Maseru, Oct.11 — Minister of Home Affairs and Police has refuted allegations that she has withdrawn her support for restructuring of police allowances or abandoned the welfare concerns of men in blue.
Minister Voeswa Tsheka said this following a statement by Lesotho Police Staff Association (LEPOSA) earlier that where the association alleged that Minister Tsheka was backing down on the agreement made on June 29 this year that the proposed police allowance of M1,500 would be implemented in three phases.
Minister Tsheka said from her first meeting with the Police Boss, she acknowledged the challenges facing police officers and pledged support in addressing them and regretted the treatment they had experienced.
She said her position remains clear that they cannot demand high standards of service without properly addressing officers’ remuneration, welfare and working conditions.
She said she made two requests to cabinet; the retention of police on leave pending retirement and the restructuring of police allowances as support to the police reform journey.
She, however, noted that cabinet’s approval was subject to concurrence from her ministry and Ministries of Finance and of Public Service with more work between relevant institutions required prior to implementation.“Minister of Finance in our first meeting with her team, Commissioner of Police, Director of Finance and Director Human Resource, she advised that both requests required careful consideration and asked LMPS to identify which should be addressed first.
Then the Commissioner proposed starting with retention. Thereafter the agreed approach was for relevant teams to complete work on that request first then proceed to allowances,” she explained.
Therefore, she emphasized that this sequencing did not mean rejection of the allowances or withdrawal of her support.However, she highlighted that decisions of this nature have financial implications as well as affect public service conditions of employment.
She said the concurrence of both Ministries of Finance and Public Service is required, saying that such concurrence can only be sought after the LMPS has finalized its plan and submitted it through appropriate channels for consideration.
“When representatives approached my office about allowances, I referred them to the Principal Secretary to put their outstanding matters in writing.
The intention was to establish a clear record of progress, outstanding work and decisions required from my office. It was not a refusal to hear their concerns,” she lamented.
She assured that her commitment to police welfare remains unchanged, saying constructive engagement, supported by accurate information, must continue as they strengthen officers’ working conditions, professionalism and service to Basotho.
She called upon responsible teams to provide a consolidated written update through the Principal Secretary, setting out completed work, outstanding matters and a proposed timetable for the next steps.
Meanwhile LEPOSA strongly indicated that they did not negotiate the issue of retention in any form or at any stage of the negotiations.
Their three key issues they negotiated and expected implementation included police allowances, LMPS Administration Regulations 2025 and Workmen’s Compensation Regulations.
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