(MENAFN- The Post) I made three very important observations as the Minister of Finance Dr Moeketsi Majoro delivered his budget speech for the 2020/2021 financial year. Firstly, the opposition had three very important objections to the tabling of the budget. They came in prepared to argue their case of the petition by TRC, allocation of funds to the Prime Minister who shall retire in July and the vote of no confidence.
They had hoped that logic would decide the order of the day but unfortunately, Speaker of Parliament, Sephiri Motanyane's job is to protect the government by making rulings which cannot be challenged immediately. I am disappointed that the opposition failed to walk out.
My second observation shocked me and knocked me down in the middle of Minister of Finance's speech. It was the daylight robbery of my money under the pretence of bailing out a Chinese national named Stone Shi. The coalition government robs wool and mohair farmers and pays them back with their taxes.
'Mr, Speaker, I am pleased to announce that Government on 18th February 2020 decided to take responsibility to pay about 1 000 farmers that Maseru Dawning had failed to pay on time. Payment of farmers will begin tomorrow, Thursday. Government also decided to undertake a special study to understand the policy, technical, implementation and financial challenges that beset the localisation policy. Following this study and consultation with all stakeholders, Government will modify the localisation policy to cater for the smooth running of the industry and to ensure that farmers get the large part of the efforts,' said Dr Majoro.
I am still shocked that the government endorsed the idea of bailing out Stone Shi. The government never ceases to shock my system. Why should the government make an undertaking to pay a debt incurred by a Chinese national who benefited together with his surrogates (Ministers) who were in his pocket?
Stone Shi and Minister Phori took only two years to destroy a decades-old and viable business owned by Basotho, in particular those living in the rural areas. This act by the government clearly vindicates those wool and mohair activists who were adamant that there is rampant corruption in this wool and mohair saga.
I still cannot believe that the Minister of Finance decided to bail out a Chinese national who messed up the wool and mohair industry for two years and robbed Basotho farmers of their livelihoods but refuse to bail out other Basotho.
Stone Shi was given a monopoly to be the only wool and mohair licence operator. He got the wool and mohair free of charge from Basotho. The government has not done forensic audits in order to know how many farmers need to be paid and how much they should be paid?
The Minister of Finance comes up with figure of 1 000 farmers and M8 million owed, does that mean he got the same data from the Chinese national who robbed Basotho of their livelihood?
The Minister of Finance is distributing my money without doing an audit to be able to determine if the numbers in the financial statements are accurate.
If the audit is not done, financial errors or discrepancies shall arise and that could cost the government millions of maloti. If auditing requirements are not met and financial errors or discrepancies arise, it will make this bail out become far more complicated.
Minister Majoro has become a populist, he is simply telling the masses of our people what they want to hear and he does not care about our funds.
Minister Majoro says 'payment of farmers will begin tomorrow, Thursday,' this is so wrong, parliament has not passed an Appropriation Bill that allows the Minister of Finance to use public funds. When was the payment allocated?
MKM went under and maggots are busy feasting on it. Basotho entrepreneurs have not been paid for the last two years and the vultures are about to skin them alive. The government claims it is bankrupt when it has to pay these poor Basotho entrepreneurs. When it comes to Phori's Chinese connections, money is suddenly available.
Many butcheries were closed down when Minister Phori introduced another failed red meat initiative that favoured the Chinese and crippled Basotho businesses. Why is the Minister of Finance not bailing out these butcheries?
Dr Majoro should focus and bring in strong payment disclosure laws and accountability in companies where government has shares. He must crack down on tax evasion.
Lesotho is a paradox. It is the only country in the world that invites poor investors and when they create a problem, we bail them out.
We need to pursue decolonisation to be weaned off anything that makes us blindly praise and worship all and any foreign object such as Stone She.
My last observation is regarding the miseducation of Prime Minister Thabane when he made a remark after the budget speech, 'I was born in 1939, I have never used a condom in my life.'
He says this when Lesotho has the second largest HIV prevalence rate of 23.6% in the world, 340 000 people were living with HIV, over 6 100 deaths annually of AIDS-related illnesses in the past two years and over 13 000 new infections annually in the past two years. Very irresponsible words from the head of government.
Let me conclude by using Jair Bolsonaro's words: 'We will never resolve serious national problems with this irresponsible democracy.'
May God bless Lesotho and Basotho.
Ramahooana Matlosa
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