Metro Newspaper

CBL rate rise again

MASERU- The Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) through its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to Raise the CBL Rate by 25 basis points to 6.75 per cent per annum against South Africa’s repo rate of 7.00 percent.

The Committee considers this level appropriate as a modest interest rate differential of 25 basis points relative to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB)’s repo rate of 7.00 per cent per annum. It is deemed enough to sustain the exchange rate peg and support domestic economic activity.

"The MPC will continue to closely monitor global developments especially the evolution of the recent energy price and climate shocks, inflation and developments in Lesotho’s external position.
Should the reserve adequacy come under threat, the MPC stands ready to take decisive action to defend the peg. Future policy decisions will remain data-dependent while continuing to safeguard reserves and preserve macroeconomic stability,” CBL governor Dr. Maluke Letete said on Friday...

Read the rest of the story in this week's issue of Metro: https://maserumetro.com/2026/06/03/metro-e-edition-03-june-2026/

Tourism Ministry in financial scandal: Auditor General exposes reckless misuse of public funds

MASERU - The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Business Development and Tourism has been caught in a web of financial irregularities, with a damning audit report released last week by Auditor General 'Mathabo Gail Makenete laying bare a trail of questionable spending, unexplained discrepancies in financial statements, and flagrant violations of the Public Financial Management and Accountability (PFMA) Act, 2011.

The report of the Auditor General on the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2024 - a comprehensive 180-plus-page document - has sent shockwaves through government corridors, with the Tourism-linked ministry featuring prominently across multiple chapters detailing budget overruns, spending without authority, and financial records that simply do not add up.

SPENDING WITHOUT A BUDGET: A BLATANT BREACH OF THE LAW
One of the most explosive findings in Makenete's report concern what auditors describe as outright spending without any approved budget. Table 29 of the report, titled 'Expenditure Incurred Without Budget', reveals that the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Business Development and Tourism spent on public funds on the Economic Diversification Support Project - a loan from the International Development Association (IDA) - without a corresponding budget line.

Specifically, the ministry spent M44.865 million under an IDA loan, M452,000 from Government of Lesotho (GOL) funds, M10.484 million from an African Development Fund (ADF) grant, and M8.696 million from an ADF loan...

Read the rest of the story in this week's issue of Metro: https://maserumetro.com/2026/06/03/metro-e-edition-03-june-2026/

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