MASERU — Allegations of politically motivated recruitment in the run-up to Lesotho’s National Population Census have sparked fears of a public boycott, casting a shadow over one of the country’s most consequential national exercises.
The controversy centres on how census supervisors and enumerators are being selected and whether the process has been manipulated to favour supporters of the ruling Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party.
Government Moves to Contain the Fallout
Seeking to calm tensions, Minister of Education and Training Prof. Ntoi Rapapa appeared before the Committee of Supply in the National Assembly on Thursday, speaking on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Development Planning.
Rapapa confirmed that approximately 1,200 graduates in Statistics and Economics had been recruited as supervisors, drawn from the Ministry of Public Service database an approach he defended as drawing on an existing pool of qualified candidates rather than initiating a fresh open recruitment process.
He added that recruitment for enumerators remains ongoing, with applications closing on March 20. Candidates must hold diploma-level qualifications and are required to indicate their constituencies and districts to enable deployment in areas where they have local knowledge.
“The intention is to enable them to work within their constituencies, as they are familiar with their terrains,” Rapapa told lawmakers.
Transparency Concerns Deepen
The government’s explanation has done little to satisfy Members of Parliament, who have pointed to what they describe as a troubling lack of transparency particularly in the appointment of supervisors.
Several MPs alleged that certain individuals had been pre-selected or recalled through unofficial channels. A list circulating on social media, reportedly bearing official constituency stamps, appears to show names of individuals already hired before the official application deadline had closed.
Basotho National Party (BNP) leader Hon. Machesetsa Mofomobe has gone further, alleging in Parliament that the ruling RFP had already handpicked and placed its supporters in census roles while the application process was still open. He warned that the exercise risks being reduced to a partisan undertaking a charge that has resonated with other opposition figures.
Basotho Action Party leader Prof. Nqosa Mahao has called for urgent parliamentary intervention, urging the relevant committee to investigate the allegations without delay.
“The allegations are alarming and require proper scrutiny,” Mahao said.
Deputy Speaker Mrs. Ts’epang Mosena acknowledged the seriousness of the concerns, noting that Parliament would need to give the matter further attention.
The Deeper Risk: A Crisis of Public Trust
What began as a dispute over hiring procedures has since evolved into something more troubling a threat to the legitimacy of the census itself.
If citizens come to view the exercise as politically compromised, the risk of low participation or outright refusal to be counted grows considerably. Such an outcome would do far more damage than any procedural irregularity: it would distort the population data upon which national budgets, service delivery plans, and development strategies depend for the next decade.
The National Population Census, conducted every ten years and scheduled for April, is the bedrock of how government allocates resources and plans for the future. But its value rests entirely on one fragile element: public trust.
The Question the Government Has Not Answered
While authorities have sought to justify the recruitment approach, they have yet to directly address the growing perception that the process has been compromised. In a census, where participation is voluntary and driven by civic confidence, that silence carries real consequences.
The ultimate risk may not lie in how the census is conducted, but in whether enough Basotho choose to take part in it at all.
