Opposition parties have vowed to fight to reverse the sale of Mothae Diamond Mine to Minister Lebona Lephema’s company. In a stunning deal announced on Tuesday, Australia’s Lucapa Diamond Company sold its 70 percent stake in Mothae to Lephema Executive for a nominal A$10 000, equivalent to about M121 000. Lucapa said it would also take A$1 million (M12.1 million) from Mothae for “outstanding technical services payments”. Executive is taking over the company together with its liabilities.
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The deal came a few weeks after the Minister of Natural Resources, Mohlomi Moleko, said the government, which owns 30 percent of Mothae, was considering buying the shares.
The opposition, furious that instead of the government it is Lephema who has bought the shares, is now planning to launch a court case to challenge the deal.
Basotho National Party (BNP) leader, Machesetsa Mofomobe, will lead the fight. Mofomobe said he and other opposition leaders believe the deal is “purely corrupt and not in the interests of the country”.
He said they want to know if Minister Lephema was part of the Cabinet meeting that decided not to buy the 70 percent stake from Lucapa.
He said he strongly suspects that the government as a shareholder in Mothae was the first to be offered the shares.
“We want to understand at what point and under what circumstances did the government decide it was not a good investment to buy that stake for M120 000?,” Mofomobe said.
“Was the minister who bought those shares part of that meeting? As far as we can see this is a clear case of blatant conflict of interest.”
He said the fact that Moleko announced that the government was considering buying the stake meant that the issue had been discussed at Cabinet level. This, he said, means that the government has been considering buying the shares from around mid-May when Lucara announced its intention to sell.
“The question then is what role did the minister play in the decision to pass on this opportunity? This deal is just scandalous.”
He said apart from how the deal was made the opposition is also concerned with its implications.
“It means the minister is now a business partner of the government. He is part of the same government that makes policies that potentially affect his business.”
“This is precisely why Prime Minister Sam Matekane’s contract with Letseng was terminated a few months ago. It was to avoid conflict of interest yet another minister does a transaction that amounts to the same.”
“This is worse because it is done by a Cabinet minister. The Letseng deal happened before Matekane joined politics.”
The Democratic Congress (DC) secretary general, Tšitso Cheba, said they want the government to explain why Lephema was preferred to buy the shares ahead of other Basotho.
“We will do everything to fight this sale in parliament when we reopen,” Cheba said, adding that there is no way they will allow ministers to continue getting into business with the government.
Nkheli Liphoto
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