LESOTHO COUNTED AMONG WELL PAYING MEMBER STATES OF SADC

Lesotho has been counted among the SADC member states which are doing well in paying their annual financial contributions to the organisation at the meeting of SADC Council of Ministers, held prior to the SADC annual summit of head of states and
governments, in Luanda Angola.

In an interview with Lesotho News Agency (LENA), the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mohlabi Tsekoa, who led the Lesotho delegation of Ministers from Monday to Tuesday, said despite of its outstanding contribution amounting to about M700, 000, which has not yet been paid for the 2002/2003 financial year, the country has been classified among the countries paying well because of its good
payment record, for the past years.

Mr Tsekoa, indicated that the countries, which were reported to be leading in bad payments are the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Seychelles, which have not been paying their arrears since 1999. As a result, he said, the DRC was given sanctions including suspension of the right to speak and receive documentations at SADC meetings, suspension of recruitment and renewal of contracts of personnel from DRC and suspension of funding for new projects in DRC.

Minister Tsekoa, further stated that Seychelles also got the same sanctions despite of its indication to the SADC secretariat that it could not meet its obligations owing to the current economic difficulties in the country. The Minister, asserted that another issue which was discussed at the meeting, which directly affected Lesotho is the issues of poverty, where the country was ranked among the five countries which are mostly hit by poverty in the SADC region and which need to be paid special attention to, by the organisation, to address the problem. He said, other countries in the same rank of poverty with Lesotho include; Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, but indicated that statistically, Lesotho is far better than these other countries on the levels of cereal availability and requirements.

Mr. Tsekoa, said at the same meeting Angola and DRC indicated that they are also forecasting food shortages and therefore appealed to the council of ministers to include them in the SADC Food Assistance Appeal. The SADC Council of Ministers' meeting is held every year before the SADC head of states and governments summit to prepare an annoted agenda for the summit. Lesotho was represented at the meeting by a delegation also comprising the Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Monyane Moleleki, the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment, Ms Lebohang Nts'inyi and the Lesotho's High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr. Mosuoe Moteane.

02 October,2002