooperative movement and better days.