Opposition parties blast Lesotho TV
MASERU — Opposition parties yesterday criticised Lesotho Television (LTV)’s coverage of election campaigns saying the state-run broadcaster was favouring the ruling Democratic Congress (DC) party.
All Basotho Convention (ABC) leader Thomas Thabane told political party leaders at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)’s boardroom in Maseru that he was not surprised by LTV’s performance.
“I once presided over the Ministry of Communications and we had a subtle policy to give more coverage to government at the expense of others,” Thabane said.
“LTV is afraid of the ruling party and we appeal to the IEC to take charge of this situation with immediate effect.”
Keketso Rants’o, the LCD secretary general, said the party’s Butha-Buthe and Teya-teyaneng rallies were not broadcast despite journalists from LTV covering the two rallies.
“They were only shown as a news item. This goes to show that the DC has been given control of the state broadcaster,” Rants’o said.
Rosa Leneha, the Lesotho Workers’ Party (LWP) secretary general also complained that on two occasions, her party held rallies alongside the DC in Leribe and Thaba-Tseka but theirs were overlooked.
“The DC and LWP went to Leribe and Thaba-Tseka on similar days but on both occasions our rallies were ignored despite notifying LTV about them,” Leneha said.
Meanwhile, an LTV employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Lesotho Times this week that in a meeting last Thursday, field operations director Dyke Sehlooho announced there would not be coverage of rallies by the state broadcaster because “the DC has completed its rallies”.
“We had a meeting on Thursday last week. Dyke informed us that since the DC had completed its rallies, no other parties will be covered this weekend,” the source said.
The source added that Sehlooho told them that his word was final and that he did not expect any questions.
“He was extremely arrogant as he said it, as if he was not even anticipating the possibility that some of the staff could be opposition supporters,” the source said.
But a senior communications ministry official, who declined to be identified, told this paper yesterday that the state broadcaster’s budget was completely saturated.
“Truth be told, you can’t solely blame employees for cutting down on their spending. This has nothing to do with the DC completing its tour,” the official said.
On the question of the LCD complaining of rallies not being broadcast, the official said it was impossible to show them at the same time because “there are just too many of them”.
“So many others have not been broadcast because we can’t do it in one day. We’re yet to broadcast them. Tonight we’ll be broadcasting the LCD’s Qacha’s Nek rally,” the official said.
When contacted for comment last night, Sehlooho declined to comment on the matter saying he was not authorised to speak to media.
“I cannot comment because I am not authorised to speak to the media.
“But the fact of the matter is that there’s no semblance of truth in what you’re asking me,” Sehlooho said.
Comment by tokelo on 11 May 2012:
our country wil never change,as long as wi kip on havin bo “mosidaffi” as leaders,come on ppl its time we vote with our heads not emotions,,,,time for change..
Comment by khoro li matla on 11 May 2012:
halalalalalaalalalalala.lona…efihlile nako.eseka molimo aka sebetsa ka lona bahanyapetsi ba ma DC….
Comment by LEKAU on 11 May 2012:
“I once presided over the Ministry of Communications and we had a subtle policy to give more coverage to government at the expense of others”.MR HYPOCRITE THABANE WHY HAVE YOU NEVER TALKED ABOUT THIS ISSUES WHILE YOU STILL “PRESIDED OVER THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS”.ITS AMAZING HOW YOU MR HYPOCRITE THABANE AND THIS LCD PERSON NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD ABOUT CRY WOLF OVER WHAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN COMMON PRACTICE TO YOU-I SYMPATHIIZE WITH THESE OTHER PARTIES EXCEPT FOR ABC AND LCD…ADMIT THAT DEFECTING FROM LCD WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF YOUR POLITICAL CAREER AND STOP WHINING…
Comment by Lethula on 11 May 2012:
‘the old and the hopeless’ Thabane is the most pompous prankster in our political arena.He must be the last person to complain about LTV coverage of political rallies since he is the one who expelled LTV crew that was to cover his rally in Qacha’sNek. Phew!
