By:Pheello Mosesi
Mokema, a village some tens of kilometres out of the city of Maseru, is a whole lot brighter after a total of 744 homes were electrified this week.
The commemoration towards this infrastructure advancement was spearheaded by the Prime Minister, Sam Matekane and the Minister of Energy Mohlomi Moleko.
Giving the background of how the lack of electricity presented obstacles in the everyday lives of Mokema, Mphatlalatsane Committee member Masilo Masilo said their story started back in 1985.
“We started to pull straws, fighting in desperation to be gifted with services to improve our livelihoods.”
He said they not only faced the crisis of lacking electricity, but also hinted that other basic services like water and sanitation proved to be problematic.
In 1989, we started to prioritise the electricity demand. I went to places like Mofoka and Korokoro, Mokema and many others to try to unite people to make a stronger case. In 1992, the LEC advised us to create a committee and we named it Mphatlalatsane. Today I stand with pride because this is finally a reality that we have electricity.”
In between the speeches, the festivities included artists’ performances as well as a school choir performance by Mokema Primary School, which, within their song, requested to have computers installed in the school premises for the students to learn.
Their request was swiftly replied to by the Prime Minister in his remarks.
”I am ordering the Minister of Education, who is with us today, to ensure that the students have computers. I have also heard the woes made by the locals about water, I promise that this request shall be met.”
“Electricity is one of the main objectives of the government. We are aiming to ensure that every Mosotho has access to basic human services. We want to make Basotho lives easier. By 2030, every Mosotho should have electricity. We will attain this by supplying the Ministry of Energy with the much required funding.”
Matekane noted that the installation of electricity in these communities will not only make lives simpler at homes but indicated that it is going to extend business opportunities and better health care services.
It was reported that the villagers of Mokema benefited from the project by securing entry-level jobs that required no advanced skills.
The Minister of Energy, Mohlomi Moleko, stressed that Lesotho is working tirelessly to fully own its electrical power. He said that before the end of 2027, Lesotho will have an adequate supply, reaching places that are currently powered by the South African-based electricity company Eskom.
“The imported electricity is very costly, we have been mandated by the Prime Minister as the ministry to ensure that we use local electricity companies. This is in the pipeline to get into another phase of power supply at Ha Ramarotholepower station. This power station will supply electricity from Ha Mofoka all the way to Qacha’s Nek,” he said.
Four communities that are beneficiaries of this project valued at the sum of M22 652 307.52 are Mokema, Ha Ramaqhanyane, Ha Liile and Ha Lekete, supplying a total of 744 families. The project took a duration of 11 months to reach completion by a Mosotho-owned construction company, BNG Electrical Company.
