By Liapeng Raliengoane
MASERU – Owners of vehicles leased out to Lesotho government ministries are demanding payments due to them for the services they have rendered to government through their vehicles.
One vehicle owner, Lebohang Motaung, revealed that vehicles which have been leased out to various government ministries were last paid for in April and March of this year. Motaung added that they ventured into leasing out their vehicles after the Prime Minister Dr. Moeketsi Majoro urged Basotho to let their vehicles to government as a form of poverty reduction strategy.
Motaung pleaded with the government to pay for their vehicles, indicating that they entered into a four-year contract with government and their bank accounts were now in arrears which have accumulated to about M93 000.
Pitso Tšili, a vehicle owner, stated that their contracts stipulate that the government will pay their vehicles on the 15th every month but that has not been the case. Tšili further stated that they consulted with the Ministry of Finance in one of their many attempts to find recourse for this matter, but the Ministry absolved itself by saying that the vehicles were to be paid by individual ministries where vehicles were contracted under.
Another Owner, Rachakane Nkole, pointed out that they had already consulted a lawyer who had already written a letter bringing forth their grievances to the attention of government.
Informative Newspaper made all the necessary efforts to solicit views from the Ministry of Finance in vain.