Comment by shudu on 11 May 2012:
this is the right time for you to vote for the government you want,menoana ea lona etla tlisa phetoho in our country.FOR 15YRS E LE EENA!NW FOTSEKE,RE SHARP KE EENA
Comment by shudu on 11 May 2012:
ntate tom uena u no tholetseng all along? YOU ARE THE LAST PERSON TO COMPLAIN
Comment by joe on 11 May 2012:
Ntate thabane, how can you make a fool of yourself? you tell us what YOU used to do, then come and complain to us about it? Aaa ntate, lumela ho ahlama ba u noese moriana oa hau
Comment by Ts'ola-nku on 11 May 2012:
hokeke hoa eba leponaletso ha feela ha fela naha ena e ntse ele dictatorship ke ha ngata thahamesong ke utloa presenter e sebelisa seemeli sa ‘rona’ kapa ‘re’ in the national tv,the whole system is corrupt let alone subsystems but e utloisa bohloko taba ena, fela wat i’ve learned ke hore ntho e ngoe le e ngoe ena le nako,it does nt matter afta hw long but one day lesotho letlaba free…
Comment by joangnyana on 11 May 2012:
ha e shwa e ea raha!dats what i cn say!pow-pow is about to hit the fan…hose hose hokae!!shu..
Comment by lekunutu on 11 May 2012:
Its time for a change in our country.please let us all rise and vote.tv Lesotho kea ‘muso ke lona lebaka.hana ‘muso o busang ke ofe?karabo keohe
Comment by tota on 11 May 2012:
What do you people expect ngoana mme mathato thato morali ea moholo oa mccd himself is our chief propaganda officer(PS) u surely can’t expect her to abandon daddy dictator mosidafy…….u people are so unreasonable
Comment by semenekane on 11 May 2012:
LTV should be nationalized. Period. It shouldn’t be any body’ family’s property. Dyke ena o corrupt. Re ntse re batla tlhalosetso ka chelete eo ba rekileng likoloi tsa li 4* 4 ka eona ka bobolu.
Chehe! Haele CD eona, e behiloe nale hle ke LTV. Let us vote out CD legitimate government and strive 4 unity government in order to create a better place 4 all Basotho.
Bro Tom should not be blamed for LTV poor service delivery. Size 2 should be responsible 4 all mess ups
Khotho ke eo moo e tlang le teng
Comment by Semena on 12 May 2012:
Semenekane, uena u bonahala u monela Dyke with his 4x4s. The reason you advance are feeble , or maybe it’s your poor command of the queens language e mathata. Dyke o old sekolong lirota tsa ho ts’oana le uena li luletse ho tsubana le li-glue. 4×4 e botse ke eng ea ho rekoa ka corruption? Tsa mo itsebeletsa u tlohele mona lelinyane la marabe.
Comment by Kokota on 12 May 2012:
Tom (ABC) and Metsing (LCD) bona ba thole hobane ba habola lesheleshele leo ba iphehletseng lona. Ho no le monate maoba ho thetsanoa ke baeka joale ha ba qabana they want our symphathy. ABC, LCD, DC are cut from the same cloth. Ntate Thesele sebetsa ka thata mokoena o re lopolle matsohong a makonkrese a ts’oana kaofela.
Comment by Linyebe on 12 May 2012:
Its obvious team e jeoang e lla ka ref, offsides,ball,nako n lebala n above al empty tins r very noisy.hao bone Mr Phooko a hana IEC machines e keneng ka party he leads
Comment by Lefefooane on 12 May 2012:
I loughed my lungs out seeing size 2 running an advert on LTV. Khilik, he ho thata banna. Kamolimo li hloa lekhoara. Who would imagine size 2 running a political advert on tv? Poor size 2, he can’t even run a charming advert. Ksooa!!!
Comment by Tanki on 12 May 2012:
Even the slogan “My DC, My Future, ” is not original. That is an ANC slogan. Ao poor size 2. This man can not even think for himse3lf. He can even plagaraise a slogan. No wonder he never made it up academically. Academic world is not for those who plagiarise ntate size 2. It is really disgusting to see you sing a modified ANC slogan on LTV. Hantle motho eo oa professor o entse joang? A professor PB Mosisili. Ache.
