M3.4 billion spent without approval

… ‘Urgent’ six months later, parliament asked to rubber-stamp the expenditure

The government has admitted to spending more than M3.4 billion without prior approval in the last financial year and is now asking parliament to retroactively legalise the expenditure.

Last week, Finance and Development Planning Minister Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane tabled the Supplementary Appropriation (2024/2025) Bill, 2025. The Bill seeks approval for M3,452,226,578.44, already withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund, to cover unbudgeted recurrent and capital expenses for the 2024/2025 fiscal year.

According to the Bill, M539 million was advanced from the Contingencies Fund, which had initially been capitalised at M300 million and later topped up by M328 million through reallocation.

M1.18 billion was raised through Treasury Bonds to finance projects including the construction of the Petroleum Fund Headquarters, Lesotho Highlands Water Commission (LHWC) operations, subventions to the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) for ‘Muela Hydropower Works, Mohale access roads, the Oxbow Hydro II Project, settlement of government arrears, and a loan to the Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) to pay Eskom.

M784 million was allocated under centralised items for salaries, arrears, youth and public works programmes, support for the Lesotho Millennium Development Agency (LMDA), official travel, and “critical initiatives” in agriculture, education, and security.

On the capital side, M180.9 million was shifted within the existing budget to prioritise key investments, while M65.1 million from the Contingencies Fund was used for electricity connections and road projects.

Donor disbursements worth M372.4 million, initially unbudgeted, were also channelled into development projects.

The Constitution of Lesotho requires that no money be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund unless authorised by parliament through an appropriation law.

However, it makes provision for supplementary estimates or statements of excess when government spending exceeds approved allocations or when new needs arise mid-year.

The Bill was, according to the government, introduced in accordance with section 112 (3) (a) and (b) and section 114 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of Lesotho.

When the Bill was tabled, Democratic Congress (DC) leader Mathibeli Mokhothu immediately stood on a point of order, questioning whether it was proper for a supplementary appropriation bill of the previous financial year to be introduced in the next.

Mokhothu implied that the Constitution was violated by spending first and seeking approval months later. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Tlohang Sekhamane, reserved his ruling on the matter.

On the surface, the bill appears to be a routine exercise of financial housekeeping, aligning past expenditures with parliamentary authority. However, the Constitution of Lesotho sets out clear conditions under which the government may spend money in advance of appropriation.

Section 114 establishes the Contingencies Fund and permits the Minister of Finance to make advances only where an urgent and unforeseen need arises for which no other provision exists. More importantly, the Constitution directs that where such advances are made, a supplementary estimate and appropriation bill must be presented “as soon as possible” to replace the amount withdrawn.

It reads: “Parliament may make provision for the establishment of a Contingencies Fund and for authorising the Minister for the time being responsible for finance, if satisfied that there has arisen an urgent and unforseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exists, to make advances from that Fund to meet that need.”

It adds: “Where any advance is made from the Contingencies Fund, a supplementary estimate shall be presented and a supplementary Appropriation bill shall be introduced as soon as possible for the purpose of replacing the amount so advanced.”

This is where the government’s actions appear constitutionally questionable. The 2024/2025 financial year ended on 31 March 2025. Yet the bill was only presented to parliament in September 2025.

More than six months had elapsed, during which the money had already been spent without legislative oversight. The unavoidable question is whether such a delay can genuinely be considered “as soon as possible,” as demanded by the Constitution.

Equally troubling is the nature of the expenditures themselves. Constitutionally, the Contingencies Fund is reserved for unforeseen and urgent needs.

However, many of the listed expenditures, construction of a headquarters building, clearance of arrears, subventions to parastatals, and even official travel, do not readily qualify as unforeseen.

These are recurring or planned commitments that should ordinarily be included in the annual budget, rather than financed under the guise of emergency spending.

The effect of this practice is twofold. First, it weakens parliamentary oversight by allowing the executive to spend first and seek approval later, long after the financial year has closed.

Second, it undermines the constitutional principle of accountability in public finance, where the power of the purse is vested in parliament on behalf of the people.

Furthermore, the sheer size of the supplementary bill relative to the national budget suggests that government has normalised overspending on a massive scale.

A supplementary bill of over M3.4 billion cannot credibly be presented as a mere adjustment as it represents a significant reconfiguration of national finances, conducted outside parliament’s scrutiny until long after the fact.

To put this into perspective, Lesotho’s annual national budget usually averages around M27 to M30 billion. The supplementary bill therefore represents more than 10 percent of the entire national budget, a staggering figure to be presented after the money has already been spent.

Ntsoaki Motaung

Ntsoaki Motaung is an award-winning health journalist from Lesotho, specializing in community health stories with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as HIV. She has contributed to platforms like “Be in the KNOW,” highlighting issues such as the exclusion of people with disabilities from HIV prevention efforts in Lesotho.

In addition to her journalism, Ntsoaki serves as the Country Coordinator for the Regional Media Action Plan Support Network (REMAPSEN). She is also a 2023 CPHIA Journalism Fellow.