MASERU – The Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) board has reversed its stance on executive acting allowances, cutting them back to 10 percent just months after defending payouts totalling M2.1 million per month.
Acting CEO Ntsie Maphathe informed staff members of the decision earlier today, according to company insiders. The reversal comes as LEC prepares to approach Minister of Finance and Development Planning Dr Retselisitsoe Matlanyane for a fresh bailout estimated at over M200 million.
This will be the second state rescue for the financially crippled utility in under a year. In March 2025, LEC received approximately M300 million to import electricity and meet operating expenses after liabilities outstripped assets by nearly M100 million. In October 2024, Cabinet had been sharply divided over an earlier M700 million bailout proposal to settle debts with Eskom, Electricidade de Moçambique, LEGCO, and the Muela hydropower plant.
Contradicting Its Own Policy
The decision to previously ignore the 10 percent acting allowance cap has now drawn fresh attention to LEC’s own documented rules. A memorandum dated 29 October 2021, signed by then Managing Director Mohato Seleke, confirmed that the revised acting appointments policy approved by the board, was designed to limit acting positions to short-term measures and set compensation guidelines. That policy, effective from 1 November 2021, was meant to prevent long-standing acting appointments and control related costs.
Despite this, in May 2025 the board justified multimillion-maloti monthly payouts to acting and suspended executives by claiming the policy had not been formally adopted and that no minutes existed to validate it.
Salary Hike Amid Crisis
Adding fuel to public anger, less than two months before the latest bailout request, Maphathe issued a 23 June 2025 memorandum announcing a 3 percent salary increase for all staff. The increment, approved by the board, was staggered across pay grades to address salary disparities. While management thanked staff for their patience during negotiations, critics see the move as tone-deaf given the utility’s financial distress.
Mounting Pressure
LEC is still under a forensic investigation launched in March 2025, with several executives suspended as the Auditor-General and Public Accounts Committee probe procurement irregularities, unaccounted funds, and governance failures.
