MPs seek 100% pay hike

Lesotho's MPs are demanding a 100% pay increase despite being already among the best-paid workers in the country. Prime Minister Thomas Thabane has instructed Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro to explore a ‘revised salary structure’ for the lawmakers. National Assembly Chief Whip Likopo Mahase said the matter would only be discussed with the media after the proposal has been tabled in the National Assembly. ‘Discussing the matter with you will be criminal because that would be premature publication of the business of the Parliament,’ Mahase told the Lesotho Times. If the MPs' demands are met, their monthly salary would double to $5 344 while ordinary Basotho workers earn an average of $144 a month. Nearly half of household incomes come from remittances by migrants who are employed in SA, especially in the mining sector.