Africa-Press – Lesotho. TEN principal secretaries who were sent on forced leave pending termination of their contracts say the move by the Sam Matekane-led government is illegal and irregular as it undermines the rule of law.
Last Friday, the government wrote dismissal letters to the PSs despite that there is an application pending in the High Court challenging their dismissal.
The PSs, in a letter addressed to the government’s appointed lawyers Webber Newdigate on Tuesday, said their “replacement is an unlawful and illegal set-up which is clearly intended to siphon the resources of the state under false pretences”.
“This is unlawful to the extent of undermining the rule of law, we cannot tolerate this cloak-and-dagger approach meant to defeat the ends of justice,” their lawyer Advocate Lephuthing said in the letter.
He pleaded with the government to withdraw its restriction of access to the offices occupied by his clients in terms of the constitution within 24 hours pursuant to the principles of a responsible government.
“Our clients remain chief accounting officers and no one must assume their constitutional functions until their contracts expire,” Advocate Lephuthing said.
“If we do not get a response within 24 hours we will proceed to interdict the steps taken to place our clients on forced leave of absence,” he said.
“We will apply for costs on an attorney and own client scale.
Advocate Lephuthing urged Webber Newdigate to join hands with him to assist the PSs “to avoid implacable hostility that is brewing because of irresponsible decisions of the government which will result in another deadlock”.
Advocate Lephuthing said he is aware that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is sponsoring an initiative to recruit new PSs before the national reforms are completed.
The UNDP, he said, is also sponsoring the national reforms agenda intended to ensure that the government hires PSs that are apolitical. He said this “appears likely to compromise the integrity of the UNDP and prolonging the crisis around the ability of the Prime Minister to appoint the PSs”.
“You must assist your clients to avoid the risk of such occurring in the Kingdom of Lesotho,” he told Webber Newdigate.
Advocate Lephuthing reminded Webber Newdigate that the suggestion to place the PSs on forced leave until their High Court case is finalised was abandoned on March 29, preferring to await the judgement.
“Our clients continued to be in office until Friday when the government usurped the function of the court and placed them on forced leave,” he said.
He said this was a coordinated breach of the constitutional principle of the separation of powers. “This is unlawful to the extent of undermining the rule of law,” he said.
“We cannot tolerate this cloak and dagger approach meant to defeat the ends of justice.
Labour Minister Richards Ramoeletsi told a local radio station last month that the government had decided to terminate the employment contracts of 25 principal secretaries despite their resistance.
He said the government would soon publish vacancies in the offices of all PSs. The minister said the current government had reduced ministers from 27 to 14.
He said the second step will be to reduce the number of PS’s from 27 to 14. “The government laid out different ways to succeed in reducing the number,” he said.
Ramoeletsi said the methods included contesting for the job, changing jobs and maintaining the same salary, and taking the worker for retirement “or the principal secretaries should be re-interviewed for the jobs”.
Ten PS’s who are fighting their dismissal in court are Thabo Motoko, Tlhopheho Sefali, Kamoho Matlama, Dira Khama, Bereng Makotoko, Retšelisitsoe Mohale, Lira Moeti, ’Mamonyane Bohloko and ’Masekhobe Moholobela. The Prime Minister and the Attorney General are the respondents.
These PS’s argue that the government is terminating their contracts prematurely and that “the subsequent decision by the Prime Minister to pay them cash in lieu of notice equivalent to three months is a serious matter that must be addressed urgently.
They argue that the government is moving away from the contracts signed with the previous administration “in a manner that constitutes an anticipatory breach, giving rise on the part of the applicants to an immediate entitlement to exercise their remedies in law”.
They said they are unhappy that they have been directed to proceed to take their remaining leave days on speculation that they have been booted out of their jobs.
“The applicants maintain that the practical consequences of forced leave days may turn out to be invalid,” the court papers read.
Democratic Congress (DC) leader Mathibeli Mokhothu said the government is wrong in seeking to boot out the PSs. “They are going to pay two people for one position, that is frivolous,” Mokhothu said.
He said the reforms have stipulated that the way principal secretaries are hired is not right. “They should have passed those laws instead of rushing to stop floor crossing,” Mokhothu said.
He said hiring new people to act as PSs is going to make the government lose a lot of money as those officials will need fuel allowances, phone allowances and others to do their job.
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