MPs in stampede to pass new laws

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A Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) delegation was in Lesotho last week to check on progress.
The MCC’s M5.1 million fund is going to be used to boost health and horticulture projects and assist the country unlock equitable and sustainable economic growth in partnership with the private sector by addressing key constraints to growth.

However, the US Ambassador Maria Brewer reminded the government in November last year that by March 30, 2024, Lesotho must “urgently accelerate the enactment of the Labour Code Amendment Bill of 2022, which will bring Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, and additional inheritance law reforms”.
The proposed Labour Code Amendment Bill and draft National Occupational Health and Safety Framework will provide labour protections for agricultural workers by formalising supervision of the sector, among others.

The Labour Bill seeks to domesticate International Conventions in order to align the national labour law with international standards.
The Bill empowers the Labour Court to make arbitral awards and settlement agreements into orders of court for purposes of enforcement.
It proposes a new composition of the court by removing ordinary members which were nominated by the President as per the provisions of the Labour Code, and introduces a Registrar or where need may be, a number of Deputy Registrars.

The Bill proposes that the Registrar carry out duties in relation to the decisions, awards, records and docketing of the Labour Court.
The Ministry stated that this will assist the Labour Court in efficiency and the reduction of the backlog on cases that needs to be settled.
The Bill further extends the jurisdiction of Directorate of Dispute Prevention and Resolution (DDPR) to disputes of unfair labour practices by proposing that it should be independent from the direction or control of any other person or authority, including Government when exercising its functions.

The Bill also introduces bargaining councils which shall be made from one or more registered trade unions, one or more registered employers’ organisation, and the government where it is an employer in a related sector.

The bargaining councils shall participate in the collective bargaining process.

To achieve entry into force of the compact, Brewer said, prioritising the enactment of the laws will strengthen Lesotho’s legal framework.

“This is vital, as the compact cannot enter into force until they are enacted,” she said.

The Administration of Estates and Inheritance Bill, tabled by Justice Minister Nthomeng Majara, will abolish a customary law which made males the only heirs of their parents’ late estate.

The law, once enacted, will introduce the female child as an heir even where she has brothers.
The law will also introduce the giving of inheritance to children born out of wedlock when their father dies.

The new Bill will also bestow upon every person the right of freedom to write a will or written instructions and will also introduce inheritance for vulnerable people.

A member of the parliamentary Committee on Law and Public Safety, Liteboho Kompi, said “we are in a hurry to pass the law”.

The Bill instructs widows to apply to the Master of the High Court when they want to marry.

“They will be allowed, but they will have to leave the estate and the inheritance behind,” Kompi said.

“The Bill will ensure that people do not marry widows to come and squander their inheritances,” she said.

She said the Bill would also allow the children to take their portion of the inheritance after one parent dies.

“They will be allowed to sell their portion of the estates if they feel like it,” she said.

Parliament will run from 9am until 10.30pm during week days as it presses to meet the deadline.

Nkheli Liphoto