22 May 2026 by Monyane Khau

Member of Parliament, Manyaneso Taole, says a power outage lasting up to a month at the Malealea Health Centre has disrupted the delivery of maternity services and the administration of life-saving vaccinations for children in that area.

Taole made the remarks when she raised a point of order in Parliament on 20 May 2026.

“The point of order I am raising concerns a crisis in the Maliepetsane constituency. Malealea Health Centre has been without electricity for up to a month. This has negatively affected services provided to the community,” said Taole.

She further said, “The lack of electricity at the facility has halted services. Pegnant women are no longer able to give birth there, children are not receiving the vaccinations they are supposed to get, and people in emergency situations are also not receiving services.”

Taole said patients are now being tranferred to Mafeteng Hospital. She also explained that community health workers and nurses are no longer able to operate effectively in the area due to darkness, as they are forced to use mobile phone flashlights.

She added that the electricity outage has also caused additional challenges, including the inability to pump water, as the facility depends on electricity for water supply.

“Even water is pumped using electricity at that facility, meaning there are no services being delivered in that community. We are therefore appealing to the responsible minister to urgently look into this matter, as the community is at risk,” she said.

On the other hand, the Speaker of Parliament, Tlohang Sekhamane, called on the Minister of Health, ’Mamokete Ntšekhe, to urgently address the issue.“This matter requires a responsive minister—one who moves quickly and reaches the site one way or the other,” said Sekhamane.

“I see honourable ministers are present here; please pass on the message. A single facility should not create such a major crisis,” he added.He continued: “The community is in serious distress when electricity used to be available at the facility but is now gone. I make this appeal. I sincerely thank Honourable Taole for raising this important matter,” Sekhamane concluded.

Taole raised this point of order while minister Ntšekhe is attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, which runs from 18 to 23 May 2026.The assembly is held at the headquarters of the World Health Organisation, and is a major global meeting where countries gather to discuss and decide on international public health policies.