We have been watching with a mix of anger and disappointment as Basotho turn their frustration toward the Public Accounts Committee for exposing corruption and yet doing “nothing.” But that judgment is misplaced. The PAC has done its part. It has called witnesses, exposed evidence, and tabled reports that have shaken the public sector. The real failure lies elsewhere, in the institutions that were created to fight crime and corruption, the DCEO and the LMPS.
This year alone, two state-owned enterprises, the Lesotho Electricity Company and the Lesotho National Development Corporation, were hauled before the PAC. Corruption, not speculation but fact, was laid bare. Yet nothing has followed. The PAC cannot arrest, it cannot prosecute, it cannot confiscate assets. That is the work of the DCEO and the police. And on that front, both institutions have failed spectacularly.
Let us start with LEC. Internal audit reports released in May 2025 revealed how agents and staff colluded to credit customer accounts with money that was never deposited. A single deposit was used several times to justify fake credits. The company lost about M1.8 million. Even worse, LEC’s procurement unit could not produce proper documentation for multi-million maloti contracts. Prices were inflated beyond the original quotations. Suppliers were paid more than they bid. When the auditors asked for justification, there was none.
Then there is LNDC. During its hearing before the PAC, the Committee discovered that the Corporation’s internal auditor was unqualified for the position and related to the board chairperson. The PAC demanded that she be dismissed immediately. That was bold oversight, but what happened next? Nothing.
These are not rumours. They are facts recorded in official hearings. The PAC has done what it could. It has investigated, questioned, and exposed. The problem is that when the cameras switch off and the reports are published, the institutions that should take over vanish into silence.
DCEO and LMPS are the real story here. The agencies that should pursue suspects, freeze assets, and lay charges have instead become guardians of the powerful. The DCEO appears timid when dealing with senior officials, but aggressive when chasing small cases or intimidating the media. The police, on the other hand, seem to find their energy only when journalists report inconvenient truths.
We sometimes think Basotho do not fully understand how limited the PAC’s powers are. It can shine a light, but it cannot act on what it finds. It cannot arrest anyone. It cannot freeze a single bank account. The baton is supposed to be passed to the DCEO and the police, but both institutions drop it every time. That is why the same corrupt networks keep resurfacing in different ministries and parastatals.
We have seen this pattern before. Remember the Tsolo affair, where millions were mismanaged under the guise of renewable energy projects. The DCEO opened an investigation, but it dragged on until the case was struck off the roll. Witnesses disappeared, evidence went missing, and by the time anyone cared, the public had moved on. That is not incompetence by accident, it is incompetence by design.
The DCEO itself is in a state of decay. Its leadership is weak, its independence questionable, and its priorities confused. Instead of following money trails, it spends time issuing statements defending the government. Instead of targeting corruption in ministries, it targets the media. The LMPS has followed a similar path. When corruption involves ordinary officers, arrests come fast. When it touches the politically connected, investigations stall. Files vanish. Dockets are lost.
What frustrates me most is that Basotho still think the PAC can fix this. It cannot. The PAC’s job is to reveal, not to punish. If we want justice, we must demand it from the institutions that hold that power. The DCEO and LMPS have budgets, laws, and mandates that give them teeth, yet they behave like house pets.
We have spoken to a few people who work in these institutions. Some are honest and frustrated. They speak of interference, files that must “go upstairs,” and instructions to slow things down. Others have simply given up. That is the tragedy of our state. Even the honest ones are trapped in a culture of paralysis.
So, before we shout at the PAC for “doing nothing,” let us look closely at those who should be acting. The DCEO and the LMPS have become protectors of the same corruption they were created to fight. Their silence is not neutral; it is betrayal.
And while they sleep, the country bleeds. Projects are inflated, money disappears, and no one goes to jail. Journalists who try to report are threatened. The public grows more cynical. The only people who thrive are those who know someone powerful enough to call off the investigators.
Lesotho does not need new speeches about fighting corruption. It needs institutions that actually believe in their mandates. The DCEO and LMPS must be rebuilt, restructured, and insulated from political influence. Until that happens, the PAC will continue to shout into the void, and Basotho will continue to mistake exposure for justice.
For now, the truth is uncomfortable but clear. The PAC is not the problem. The rot is deeper. It lives in the very institutions that should be cleaning the system, but have instead learned how to survive within it.
