Health Ministry interdicted over catering dispute

Lesotho’s High Court has provisionally interdicted the Ministry of Health from engaging new caterers for government hospitals amid allegations by two catering companies that their contracts had been terminated to bypass the tender process. The Lesotho Times reports that the interdict was issued after the two companies, which are currently contracted to provide food to government hospitals, approached the court after their contracts were terminated last month. The ruling barred the Ministry ‘from engaging new catering services providers to the government hospitals without an open public tender pending finalisation of this application’.