Pascalinah Kabi
MASERU — The sports ministry is in the process of repossessing the building that houses the Lesotho Cooperative College in an effort to increase sporting facilities in the country.
The building being used by the Lesotho Cooperative College, situated next to Setsoto Stadium, was initially a Stadium Hotel which was used for accommodation, conferences, meetings and sports activities before 1970.
The government controversially took over the Stadium Hotel and placed it under the trade ministry in the early 1970s because the hotel was in financial trouble.
The hotel owed M2.5 million to creditors.
The government bailed-out the hotel but ordered that it be turned into a college under the trade minister.
That way the building was transferred from the sport ministry to the trade ministry.
But appointed sports minister Thesele ‘Maseribane told a media briefing on Thursday his ministry wants to repossess the building.
“It is not secret that we’ve discussed the issue of Stadium Hotel-turned-college as a ministry and it is in our plan to ensure that this property is back in our hands,” Maseribane said at a press conference held at Bambatha Tsita Sports Arena.
Maseribane, a former taekwondo player and Lesotho Swimming Association president, said people must understand that the Co-operative College is rightfully a sports property.
“We must all understand whose property this is and how it ended up in there (as a college) and follow right procedures to get it back,” he said.
“It had a M2.5 million debt and the government gave it to the ministry of trade after it had paid the hotel’s debts.”
“Of all our plans, in sports, my priorities are to ensure that we build two more stadiums and repossessing the Stadium Hotel will be helpful to us.
“We will use Stadium Hotel for camping and receiving visitors’ and that will help in developing sports in the country.”
He said the two stadiums will be built in Mokhotlong and Qacha’s Nek while there are also plans to improve Setsoto Stadium further.
He said building two more stadiums and improving Setsoto Stadium will not only help develop local sporting facilities but will also provide jobs to thousands of Basotho youth.
Setsoto Stadium has a sitting capacity of 15 000 and is currently Lesotho’s only stadium that meets Fifa requirements to host international matches.