Metro Newspaper

Get your latest copy of Maseru Metro: https://maserumetro.com/2026/08/05/metro-e-edition-05-august-2026/

Litjeho tse ncha tsa mafura. Petroleum Fund

Government moves to kill viral Spain Visa-Free hoax

✒️ Rantau Tlali Makhetha

MASERU – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations has been forced into damage-control mode after a wave of posts on Facebook convinced sections of the Basotho public that the Kingdom of Spain had scrapped visa requirements for holders of Lesotho passports.

In a statement dated July 22, 2026, the department described the claim as false, misleading, and without any factual basis, and urged the public to treat it as such.

The statement, issued under the Directorate of Information and stamped for immediate release, is unusually blunt for a government communication. It does not merely correct the record; it names the platform on which the falsehood spread, warns of the real-world consequences of acting on it, and points citizens back to a narrow set of trusted sources: the Ministry itself, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, and other authorised government institutions.

Nowhere in the notice does the Ministry entertain the possibility that the rumour had any basis in ongoing negotiations. It is treated, from the first paragraph, as fabricated.

That framing matters. Visa liberalisation is not a fantasy subject for Lesotho. Basotho travellers already enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to a number of destinations through bilateral and regional arrangements, and the desire for expanded mobility, particularly into the Schengen area, is real and understandable.

Spain sits inside that zone, and any suggestion that its doors had opened to Basotho passport holders was always going to travel faster than the truth. It is precisely because such an announcement is plausible, and desirable, that it proved so easy to believe.

The mechanics of the hoax follow a familiar pattern. A claim appears on a personal page or in a closed group, often dressed up with official-looking language, sometimes accompanied by a graphic or a screenshot presented as a leaked communique.

Read the full article in the latest issue of Maseru Metro: https://maserumetro.com/2026/07/29/metro-e-edition-29-july-2026/

Get your latest copy of Maseru Metro: https://maserumetro.com/2026/07/29/metro-e-edition-29-july-2026/

Power Cuts, Lack of Resources Hamper Maternal Care at Thaba-Tseka Health Centre

✒️ Liapeng Raliengoane

THABA-TSEKA – Midwives at Thaba-Tseka Health Centre say they are sometimes forced to improvise while delivering babies during electricity outages because the facility has no generator, underscoring the urgent need for improved resources to strengthen maternal and adolescent health services.

Registered Nurse Midwife Mohlomi Rannyama, who has worked at the health centre since 2013 said electricity outages become more frequent during bad weather. “When power goes off, we have no generator, so we improvise while assisting women in labour.”

He said the absence of accommodation for midwives within the health centre further complicates service delivery.

“There are no residences for midwives inside the health centre, so we live some distance away. We used to have transport that collected midwives from their homes whenever they were needed but that service no longer exists,” Rannyama said.

He also highlighted the absence of an adolescent corner at the facility, despite the district experiencing high rates of early and unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unsafe abortions.

He said establishing an adolescent-friendly space would enable young people to access sexual and reproductive health information and services in a safe, confidential environment.

Senior Nurse at Thaba-Tseka Health Centre, Palesa Ntlopo said the facility has identified several needs to improve both maternal and adolescent healthcare.

She said the proposed adolescent corner would require a television, Wi-Fi and a laptop to support health education, counselling and other youth-friendly services.

Ntlopo added that the health centre also needs additional delivery beds, a stove to keep delivery rooms warm during the cold season, a refrigerator and reliable transport for nurses responding to maternity emergencies.

The concerns were raised during a monitoring visit by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and its partners, who returned to the facility to follow up on commitments made during an earlier visit.

UNFPA Country Representative John Kennedy Mosoti said the organisation has already procured six beds for pregnant women using maternity waiting homes and continues to support the establishment of adolescent corners across the country.

“As a takeaway from this visit, we will explore the possibility of requesting park homes for nurses,” Mosoti said.

He explained that this was the second visit to the health centre, aimed at assessing progress and following through on promises made during the first engagement.

https://maserumetro.com/2026/07/29/power-cuts-lack-of-resources-hamper-maternal-care-at-thaba-tseka-health-centre/