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LESOTHO DEBTS STAND AT M22 BILLION

The Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Dr Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane requested funds for the public debt, pensions and gratuities, statutory salaries and allowances in the National Assembly on Monday.

When requesting the funds allocation, Dr Matlanyane revealed that Lesotho’s debt stands at M22 billion which she said includes external and domestic debts.

She said the external debt is M17, 7 billion while the domestic debt is M4.3 billion.

She requested the ministry to be allocated M1, 621,012,282 for payment of civil pensions, government pension contributions, gratuities and compensations.

Dr Matlanyane further requested her ministry to be given M40,791,728 for statutory salaries and allowances as per sections 48 and 115 of the Constitution of Lesotho.

“I request this committee to allocate M432,990,794 for the Youth Apprenticeship Program which is intended for employment creation,” she said.

She further proposed that these funds be allocated towards financing Lesotho Contingent in the SADC Mission in Mozambique.

The Minister said the M300,000 will cater for emergencies and unforeseen circumstances. At the same time, M124,434,160 will pay subscriptions to international organisations such as International Monetary Fund (IMF), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Commonwealth, United Nations and others.

A Member of Parliament (MP) representing Basotho Action Party (BAP) in Proportional Representation (PR), Mr. Motlatsi Maqelepo expressed concern over this debt, saying some of the Members of Parliament are not aware of these debts which contribute a lot to the country’s recurrent budget.

He urged for the inclusion of Parliament when the government decides to engage in debts so that members become part of the process to know exactly what the intended obligations will be used for and any conditions attached to them.

Source: LENA 27/03/2023

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