Members of the National Assembly have adopted the report of the portfolio committee on the Economic and Development Cluster on the budget and estimates for the fiscal year 2008/2009.

The motion proposing Members to adopt the budget and estimates for the fiscal year 2008/2009 was tabled by the chairperson of the portfolio committee Mr. Sekoala Toloane on Wednesday.

Mr. Toloane said the House should adopt the motion to pave way for Members to debate over it and stated that it was a hectic task for the committee to finally agree about the report.

He however expressed concern that the capital budget for this fiscal year seems to be decreasing while the recurrent budget has increased.

The leader of the Basotholand Congress Party (BCP) in the House said what was also worrying was the fact that this capital budget that was meant for carrying out developmental activities was not used.

'That means the money which was earmarked for improving qualify of lives for Basotho was not utilised and the question is why?' he added.

Mr. Toloane appealed to the government to address the issue of electricity within six months from now to avoid load shedding.

Speaking over the motion, Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) representative in the National Assembly Mr. Rantelali Shea said the fact that the house was not updated why the capital budget was not utilised was of great concern.

'How could we allocate funds to be used at the government ministries and not get a feed back?' he asked.

He also stressed the need to pay civil servants based on their performance, saying at present even employees whose cases have pending for years get their full salaries.

Mr. Shea stated that he had expected the Minister of Finance and Development Planning to set aside budget intended to increase wool and mohair production, after stating that agriculture and tourism have not contributed enough in the economic growth of the country.

The Member of Parliament also appealed to the government to ensure that wool and mohair are processed in the country to create job opportunities and not export them raw to other countries where they return as finished products.

He hoped that things will improve next year following the adoption of standing orders by the House, which provide that Members be updated on quarterly basis on how the allocated funds have been used since the beginning of next year's budget.

The debate over the financial policy are continuing.

Source: LENA 05/03/2008