Parliament blocks controversial hospital tender report

Lesotho’s Parliament has blocked the tabling of a Public Accounts Committee report on a controversial lease for private healthcare at Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital, reports GroundUp. The report reveals procurement irregularities, conflicts of interest and questionable decision-making in the awarding of a contract to operate a private wing at the hospital. The report found that the wife of the Foreign Affairs Minister, Maitumeleng Mpotjoane, sat on both the evaluation and procurement committees, despite ‘the Procurement Act 2023 stipulating that one person cannot be a member of both the evaluation committee and the procurement committee’. Another irregularity involved Dr Makhoase Ranyali-Otubanyo, who was not employed by the hospital but served on the evaluation committee and later became a signatory to the final agreement. The report found other critical irregularities in the procurement process that violated numerous sections of the Public Procurement Act of 2023. The Public Accounts Committee had sought to present its findings before Parliament adjourned for the holidays. But a split quickly emerged between government and opposition benches. Among the MPs who voted to block the report was Foreign Affairs Minister Lejone Mpotjoane. In the report, the Public Accounts Committee recommended the termination of the agreement within 30 days, a full audit by the Auditor-General within 60 days, disciplinary action against implicated officials, and expert guidance for future leasing arrangements. But with the report blocked, these recommendations may never be adopted as resolutions in Parliament.