…accuses him of making decisions with board chairperson without approval
Moroke Sekoboto
THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has accused Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO) Chief Executive Officer, Lebohang Ncheke Makara, of colluding with board chairperson, Thabo Stephen Monyamane, to make decisions without the knowledge or approval of the full board.
The committee warned Mr Makara to stop making decisions jointly with Mr Monyamane without consulting the board, insisting that he must respect governance structures and seek guidance from the board on matters requiring its input.
The warning follows a controversial trip to China in April by Mr Makara, Mr Monyamane and WASCO General Manager Finance Leboela Lebete for Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) at Hangzhou Laison Technology Company. The trip was funded by FocalPoint Communications and Business Development, which had been awarded a M378 million Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) tender on 2 March 2026. WASCO terminated the contract on 18 September 2026.
The trip had already come under scrutiny during a previous PAC sitting, when MPs questioned the propriety of a prospective supplier financing the travel and accommodation of senior officials while its tender was under consideration.
The Committee also raised concerns about the procurement process after learning that Econet Telecom Lesotho (ETL), FocalPoint’s intended joint-venture partner, had withdrawn from the arrangement.
The latest accusations emerged when WASCO appeared before the PAC on Thursday to respond to queries raised in the Auditor-General’s report for the 2023/2024 financial year.
PAC chairperson, Machabana Lemphane-Letsie, questioned why Mr Makara appeared to be making decisions with Mr Monyamane rather than consulting the full board. She also demanded an explanation for why WASCO security personnel had been deployed to Mr Monyamane’s residence.
“You have to refrain from making decisions with Mr Monyamane but with the board. You have to report to the board. The board is here and they didn’t approve your trip to China. It was your decision with the chairperson,” Ms Lemphane-Letsie said.
She further questioned the officials’ conduct during the China trip, including the per diems allegedly paid to them and the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chinese technology manufacturer.
“You have to seek advice from the board because they have the expertise and stop making decisions that you can’t explain to the board. You gave yourselves M80 000 and M100 000 per diems to Mr Monyamane during that trip. You also signed a ceremonial MoU with Hangzhou Laison Technology without FocalPoint because you knew you were going to terminate their contract,” Ms Lemphane-Letsie said.
The chairperson alleged that the signing of the MoU suggested WASCO was exploring an alternative arrangement with the Chinese manufacturer while FocalPoint still held the contract and had financed the trip.
“There is a picture of you and the chairperson with a Chinese (representing Hangzhou Laison Technology) signing the ceremonial MoU without Mr Teboho Nthejane (managing director of FocalPoint), meaning you had made a deal with Hangzhou Laison Technology sidelining FocalPoint despite having the contract with WASCO and covering the expenses for the trip.
“You knew Econet had withdrawn and that FocalPoint would not have the capacity to deliver, hence you wanted to partner with Hangzhou Laison Technology,” she said.
The Committee also urged Mr Makara not to re-tender the AMI project following ETL’s withdrawal from its joint venture with FocalPoint.
Instead, MPs recommended that WASCO consider awarding the tender to the second-qualified bidder, arguing that this would promote transparency and help dispel suspicions that the procurement process was being manipulated to favour a particular company.
Ms Lemphane-Letsie warned that re-tendering could create the impression that WASCO was seeking a preferred bidder after terminating FocalPoint’s contract.
Responding to the Committee, Mr Makara undertook to consult the board on such matters in future and said WASCO would not re-tender the project.
On the deployment of security personnel to Mr Monyamane’s residence, Mr Makara said he had acted on the instructions of Natural Resources Minister Mohlomi Moleko after the board chairperson allegedly received threats. However, he failed to produce any legal document supporting the arrangement.
The dispute over the AMI tender follows WASCO’s decision to terminate FocalPoint’s contract after ETL withdrew from the intended joint venture.
Mr Makara told the Committee that WASCO had received a letter from ETL informing it of the company’s withdrawal from the arrangement with FocalPoint. He said ETL had indicated that it remained available to provide services on a request-and-invoice basis, depending on the needs of whoever required its services.
“We have received a letter from ETL informing us of its withdrawal from the tender process as a joint bidder with FocalPoint. ETL had indicated in the letter that it would remain available to provide services on a request-and-invoice basis, subject to the needs of whoever required its services.
“We reached out to both companies and advised them to find a way to work together and fix their relationship, as we had pronounced ourselves that the withdrawal of Econet nullifies the award,” Mr Makara said.
He further told the Committee that FocalPoint had indicated it could partner with Vodacom Lesotho, which had also submitted a bid but was disqualified during the technical evaluation stage.
Mr Makara denied that he had planned to sideline FocalPoint in favour of Hangzhou Laison Technology. He said Mr Nthejane had been unable to attend the MoU signing because he had fallen ill.