11/09/2025
"𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅-𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓"
~𝑯𝒐𝒏. 𝑫𝒓. 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆 (𝑴𝑷)
Lesotho’s democracy is being quietly auctioned off, one tender at a time. Parliamentarians, who ought to be guardians of the public interest, are instead entangled in government business and promised tenders in exchange for votes on policies and bills that serve private pockets rather than the nation. The result is a system designed not to uplift the people but to enrich a few.
This problem is not new. Many parliamentarians, like a number of other business people, were tenderpreneurs long before they entered politics. Today they continue to wear two conflicting hats: lawmakers by day and contractors by night. Cabinet members and MPs alike are not servants of the people but beneficiaries of a system that rewards connections more than merit.
The tragedy goes beyond corruption. It fuels structural unemployment and entrenches self-enrichment. Tenderpreneurs maximize profits by hiring as few people as possible while inflating costs. Instead of creating jobs, tenders shrink opportunities. Instead of empowering Basotho, they deepen poverty.
Unemployment in Lesotho is not an accident. It is the outcome of a tender-driven economy where political power doubles as a business license. Every road, every building, every contract becomes less about development and more about patronage.
Every inflated tender is not just lost money. It is a higher cost for government, fewer job opportunities for young people, erosion of public trust, and a lack of fair competition that produces substandard products and services. Until Lesotho separates political office from business interests, unemployment will worsen, governance will rot, and democracy will remain a document waiting for signatures from those already eating.
Lesotho will not move forward when tenders move in circles of patronage. It will only move when tenders serve the people by creating jobs, driving genuine development, and protecting democracy.
