{"id":63902,"date":"2025-11-06T17:57:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T17:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution"},"modified":"2025-11-06T18:35:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:35:54","slug":"senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution","title":{"rendered":"Senators question GASRTT dissolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>THE Senate has questioned the government\u2019s decision to dissolve the Government Asset Search and Recovery Task Team (GASRTT), calling for its urgent reinstatement.<\/p>\n

While raising the matter during a question and answer session at the Old Parliament building yesterday, the Principal Chief of Leribe, Joel Mot\u0161oene, said the disbandment of the task team had worsened the abuse of government property, particularly in Leribe where councillors allegedly allocate public land at will.<\/p>\n

Chief Mot\u0161oene said he had placed his hopes in the task team to address rampant mismanagement and illegal allocation of government assets. He asked the Minister of Justice and Law, Richard Ramoeletsi, whether the government intended to legalise and formalise the task team to ensure its operations were anchored in law.<\/p>\n

Chief Mot\u0161oene also asked if the the minister was aware that the task team had been operating without a clear legal framework defining its establishment and mandate, the reason cited for its disbandment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf so, what steps are being taken to legalise and formalise the task team to ensure that its operations align with the Constitution, existing laws, and principles of accountability and transparency? Further, can the minister clarify how recovered assets are being managed in the absence of a specific legislative framework?\u201d asked the chief.<\/p>\n

In response, Mr Ramoeletsi said Cabinet had directed the Minister in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, Limpho Tau, to facilitate the drafting of legislation to empower the task team to continue with its mandate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cabinet directed the Minister in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office to draft a law to formalise the task team. A report has already been submitted to that office, and follow-ups are being made to determine where recovered assets will be kept,\u201d Mr Ramoeletsi said.<\/p>\n

However, Chief Mot\u0161oene pressed him further, saying the situation in Leribe had deteriorated since the dissolution of the task team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply concerned because government funds were used to establish this committee, yet its disbandment has left a vacuum. In Leribe, governance has collapsed. People allocate government sites to themselves, seize public property, demolish government buildings, and build their own houses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is painful for us as leaders to witness such lawlessness while no action is taken. In Hlotse, for example, a councillor is virtually holding government hostage, allocating sites as he pleases. I wonder how soon the government will act to reinstate and legalise the task team to deal with these issues,\u201d Chief Mot\u0161oene said.<\/p>\n

In reply, Mr Ramoeletsi acknowledged the urgency of the matter, noting that the task team had been formed in 2022 to tackle similar abuses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis issue must be addressed quickly. When this government took office in 2022, we were already dealing with the misuse of government land and property, which led to the formation of the task team. Its report has been submitted to the Prime Minister\u2019s Office. What remains now is the legislation to give it legal authority to operate. The Minister in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office must expedite this process so that the team functions under the protection of the law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Background<\/p>\n

The GASRTT was disbanded on 27 October 2025 on the grounds there was no legal instrument to back its existence.<\/p>\n

However, insiders alleged this was a calculated move to protect powerful figures implicated in corruption scandals involving government assets.<\/p>\n

Formed in December 2022 under the Office of the Prime Minister, the 11-member task team became operational in March 2023. It was mandated to reclaim all state assets \u2014 including land, buildings, and vehicles \u2014 fraudulently acquired by individuals, with some cases dating as far back as Lesotho\u2019s independence in 1966.<\/p>\n

Its duties included identifying illegally occupied sites, verifying developed and vacant plots, and auditing government residential houses amid concerns that the state\u2019s asset inventory was in disarray.<\/p>\n

The task team comprised officials from the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, the ministries of Finance and Development Planning, and Public Service, Labour and Employment, with additional support from the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF), the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), and the National Security Service (NSS).<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. THE Senate has questioned the government\u2019s decision to dissolve the Government Asset Search and Recovery Task Team (GASRTT), calling for its urgent reinstatement. While raising the matter during a question and answer session at the Old Parliament building yesterday, the Principal Chief of Leribe, Joel Mot\u0161oene, said the disbandment of the task […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":63901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-63902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nSenators question GASRTT dissolution - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"THE Senate has questioned the government\u2019s decision to dissolve the Government Asset Search and Recovery Task Team (GASR ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senators question GASRTT dissolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE Senate has questioned the government\u2019s decision to dissolve the Government Asset Search and Recovery Task Team (GASR ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-06T17:57:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-06T18:35:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/sm_1762441309.216415.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1617\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1103\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Senators question GASRTT dissolution\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-06T17:57:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-06T18:35:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution\"},\"wordCount\":689,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/sm_1762441309.216415.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/senators-question-gasrtt-dissolution\",\"name\":\"Senators question GASRTT dissolution - 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