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Frazer Solar GmbH v. Government of Lesotho

Central Information Resource

Latest News:

12 January 2024:  The South African High Court has dealt a major blow to the Government of Lesotho (GOL) by throwing out its case to overturn Frazer Solar's arbitration award.  GOL lost to Frazer Solar and the South African Ministry of Justice.  GOL has failed on every argument raised.  The Judge has dismissed the case and ordered GOL to pay costs to Frazer Solar and the South African Ministry of Justice.  The value of Frazer Solar's claim including interest and costs is estimated to be €58 million (US $64 million, M1.2 billion).  A media statement can be accessed here and a copy of the ruling can be accessed here.

27-28 March 2024:  The Judge reserved his decision on GOL's request for leave to appeal its loss in the SA High Court at a hearing on 27 March 2024. Neither Frazer Solar nor the SA Ministry of Justice opposed GOL's request so did not appear.  On 28 March 2024 the Judge allowed the appeal. An appeal date will be set in due course.

Introduction:

This site is an information repository for anyone interested in the Frazer Solar vs Government of Lesotho (FSGvGOL) arbitration case. For transparency, this website has been set-up by and is administered by Frazer Solar, a participant in the case, but care has been taken to endeavour to provide accurate and complete information regarding the case in an impartial and balanced manner.

The Dispute:

In September 2018, Frazer Solar GmbH (FSG) of Germany signed an agreement with the Government of Lesotho (GOL) to develop a major solar and energy efficiency project with financing from the German government via development bank KFW.


Despite the project being approved by the Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane, the Finance Minister – Dr Moeketsi Majoro – refused to co-operate and participate in the project.

This led to a legal dispute between Frazer Solar and the Government of Lesotho which eventually went to arbitration in December 2019. FSG prevailed in the arbitration and was awarded €50 million plus costs and interest in January 2020.  GOL neither participated in the legal process nor did they honour the award.  In May 2021 FSG began seizing GOL’s assets.

 

Frazer Solar's Position:

FSG claims the agreement was breached by Dr Moeketsi Majoro who preferred to pursue a Chinese solar project over FSG's German solar project.  Political factionalism also played a part with Majoro leading a rival faction to Thabane.

Government of Lesotho's Position:

Dr Majoro, Finance Minister then Prime Minister from May 2020 to October 2022, claims GOL was completely unaware of the agreement and the legal proceedings.  GOL claims that the agreement was either signed by an unauthorised person or the signature was forged, and information regarding the legal process was intentionally intercepted and concealed from GOL officials by corrupt individuals.

 

Current Status:


Legal action to enforce the award is underway in multiple jurisdictions including but not exclusively limited to South Africa, Lesotho, UK, USA, Belgium and Mauritius.

Lesotho's Criminal Allegations Against FSG:

The Government of Lesotho is pursuing a 'corruption and fraud by a corrupt cabal' narrative through their court system including threatening to arrest Frazer Solar personnel.  FSG states that these allegations are completely false, without substance and are purely being pursued to help GOL in its civil proceedings.  GOL's main difficulty is that it did not file its appeal to set aside the arbitration ruling within the three month deadline required under article 34 of the South African Arbitration Act. Therefore, it cannot and the arbitration ruling is final.  The only way for it to set aside the three month time-bar and file a belated appeal is by arguing corruption or fraud prevented them from knowing about the making of the arbitration award.  For this reason, FSG contends GOL has concocted this false narrative.

This website contains the publicly available information regarding the ongoing dispute between Frazer Solar GmbH and the Government of Lesotho. Additional information maybe made available on request and any questions can be directed to  info@frazersolarvlesotho.com

FSG Media Statements

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Worldwide Enforcement Against Lesotho

Dated: 18 May 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Lesotho's Assets Seized

Dated: 25 May 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro Not Credible Saying Didn't Know

Dated: 22 June 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro Knew But Didn't Act

Dated: 6 July 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro Misled All, Caught Out Being Untruthful

Dated: 21 July 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro's Setback - TCTA to Pay FSG Costs, Fitch Rating 

Dated: 4 August 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Alleged Fake News Website - Lesotho Express

Dated: 12 August 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro's Probable Perjury

Dated: 18 October 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro's Lanterns - Lesotho's Lost Opportunity

Dated: 20 October 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Thabane Backs FSG, Throws Majoro Under Bus

Dated: 26 October 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro's 'Own Goal' - May Give Final Victory to FSG

Dated: 28 October 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro Abandons Fight in South Africa, Win to FSG

