Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Minister of Finance Hon. Thabo Sophonea has attested that government spent M190 125 834.00 in rental fees for 2019/2020 financial year. This was in response to a series of questions
asked by the Movement for Economic Change (MEC) Deputy Leader Hon. Tšepang Tšita-Mosena on Thursday last week. Mosena had sought the clarification on the
following: In response, the Hon. Minister said the government has collected funds to the tune of M31 588 445 from its leased properties. Sophonea further mentioned that the Asset Management will undertake
the audit of all the government properties both residential and for business space. He further stated that the Ministry is currently working on the budget which will cater for the renovations of the
dilapidated government residential apartments. When probed further by Informative Newspaper into what could have spiked this interest, she argued that
their oversight role as MPs on the use of government funds directs them to provide guidance into averting unnecessary expenditure, but redirect the much needed
funds to more pressing issues. Hon. Mosena who resides in Khubetsoana talked of the need for the government to undertake audit exercise for its properties
and refurbish them as the unoccupied government buildings risk depletion which becomes an unnecessary wastage of public funds. Moreover, she lamented that it is not right if
the government is renting from the private sector yet it has its own “idle” buildings that could be occupied to save on rental fees. She argued that it does not
augur well as a country, that sometimes rent from government goes unpaid because it is too high, resulting in unnecessary battles that disadvantage the
private sector, and embarrassing when the government’s offices are evacuated from the private properties due to rental non-payments. She further said the move will counter
the potential incidents of monies exchanging hands between the civil servants and the private tenants, at the expense of tax payers. Mosena also alleged that some people might have
“captured” the government’s properties, wherein they collect rent and do not transfer it to the public coffers, or some tenants do not pay rent at all. She concluded by saying, “I am comfortable with the sensitization that the government is aware of wastage of its resources and properties”.
