In a jaw dropping set of hearings this week, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has exposed what appears to be systemic corruption inside the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), implicating its top leadership in illicit advance payments, shady tenders, kickback schemes, and cover-ups of procurement violations.
Leaks of internal LNDC reports presented to the PAC reveal that the agency advanced hundreds of millions of maloti in payments to contractors who failed to deliver, Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) politicians, tolerated procurement irregularities, and silenced internal critics.
Advance Payments That Never Delivered
One shocking revelation concerns Parkhomes and Mobile Offices. An advance of M500,000 was paid by Tšepo Putsoa to a South African firm which never delivered on the contract. According to the report, Interim CEO Molise Ramaili is accused of protecting a close associate, Property Manager Tsepo Putsoa, shielding him from disciplinary action despite his role in the corrupt deal.
Elsewhere, in Tikeo Industrial Paving Works, Ramaili, even before his appointment as acting CEO, is said to have been awarded work amounting to M594,269 without proper documentation such as tax clearance or a board resolution. The report claims Putsoa disregarded procurement rules as a favour to Ramaili.
In LNDC Block A (Lift Replacement), the company Otis, a South African lift firm, was paid an advance of M800,000 for work never performed. When the job never materialised, no refunds were made. Subsequently, Schindler, another South African firm, was awarded the same contract for M2.7 million. LNDC reportedly did not recover the initial advance. The report alleges that Ramaili and Putsoa received kickbacks in this scheme as well.
Renovations of LNDC Block A Level 4 were similarly abused. Shining Star Construction was granted advance payments exceeding 30 percent without following the proper process. The same names, Ramaili and Putsoa, are mentioned as beneficiaries of corrupt payments.
Culture of Impunity and Internal Weakness
The report paints a picture of an institution captured by an executive duo, Ramaili and Putsoa, who allegedly manipulated procurement rules, advanced state funds without delivery, and neutralised internal dissent.
Multiple projects granted advances never had proper Works Completion Certificates or formal Works Purchase Orders. In some cases, payment was made before execution of work or even before bids were evaluated.
The PAC has taken notice. In a separate but related move, it has ordered LNDC to fire its internal auditor for allegedly turning a blind eye to hiring malpractice and conflict of interest in staff appointments.
During the hearings, LNDC faced withering criticism, with PAC members accusing its leadership of treating the corporation as a personal slush fund and failing to produce key documents or justify decisions.
Political Overtones and Institutional Fragility
The timing of these revelations is politically charged, taking place in the backdrop of growing public concern over state agency corruption, fiscal mismanagement, and governance failures. Critics argue that LNDC has for years served as a vehicle for patronage under various administrations.
This scandal further erodes public confidence in reform, with many expecting that the institutional rot exposed at LNDC may mirror abuse in other development agencies.