Dated: 9 November 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro's Contempt of Court

Dated: 24 November 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro Begs South African Court

Dated: 8 December 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Corruption Authority Requests FSG's Help, Focus on Majoro

Dated: 22 December 2021

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro's Desperate Move to Boost Flagging Fortunes

Dated: 14 July 2022

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Majoro's Election Defeat and Resignation

Dated: 14 October 2022

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Frazer Solar Seizes Lesotho's Belgium Assets

Dated: 3 November 2022

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Frazer Solar Recommences Global Legal Action

Dated: 9 November 2022

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Frazer Solar Rejects Baseless DCEO Charges

Dated: 17 November 2022

Frazer Solar Media Statement

DCEO Not Fit for Purpose Call for PM Matekane to Act

Dated: 22 November 2022

Frazer Solar Media Statement

International Scrutiny into Abuse of Public Funds

Dated: 2 December 2022

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Prime Minister Matekane Rejects Mediation Offer

Dated: 7 December 2022

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Belgium Update

Dated: 13 December 2022

Frazer Solar Media Statement

DCEO Use of Torture to Extract False Confessions

Dated: 16 February 2023

Frazer Solar Media Statement

South African Court's Treatment of Case 'Troubling'

Dated: 27 February 2023

Frazer Solar Media Statement

South Africa Supports Frazer Solar

Dated: 13 June 2023

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Lesotho's Legal Woes - Majoro's Legacy

Dated: 24 August 2023

Frazer Solar Media Statement

Lesotho Loses Rescission Aplication

Dated: 12 January 2024

GOL Media Statements

Government of Lesotho Media Statement

Government Swings Into Action

Dated: 18 June 2021

Government of Lesotho Media Statement

Legal Challenge Date Set for November

Dated: 31 July 2021

Government of Lesotho Media Statement

Update on Frazer Solar versus Kingdom of Lesotho Case

Dated: 10 November 2021

Government of Lesotho Media Statement

Media Statement Regarding Frazer Solar

Dated: 7 November 2022

Press Coverage

Sunday Express

Date: 23 May 2021

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The Post

Date: 27 May 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 27 May 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 24 June 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 8 July 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 15 July 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 29 July 2021

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Sunday Express

Date: 1 Aug 2021

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Sunday Express

Date: 8 Aug 2021

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Sunday Express

Date: 26 Sept 2021

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The Post

Date: 21 Oct 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 21 Oct 2021

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The Post

Date: 4 Nov 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 17 Nov 2021

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Newsday Online

Date: 26 Nov 2021

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Sunday Express

Date: 20 Dec 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 31 May 2022

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Lesotho Times

Date: 7 July 2022

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Lesotho Times

Date: 21 July 2022

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Lesotho Times

Date: 16 Aug 2022

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Press Coverage

Sunday Express

Date: 23 May 2021

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The Post

Date: 27 May 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 27 May 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 24 June 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 8 July 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 15 July 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 29 July 2021

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Sunday Express

Date: 1 Aug 2021

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Sunday Express

Date: 8 Aug 2021

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Sunday Express

Date: 26 Sept 2021

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The Post

Date: 21 Oct 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 21 Oct 2021

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The Post

Date: 4 Nov 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 17 Nov 2021

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Newsday Online

Date: 26 Nov 2021

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Sunday Express

Date: 20 Dec 2021

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Lesotho Times

Date: 31 May 2022

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Lesotho Times

Date: 22 June 2022

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Lesotho Times

Date: 7 July 2022

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Lesotho Times

Date: 21 July 2022

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Lesotho Times

Date: 16 Aug 2022

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Sunday Express

Date: 16 Oct 2022

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The Post

Date: 10 Nov 2022

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Maseru Metro

Date: 10 Nov 2022

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Public Eye Online

Date: 11 Nov 2022

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The Reporter

Date: 15 Nov 2022

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Lesotho Times

Date: 10 Aug 2022

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Public Eye

Date: 23 Nov 2022

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Business Live

Date: 24 Nov 2022

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Lesotho Times

Date: 8 Dec 2022

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Public Eye Online

Date: 9 Dec 2022

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Public Eye Online

Date: 6 June 2023

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Maseru Metro

Date: 14 June 2023

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Public Eye Online

Date: 18 Jan 2024

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Lesotho Times

Date: 18 Jan 2024

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The Post

Date: 30 Jan 2024

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The Post

Date: 30 Jan 2024

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Public Eye Online
Date: 27 Mar 2024

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The Post

Date: 22 Aug 2023

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Africa Sud

Date: 2/2023

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