As Speaker urges them to respect civil servants appearing before them
Mohloai Mpesi
NATIONAL assembly speaker, Tlohang Sekhamane, has admonished the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for the “vulgarity and bullying” tactics it uses when interrogating government officials.
According to Mr Sekhamane, the PAC should investigate civil service corruption in a professional manner, assisting the executive branch in improving efficiency and service delivery, rather than harassing and intimidating officials.
While the PAC has an oversight obligation to investigate issues such as the allocation of tenders, procurement procedures, cost escalations, and premature payments, the committee is equally obligated to do so with regards to human integrity and respect.
Mr Sekhamane spoke in the National Assembly on Thursday as he made his ruling on concerns raised by the Leader of the House and Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara in February 2025, on the PAC’s questionable treatment of civil servants during its interrogations.
Ms Majara had complained that civil servants had become increasingly reluctant to appear before the PAC due to the humiliation they were subjected to by committee members who are legislators.
According to Ms Majara, government officials had grown weary of being branded “corrupt” and “thieves” by members of the PAC, causing many to refuse summons to appear before the committee.
Mr Sekhamane said when the PAC carried out its work diligently, it assisted the executive branch in bettering the people’s living standards but it “must also preserve the human dignity of those it interrogated”.
The Principal Secretary of Public Works and Transport, T?epang Koele, had also written to Advocate Fine Maema, the Clerk of the National Assembly on November 26, 2024, complaining about the PAC’s treatment of her ministry’s officials during investigations.
Mr Sekhamane said the committee’s primary mandate was to serve as an oversight body, which includes investigating wrongdoings.
He said by diligently fulfilling this role, the committee assisted the executive to be more efficient. It must nonetheless discharge the role properly, he exhorted.
“The primary functions of members of parliament are to represent the people, make laws, appropriate funds to the executive, and oversee the use of those funds by the executives,” he continued.
Mr Sekhamane emphasized that the oversight function was the core reason for the PAC’s existence.
He said the PAC had both the right and obligation to investigate how tenders were allocated, whether proper procurement procedures were followed, and why there were cost escalations or payments made before work was completed.
“Their failure to perform this task effectively would mean disaster for economic development and service delivery. So, when the PAC performs its work with rigor and dedication, they are actually assisting the executive to be more effective and efficient in improving the living standards of the people,” he stated.
However, Mr Sekhamane cautioned that it was not appropriate for the PAC to belittle and harass civil servants when they were summoned before the committee.
He noted that in the past, members of parliament had successfully spoken out against police brutality. It was time their own “brutality” against civil servants was spoken against.
“In my opinion, these (police) atrocities have now been significantly reduced precisely because MPs were vocal about them. I think it can safely be said that the eleventh parliament intervened successfully in combating these brutalities on the part of the police,” he said.
In a similar manner, the PAC’s disrespect of civil servants and brutal interrogation methods must be spoken against.
“There is now an outcry that members of the PAC are using disrespectful and unacceptably abusive methods to investigate matters that are before them. High ranking officials of government are hackled, addressed harshly and with total disregard for their human dignity,” Mr Sekhamane said.
“People are accused of being thieves, they are told that they are corrupt, they are accused of lying and deliberately hiding the truth. When people are suspected of wrongdoing, they are generally humiliated, bullied, and demonized. Intimidation has become the norm, such that people are horrified when they are called to appear before the PAC.”
It had therefore become necessary to speak out against the behaviour of MPs if that is what was needed to rein them in just as speaking out against the police had reduced their incidents of brutality against civilians.
The Speaker emphasized the importance of decorum and propriety in the PAC’s investigations, stating that the committee should carry out its oversight duties in a professional and respectful manner.
Mr Sekhamane further referenced Section 8(1) of the Lesotho constitution, which states, “No person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or other such treatment.”
He noted the “common wisdom and natural justice decree that one is innocent until one is proved guilty.”
Mr Sekhamane said PAC members should therefore ask questions “humbly without intimidating anyone.”
He emphasized that the PAC was the “biggest committee that has big powers and oversees all the issues relating to oversight against civil servants who are even lower than ministers.”
Therefore, he argued, those summoned before the PAC should not feel “humiliated” or “scared,” as “everybody is innocent until proven guilty.”
Sekhamane said when the PAC investigates procurement cases “with zest and rigour, it cannot be accused of overreaching, it is doing its job.” However, he firmly ruled that “it is absolutely wrong for members of the PAC to humiliate and disrespect public officers.”
Mr Sekhamane also said there were complaints that the PAC sometimes prematurely discussed publicly issues under investigation.
“There are also rumours that members sometimes prematurely discuss matters that are before the PAC in the public media, something which completely flies in the face of Standing Order Number 90,” he said.
More broadly, Mr Sekhamane observed a “raging hatred” and “them against us” mentality between members of parliament, with the “opposition against government” and “MPs against the executive.” He lamented that this adversarial dynamic had replaced a focus on “doing what we should be doing.”
However, a defiant Mootsi Lehata, a Democratic Congress (DC) legislator for the Makhaleng and PAC member, firmly asserted to Mr Sekhamane that the PAC did not disrespect anyone. Rather, it fulfilled its responsibilities, emphasizing that individuals who misappropriated state resources must be held accountable.
“There is never a moment when the PAC engages in harassment or disrespect,” he stated.
Mr Lehata recalled an incident when the PAC visited Mr Sekhamane’s office, while he served as Government Secretary (GS), to express concerns regarding PSs who failed to account and respond to inquiries from the Auditor-General.
“I cannot recall if it was during the sixth or seventh parliament, but I distinctly remember the PAC approaching your office when you were Government Secretary, urging you to communicate with Chief Accounting Officers who were unable to account for and address the Auditor-General’s questions,” Mr Lehata said.
“We were in Cabinet when we discussed the need for communication with Principal Secretaries during our Friday meetings back then, as they presented us with challenges. This issue persists today, despite claims that the PAC operates as a torturing chamber.
“Public servants must be accountable, and our actions do not constitute disrespect; they simply must fulfil their obligations. We are prepared to approve this budget (2025-2026 budget) for their salaries because we expect them to be accountable.”
He concluded: “Thus, the accusation of disrespect is unfounded. The constitution outlines the treatment individuals should receive, and we are aware of its provisions. We are accountable to the constitution, having all taken an oath to uphold it in this assembly, and we are simply executing our duties. People must be held accountable.”
In her November 2024 letter addressed to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Public Works and Transport ministry PS, Ms Koele expressed her deep offense at being subjected to severe insults, including the term “libolu,” which denotes individuals perceived as rotten, corrupt or dishonest.
She stated, “I am submitting this letter to formally lodge a complaint regarding the unethical behaviour exhibited by the chairperson and certain members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) towards me in my capacity as the Chief Accounting Officer of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
“Specifically, during the meetings held on November 25 and 26, 2024, where the ministry was expected to provide updates on infrastructure projects, the PAC chairperson and several members repeatedly directed derogatory remarks at the ministry concerning Building Design Services and its officials.
“They referred to us using terms such as ‘libolu (those who are rotten),’ ‘masholu (thieves),’ ‘thokolosi,’ and ‘BDS e itšoere hampe (BDS is out of order),’ along with other inappropriate and disrespectful language that one would not anticipate from esteemed committee members.”