Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Transformation Resource Centre (TRC) staff has broken their silence regarding the alleged mistreatment by the Executive Director. The staff had, on February 1st, issued their letter of grievances to the
board but had refrained from engaging the media and members of the general public into this matter. Among the grievances, they decried general imposition of leaves to staff by the
Executive Director Tsikoane Peshoane, procurement of investigators-equity forensics and association of Lesotho employers and business, unsavoury comments
by the board chairperson and the other board members, prejudiced investigations by employers association and equity forensics, parallel investigations by board
chairman and executive director, sexual harassment case addressed to the Director by TRC staff members and misinforming press statements by the board.
During the media briefing on Wednesday, TRC Human Rights Programme Manager Rapelang Mosae pronounced that upon receiving their letter of grievances on February 2nd,
the board of directors acted hastily to attend to the staff by sending the chairman of the board to address the staff. However, due to an emergency, the
staff was instructed to vacate the office and hand over the organisation equipment in their possession. “The executive indicated that only the skeleton staff comprising of the Head of
Programmes Management and the Head of finance, Admin and Human Resource remained,” Mosae said, adding that the press statement that was released on the 22nd
February was misinforming wherein the public was informed that TRC staff had resumed normal operations, only the finance team was called back to work.
“TRC employees have learned with absolute shock the press issued by the office of the Deputy Chairman of the board indicating that investigations into staff
grievances had been concluded and that certain grievances were misconstrued, others unfounded, whilst others though legitimate were not the doing of the Executive
Director,” reads the rectification letter as at March 1st. TRC former employees representative Lepeli Moeketsi said ever since the appointment of the Director he has been forming structures to fire the staff that he felt
were a threat to him as per their qualifications. He said the Director is taking advantage by denying employees their rights to leave of absence from work as well as the sexual harassment case that has been addressed to the
Director by TRC staff members. “It is worrying that some of the allegations levelled against Mr Tsikoane Peshoane are criminal in nature and outside the purview or powers of the TRC Board.
We strongly believe that those government agencies mandated by the constitution and other laws of Lesotho to handle criminal matters will be seen executing such mandate. We remain available to assist such agencies with evidence or information to our knowledge should the need arise,” he concluded.
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