Inexperienced ministers a problem: Makhalanyane

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The Parliamentary Committee on Social Cluster Affairs was recently hailed as one of the most effective and transparent parliamentary committees. It has done a great job in ensuring that the ministries it oversees are fully held accountable.

The committee, chaired by Mokhotlong constituency MP Mokhothu Makhalanyane, recently stepped in and helped end a three-week strike by health workers in Mokhotlong, Qacha’s Nek and Thaba-Tseka districts.

The committee also directed the Department of Natural Resources to address grievances in the Kolo community arising from the operations of a local mining company and is currently working to address challenges arising from the eviction of street vendors from large parts of the Maseru Central Business District.

Taking into account the progress being made by the Committee,lesotho times(Left) reporter,sweet potato,A brief one-on-one meeting with Mr. Makhalanyane. Understanding the workings of the commission and its achievements, with a primary focus on the health sector. Cabinet ministers and senior civil servants are usually not in favour of commissions led by efficient and investigative MPs like Mr Makhalanyane. They would rather try to hide their machinations. Mr Makhalanyane said inexperienced ministers and those civil servants who have something to hide are usually the problem. But experienced ministers like Health Minister Selibe Mochoboroane, who have been in Parliament for many years and fully understand parliamentary processes, are more likely to work with the commission and are able to fully cooperate with it.

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LT: What is the role of the Social Cluster Portfolio Committee and can you say that you are discharging its responsibilities effectively?

insect: Our role is to allocate funds to the three ministries under our supervision. They are the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of Social Development, Gender and Youth. We play a supervisory role to ensure that they operate in accordance with the policies and provide services to the people as expected.

Our role is one of oversight and accountability, which includes monitoring, oversight, investigation, and even recommending restructuring when necessary.

LT: Are the committee’s recommendations binding?

insect: The committee can make recommendations and resolutions and submit them to the National Assembly. When the Parliament adopts the reports and recommendations of the Social Groups Committee, they will become binding.

LTQ: What is the relationship between the Commission and the ministries it oversees? Do you think the ministries cooperate and give the Commission the respect and appreciation it deserves?

insect: It depends on the experience of the Cabinet ministers we work with. Ministers who were previously ordinary MPs or members and chairs of Parliamentary Affairs Committees are easy to work with. They understand what is expected of them and work well with us. They are cooperative and respect the committees.

One example is the Ministry of Health. I am sure you have seen that we have a strong presence in that ministry because Selibe Mojoborone was once the Chairman of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee and was a Member of Parliament before he became Minister. He fully understands how the committee works and appreciates the power of the National Assembly…

Civil servants who have been in government for a long time also have great respect for the committee and are more cooperative than those who have just joined the government.

Thirdly, ministers who had not been MPs before and had not been on any committees were always problematic and rarely cooperative. They did not understand what was expected of them and the importance of working well with departmental committees.

LT: What are the major achievements of your committee since the 11th International Chess Federation was founded?dayParliament in October 2022, with a special focus on the Ministry of Health?

insect: The Commission has achieved a lot since its inception. Staff at Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital were not paid on time and doctors were owed attendance allowances dating back to 2018. We have resolved this issue. Staff are now paid on time and most doctors have received their attendance allowances.

The National Health Training Center (NHTC) was unable to meet the accreditation requirements due to lack of resources, and they had been asking for resources for years, but to no avail. We worked hard to resolve this issue and purchased the resources, including the required computers, and the institution is now accredited.

Another thing is that we have also put a lot of effort into the development of the National Medical University (NHTC) and a bill will soon be submitted to Parliament seeking to upgrade the institution to a health and medical university.

When we resumed work in 2022, the construction project of the Maseru District Hospital had been put on hold despite the availability of a budget of about Maseru 40 million which had been set aside to ensure the renovation of the hospital. So, we ensured that work resumed and it is now complete. We call on all relevant ministries to address the challenges that are hindering the progress of the project.

We have also initiated what we call project acceleration programs for all the projects that are still to be completed. We monitor these acceleration programs to make sure that all the projects are completed.

We found out that the three platforms of the cancer centre had been under construction since 2011. Construction started, then was abandoned, and the little progress made there was destroyed by heavy rains over time, and the government spent RM6 million on reconstruction.

The committee stepped in and ensured that the project was completed in five months and for less money than was originally budgeted for the project. Today, the cancer center is operational.

We have just recently addressed complaints about hardship allowances for health workers deployed in remote areas of the country. We called the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Service and asked them to address the matter. The promise to review the level of allowances dates back to 2006. It is long overdue.

When these ministries tried to make things difficult for us, we contacted the Prime Minister’s Office, spoke to Professor Ntoi Rapapa, who was in charge of the matter at the time, and asked him to intervene and ensure that the problem was resolved. He did, and starting this month, public servants, including health workers, will receive an increased hardship allowance.

Continuing with the achievements, the Ka’a community (Buta-Bute) contacted the Commission and told us that since the clinic was built at the Ka’a mine, there had been no services provided because there were no medical staff at the clinic. They said that the clinic had not been operational, but now it is open and will start providing health services to the community from this week. We did not even know that this clinic existed; this is the first time we have heard of it.

We also made sure that the government allocated funds to pay off the debt owed by the Ministry of Health to the Bloemfontein Hospital in South Africa. We fought and even threatened to cancel the annual budget if the money was not in the budget. We are talking about debts that have accumulated over many years. The government said it had no money, but we told them that repayment of the debt was necessary so that Basotho people could have free and safe access to South African health services.

The hospitals owned by the Christian Health Association of Lesotho (CHAL) no longer receive government subsidies. The government only pays salaries to these hospitals, which has left them in a difficult position and unable to provide the quality healthcare they are known for. We spoke to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and demanded that the hospitals receive quarterly operating budgets, without question. This issue has also been resolved.

LTQ: We understand that China has only sent six doctors to Maseru District Hospital. What is the government doing to ensure that the hospital operates at maximum capacity and is not constrained by staff shortages?

insect: The hospital has installed a telemedicine system, so foreign doctors and specialists do not have to be physically present to see patients, but can see them remotely. As the government is still negotiating with overseas workers, some doctors will go to the country. Therefore, we have options. Chinese doctors will be sent to assist, and our specialists will work remotely through the telemedicine system. International doctors and specialists visit the country every year to help solve complex medical cases.

LTQ: Has the government extended an invitation to Basotho specialist doctors working abroad to return home and work in hospitals?

insect: As far as I know, no.

LTQ: What challenges does the Commission face in its work that limits it from achieving its full potential?

insect: Lack of monitoring system. I am talking about standard operating procedures. We do not have a guidance system or template to guide us in doing performance monitoring of different departments. Monitoring system includes report templates, timelines or checklists to check what needs to be checked when evaluating the performance of a department. Many monitoring and performance evaluations are not done effectively and therefore the council cannot make informed decisions.

LT: How do you operate without the necessary systems??

insect:You can ask again. Everyone is working as hard as they can and there is no guiding tool. That is why you do not see the report. I am currently discussing with my team to prepare an annual report. We need to be accountable to the people and tell them what we have done, how much we have received and how the money has been spent. The budget of the social sector accounts for 21% of the entire budget and must be allocated to its ministries.

We need to report on the performance of the departments we are mandated to oversee and how well we monitor their operations. Without the tools I mentioned, this is difficult.