Maseru
Since taking office four years ago, Prime Minister Sam Matekane’s administration has spoken endlessly about transparency and accountability. Yet for three consecutive financial years, not a single audit report has been tabled before Parliament, something unprecedented since the dawn of democracy.
Sources at the Office of the Auditor General confirmed to Lesotho Tribune that the reports for 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 were duly submitted to the Minister of Finance, Dr Retselisitsoe Matlanyane. Despite this, Parliament has never seen them. Efforts to obtain a comment from Dr Matlanyane were unsuccessful.
The delay has alarmed governance advocates who say it strikes at the heart of constitutional oversight. The Auditor General’s reports are the backbone of public accountability. Without them, legislators and the public are left guessing how government spends taxpayers’ money.
Basotho National Party (BNP) leader Machesetsa Mofomobe accused the Matekane administration of concealing uncomfortable truths about procurement and public finances. He said withholding the reports shields officials from scrutiny and betrays the promise of change that brought the Revolution for Prosperity party to power.
Section 2’s Kananelo Boloetse shared the same frustration. Speaking to Lesotho Tribune, Boloetse said his movement considers the situation unconstitutional and unacceptable.
“Yes, we are fully aware that the audits for those financial years have not yet been tabled before Parliament,” he said. “This situation is deeply concerning because it undermines constitutional accountability and transparency. The Constitution requires that public funds be audited and reported to Parliament so that the representatives of the people can exercise meaningful oversight.”
He added that Parliament was complicit in violating its own duty by approving new budgets while unaware of how previous allocations were spent.
“We intend to block Parliament from passing the next national budget and the Appropriation Act until the outstanding audit reports are tabled and debated,” Boloetse warned. “The people deserve to know how their money is being managed before any new allocations are approved.”
The law obliges the Minister of Finance to table audit reports once received from the Auditor General. These reports form the foundation for the Public Accounts Committee to interrogate ministries and state agencies. By withholding them, the government has silenced one of democracy’s most critical checks.
Whatever the reason for the delay, silence is no longer defensible. If the audits expose mismanagement, the public deserves disclosure. If the delay is procedural, the government must explain it. Accountability cannot exist in secrecy.
To date, the Matekane administration has spent more than M3.5 billion without parliamentary approval; a worrying sign that the missing audits may reveal the worst record of corruption and maladministration in Lesotho’s history.
