Government officials implicated in irregularities and mismanagement during the implementation of the Belo electrification project will be held accountable, with government seeking to recover the money lost.
Minister of Energy and Mining, Hon. Lejone Mpotjoane, said this during a media tour of the Belo Substation and Industrial Estate.
Hon. Mpotjoane said suspending or dismissing officials implicated in the project would not be enough, as government also needed to find ways of recovering the funds lost through irregularities and mismanagement.
He said the financial losses were significant and would first have to be assessed to establish the full extent of the damage.
He warned that public officials should understand that failure to perform their duties properly carries consequences.
During the same tour, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mining, Mr. Tankiso Phapano, revealed that the Ministry had instituted legal proceedings after discovering that the previous contractor for the electrification project had unlawfully received some payments.
He said a financial reconciliation process was therefore necessary to establish the amounts involved.
Mr. Phapano further said officials who had led the project had been suspended, while others were still undergoing legal processes.
“Money can be retrieved, but time lost can never be replaced. Many people who were supposed to be working in the factories, had they started operating at the initially planned time, would have earned a living during that period, and we cannot replace that,” he said.
He added that the Ministry was putting measures in place to prevent similar incidents in future by ensuring that officials regularly inspect project sites to assess the progress and quality of work before projects are handed over.
“To make sure that this mistake never happens again, officials are now going into the field to inspect the progress and the quality of the work done before the project can be handed over. This will help curb mistakes and repair them before it is too late,” he said.
He further indicated that the Ministry was working towards recruiting more qualified officials to inspect the quality of projects, while also transferring their skills to existing personnel.
He explained that the electrification project had been the main obstacle delaying the completion of the industrial estate and that, following its completion, the Prime Minister was expected to officially hand over and launch the factories.
He said the Belo Substation would receive electricity through two supply lines, one running from Khukhune to Belo and the other from Hlotse to Belo.
However, he said the Khukhune-to-Mopeli section was not yet complete, as inspections were still underway after the current contractor discovered defects in work previously carried out by the first contractor.
He explained that the two supply lines, coming from different directions, were intended to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to the factories in case one line experienced technical problems.
He also revealed that an indoor substation would be constructed at Khukhune to strengthen electricity supply to the factories.
Mr. Phapano, however, said government was facing financial constraints in completing the Khukhune-Belo line due to the substantial losses incurred during the project.
He added that the World Bank, which is funding the electrification project, was also dissatisfied with the manner in which the project had been implemented, particularly the unnecessary costs incurred.
Earlier this year, Minister of Trade, Industry and Business Development, Hon. Maqelepo Maqelepo, revealed during a visit to the industrial estate that approximately M1.1 billion had already been spent on the Belo Industrial Estate, despite the factories remaining non-operational years after construction began.
Construction of the industrial estate was officially launched through a sod-turning ceremony in March 2018. Although the factory structures have long been completed, the estate has yet to begin operations.
Over the years, the site has attracted visits by Members of Parliament, parliamentary committees, Cabinet ministers and other government officials seeking to assess progress on the project.
During the tour, members of the media were taken through the switching room and substation. They were also shown concrete blocks which had been demolished by the current contractor after being found not to meet the required quality standards for the substation.
Media houses represented during the tour included Moeletsi oa Basotho, Lesotho Times, Informative, The Reporter and Newsday newspapers, as well as Lekope FM, Mapholi FM, Mohale FM and PC FM, among others. State media houses were also represented.
Source: Lesotho News Agency [LENA]