Comment by Mashome on 12 May 2012:
Dangerous Criminals (DC)etla khethoa ke li billboards le lipalo tsa motlakase tseo monga eona a fanyehuoeng ho tsona hohle kahara Maseru. Rona bakhethi re lo khetha ka nepo khetlong lena. La chaba letsatsi
Comment by letoala la popota on 12 May 2012:
haree li khotho hleng basotho,easenang sekaja mae a lebale,meleko eena ea mapotoana etlilo soaba he re te’noe.la chaba!!!
Comment by Bonelakhauta on 12 May 2012:
Haele LTV eona, e bolile hoo, motho oa ipotsa na ba ee ba utloe ho le joang ha ba ntse etsa lintho tse nyonyehang tjena. Chee, koana litaba tsa bona ke ‘muso feela le tsa machabeng ,tsa ka hare ho naha,lekhale hle setsoeng ke ha molapo, u ka se li fumane hohang. Kea ipotsa na ba ne ba rutoa bofuputsi kae bona bano ba sebetsang mono. O ne a cho size 2 hore o tla re busa re tloaele,’me re tloaetse hle. Ntate Phooko o buile taba e nepahetseng ea hore nako e se e fokola bakeng sa mechine eeno, ha a tloheloe. Ha re lo khethang size 2 e tsebe ho ba 0-3 mnths ke ts’oabo ka mora li 26.
Comment by Thabang on 14 May 2012:
It is a striking coincidence that all DC rallies have been shown on LTV and further that the broadcaster’s budget dries up after DC has completed its rallies. Sehlooho says he’s not authorised to talk to the media because the question was not a juicy one for his alleged political side.
Comment by Galili on 14 May 2012:
Mhhmm…. He he he!!! Shitenyana ea TV station le beng ba eona!!!!! Le lisatane ka ofela!!!
Comment by thabo on 14 May 2012:
How could their budget be saturated yet the financial year has just began?
Comment by pit on 14 May 2012:
@thabo,i think they meant budget ea bona ea LCD,hahahaha hlotse doesnt need a budget to show them LCD is alive and kicking hard,OMOCHA MOCHINI!!!!!!!
Comment by pit on 14 May 2012:
THey can hold on to their TV,Likamele and their venues but fact remains come election day NNTE,TOKA le KHOTSO will prevail whether they like it or not.This has been by far the dirties MCCD has ever been in his like except from all the killings he knows about.
Ke nako the moment of reckoning is nigh.
Comment by monna thaba on 14 May 2012:
he lea bua ka melomo ea lona banna le basali ba heso, empa nthoe tenang ea lona ke hore le ba pele ba ho seee hoea khetha, joale ebe le tlo re hloliea le re mang mang ha le sebeletse, soookelang koana a kere le kabe leeikhethetse eo le moratang. ake le ntloheleng rona le ke le buee ka mekha ea lona le nna ke tla bua ka lekhotla laka, ka ho cho joalo ke re; DC TSEPO EAKA, KHETHO EAKA,BOKAMOSO BAKA. NNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEETE!!!!!! SECHAAAAAAAAAAABA!!!!!HOJOAAAAAAALO!!!!!!!!26TH HERE I COME MY VOTE IS GONNA HURT DEVIL WORSHIPERS BT COZ UM A GOOD SUMARITAN, I HAVE ORGANISED SO MANY MINICLINICS FOR U GUYZ,
Comment by Jomaleta on 14 May 2012:
LIPUO TSA LONA LI BONTSA HANTLE HORE LE TSABA DC ,LE BATLA MABAKA A HO ESCAPA..E FIHLILE DC.COME 26 MAY
Comment by Futuoang Mathaka on 14 May 2012:
@Jomaleta..
Uena u so ntso le tapole e bolisitsoeng ke tsena tse ling tse eteletseng “Direct Corruption ” DC pele. u cnt just pop up ebe u re batho ba ts’aba masepa a macha.its all nonsense hore ebe ho tla hlaha li rally tsa DC during break time on LTV as adverts…we are on the current state of anarchy and we will fight til end.
Comment by Futuoang Mathaka on 14 May 2012:
bare “o ile mokoma lithlare..ma LCD salang le rapela..re utloile moo o sentseng” ha se nna ke bana ba basotho..DC haho na moo e eang hle banna.
