Two leaked cabinet memoranda have laid bare serious divisions inside Prime Minister Sam Matekane’s administration, revealing how government first approved, then abruptly reversed, a multi-million-maloti plan to purchase 200 tractors for farmers.
The memos, dated 19 September 2025 and 9 October 2025, show a policy U-turn that insiders describe as the product of a bitter power struggle between senior ministers in the finance and agriculture portfolios. One of the memos was leaked to Lesotho Tribune by a cabinet member who opposed the initial decision, claiming it was “financially reckless and politically motivated.”
In the 19 September memo, cabinet had approved an allocation of M174.95 million to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition for the procurement of 200 tractors and associated implements. The decision mandated the ministry to design a repayment model under a cost-sharing arrangement, offering a 30 percent government subsidy and a 60-month repayment plan for the remainder. The funds were to be drawn from the Contingencies Fund, and the Law Office was instructed to prepare a supplementary budget bill.
Less than three weeks later, that entire framework was scrapped.
The 9 October memo records cabinet’s decision to rescind the earlier approval and instead inject an additional M200 million into the Lesotho PostBank Credit Guarantee Facility (LPBCGF), extending its operation for another seven years. Control of the tractor and farm-equipment financing programme was thus transferred from the agriculture ministry to PostBank, a move one official said was “a win for the Finance Ministry and a blow to Agriculture.”
The revised memorandum also instructs PostBank to accommodate youth and farmers who have not previously benefited from government subsidy schemes. While the change is presented as inclusive, critics say it masks a fierce contest for who controls the country’s mechanisation funds.
An official familiar with the proceedings told Lesotho Tribune that the original scheme would have opened the door for politically connected suppliers to benefit through inflated tractor prices and ghost contracts. “There was no proper procurement plan or oversight mechanism. It was a recipe for scandal,” the source said.
Yet others argue that moving the scheme to PostBank risks excluding smallholders who cannot meet lending requirements, undermining the very goal of agricultural mechanisation.
The episode underscores the fragile state of decision-making in Matekane’s cabinet, where ministers often pull in different directions on economic policy. Analysts say the reversal reflects a deeper problem of inconsistency and lack of institutional discipline.
Political observers view the tractor saga as symptomatic of broader governance strains within Matekane’s coalition, where rival power centres are emerging around key ministries. The decision also highlights how fiscal tools such as the Contingencies Fund can become political weapons rather than instruments of development.
For now, the Lesotho PostBank Credit Guarantee Facility will oversee the mechanisation programme, but the political cost of the U-turn is already showing. Within Matekane’s own ranks, several ministers are said to be frustrated by what they describe as “decision-making by reversal” that leaves government credibility in tatters.
