Treasury department of the government of Lesotho will stop processing public servants and pensioners payments by Stop Orders to MKM Burial Society from next month.

The Finance and Development Planning, Principal Secretary, Dr Moeketsi Majoro, told LENA in an interview on Wednesday that the decision follows the suspension of MKM investment activities, pending a judicial investigation into the company's operations.

“We can not deduct people's salaries to pay MKM, while the court has ordered that MKM should stop accepting and giving money to its clients, until audit duties have been completed by Central Bank of Lesotho as well as Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC),” he said.

Dr Majoro further said that as soon as investigations are complete, arrangements will be made on how best to tackle this matter, noting that civil servants and civil pensioners will not be penalised on grounds that they delayed payments.

He appealed to members of the public to be calm as measures have been taken to protect their monies from MKM and Millennium Goal Society.

Withholding of Stop Orders to MKM follows the announcement by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Dr Timothy Thahane in the National Assembly on Tuesday that the Central Bank of Lesotho has sought and obtained the high court order allowing judicial investigation against MKM Burial Society and Millennium Goal Society.

Dr Thahane also told the Parliamentarians that Central Bank has been mandated to appoint Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) to carry out audit duties within MKM; take MKM monies to the banks; and such money should not be withdrawn without knowledge of Central Bank",

Therefore, the management of MKM Burial Society and Millennium Goal Society have been ordered to stop collecting money from the public and payment to them forth with.

Source: LENA 28/11/2007