Comment by Khasipe on 14 May 2012:
Can anyone tell me why we are not seeing ABC rallies on LTV? I am in Pretoria, so I have no time coming home to attend ABC ralllies. I always tune to channel 151 only to see DC and LCD and sometimes BNP. What about ABC rallies. Anyway I am coming home with my three ABC comrades, we will be voting for ABC and the we will come back on Sunday May 27.
Comment by terateng@mft on 14 May 2012:
Se tshoheng baheso, ha e shoa e ea raha. E setse ka matsatsi a fokolang fela pele e shebisa maoto holimo. Ea fofa toala!
Comment by monna thaba on 14 May 2012:
ok @khapise, d reason is ur learder expelled LTV on his ralley held in QACHA’S NEK so LTV is afraid that the silly ALL BASOTHO CRIMINALS might brake the equipment if they attend those ralley in order to cupture the ralley. BANA BA TLA OTLOA HOLATELA BOKHOPO BA BATSOALI BA BONA.
Comment by Galili on 14 May 2012:
Hana ese hlaha horanyana tse kae na ntho esele e e ba ebitsang National TV? Hu xctly calls d shots at at dt pathetic TV Stajn? D clueless one is busy broadcasting Brazilian soapies, n its clear Size2 & Sons r enjyn dis.
Comment by Khatibe on 14 May 2012:
@ Galili the last time i heard the acting PS was Ntate MCCD’s own duaghter Ausi Thato. I do not know whether she is now confirmed as the PS not just acting. Now tell me this DC thing is not corrupt to the bone.
Comment by Khatibe on 14 May 2012:
@ Galili i just confirmed with my people that she has been confirmed as the PS not just acting PS. She does not even have 10 yrs experience working or any postgraduate degree but she is already a PS. Lucky for her she is working for daddy.
‘Muso oa rona o entsoe a family business. So no wonder the budget is drafted in line with the DC rally calendar.
You have to agree this is wrong.
Comment by LEO-TY on 14 May 2012:
It is quite regreetable that our most important institutions , like broadcasting are still run by elements of Dyke Sehlooho’s nature . There are many of such institutions ,A lot of work still have to be done after elctions to remove such elements from our public service . They forget that they are paid by those taxpayers whom they refuse to serve with dignity .
Comment by LEO-TY on 14 May 2012:
It is quite regreetable that our most important institutions , like broadcasting are still run by elements of Dyke Sehlooho’s nature . There are many of such institutions . A lot of work still have to be done after elections to remove such elements from our public service . They forget that they are paid by those taxpayers whom they refuse to serve with dignity .
Comment by Dixy on 14 May 2012:
I see some people still feel it is proper to elect a leader who has put all his family members on positions of authority. How inept can people get. I’m sure even those that are doing this horrid things always laugh at those that follow them because no self respecting person can follow such kind of leaders. Basotho a ku le ikelelloeng hleng le seke la itlontlolla ka ho hloka likelello. You don’t need to be geniuses to see right through the kind of leaders we have today. he!
Comment by Shabba Renks on 15 May 2012:
Ntate Dyke Sehlooho,oena o keke oa lula setulong seo sa hao ho fihlela morena. Lesotho TV in so many years e sitoa ho tsoelapele ekare e tsamaisoa ke amechara e manganga. Li etseng re tla li bona mohla kotulo.
Comment by Tabola on 15 May 2012:
NtateThabane(ABC) le Mothejoa metsing(LCD) lona marena ha le na tokelo ea ho lla le ha nyane cz ke lona maobane ba neng ba hanyapetsa opposition parties ka media coverage ha ne lele minister of communications nw le kotula seo le se jetseng meleko ting. Mosisili ke ntata lona o tla le busa hofihlela le tloaelse
Comment by Lefefooane on 15 May 2012:
@Tabola oa bolela monna oa heso. Ke ntho ena rona ba ABC re sa ba fokeng le ha ba sa re hlahise le ha ele ho bua ka rona TV Lesotho. Metsing eena o lla se mothamo hobane kee ke bone a na le ho hlaha TV Lesotho. DJ Waters, kajeno molamu o boela sefateng. I am not saying it is correct to make a partisan national broadcaster. LTV le LNBS ha se tsa DC, empa ke tsa sechaba soohle sa Basotho ho sa tsotellehe mekha ea bona. Kee ke bone tichere Nknoka ea neng a ithutile Sesotho Sekolong (Kea bona ntho ena ea ho ithuta Sesotho e atile ka mokheng oa DC) a thabela ho koala liea le moea tse private. ‘Me ke re ho ena Nkoka hopola hore What goes around comes around. Le se kebe la makala ha Tichere Nkoka kamoso a bokolla ka hore liea le moea li ea koala. 2017 I bet Nkoka le ba habo e tlabe ele opposition. Watch the space.
Comment by letsatsi on 15 May 2012:
Dyke Sehloho se ka etsisa nkoka oa koata oa etsa litanka mosebetsing tjena Boy.Tsoa nthong tsena
Comment by Futuoang Mathaka on 15 May 2012:
Liabolosi Tlohella bana hoba mmuso ua maholimo ke ua bona……..DC tlohella LCD hobane mmuso ua Lesotho ke ua eona. EA FOFA NONYANA.
Hee re khathetse ke litsotsi tsa bo-matala lilooa mano.sis,
Comment by chehe on 15 May 2012:
ke hona le bonang corruption ea LTV ka nako ee? Ba etsa eka ba bontsa rally tsa mekha e meng ho le thulisa empa boea bo keke ba sola, LA CHABA!
Comment by OA BEREA on 15 May 2012:
@Lefefooane,U ne u ntse u tla hantle,joale oa qala oa pota ngoan’a monna.Tichere Nkoka o koetse seealemoea se feng? neng? Ke mang ena a ka koalang seealemoea? NO! se ke oa etseletsa tichere Nkoka.
Comment by Matonosa on 16 May 2012:
Helang Basotho! He lea tena. Ha le qete ke holla, tlohelang ho pharama ebe le ntse le shoahla, tsohang le itsèbeletse le tlohele holla hobane you dont even make any difference. Dyke le ba mopotileng ba itsèbeletsa. lenahana hore bana bao ba batho ba sebetsang LTV baa rata le bona? Wakeup! ke Lesotho mona. Ntata lona khale ale bolella hore o tla le busa ho fihlella le tloaetse. Le tseba moo a lulang teng le seba liofisi tsa hae. Tsamaeang le khethe `muso o ratoang ke lona le ke le tlise liphethoho naheng ena le tlohele ho re hlolia.
Comment by molekane on 16 May 2012:
Ea fofa nonyana!
Comment by moleko on 16 May 2012:
Helele bashanyana sea utloahala joale eta sa Pakalitha….ake le tloheng mona….`neeete…ke thebeeebe
Comment by Malietheng on 16 May 2012:
Le ka bokolla ka hohle ka moo le ka khonang, le ntse bohloko, le tla itlakola ka mora li 26 tsa May ha se phetho se tsoa, ha le sa tla lla likhapha li tla be se li felile se ntse le feeloa feela. DC EA KA , BOKAMOSO BAKA
Comment by MCULU on 16 May 2012:
Hare emeleng li 26 khang ea monna e tla khaoloa ke letlaka pitsa e phehile nonyana e besa ka toala neeeete!!
Comment by Le-LCD la 'nete on 16 May 2012:
Ea fofa ‘nyonyana
Comment by Jacob Zoomer on 16 May 2012:
bare ha e eshwa ya raha(DC).. Haele ho buwa nnete ya Modimo, hee re e utluile thupa ya lephako ya ntate Size Pedi..kere re e utlwa jwalo leha ntse rele makhoweng mona..Lesotho needs change hle ba hesong.. Ache ya tla ilo khetha potoana kannete ke serota..Twaaaaaaaalaaaaaa, lanna la chaba, la chabela ka hara balot box ho flopisa baphehi hore chita…twaaaala
Comment by limpho on 16 May 2012:
ha e fofe!
Comment by niky on 16 May 2012:
morena Jesu hauhela Lesotho!
Comment by Lethula on 16 May 2012:
We, the DCs hope that our God shall fight our battles,being difficult or easy.
Comment by 'Mokose on 16 May 2012:
Dyke sehloho kea bona o re lebetse retlao koetela ebe reo siea o tsotse, o lebetse hore re tseba moo o lulang, kapa hao chaisa re sala koloi eo o felehetsang morao, nahana na hotla etsahalang.sis lejara potoana ea bobolu.