The Government-owned Lesotho News Agency (LENA) was established in 1985 as a national news agency responsible for the distribution of local, regional and international news services to local and international media outlets, institutions and individuals. LENA has also managed the government-operated newspapers Lentsoe La Basotho/Lesotho Today, and Lesotho Weekly.
Media assets
News agency: LENA
Publishing: Lentsoe La Basotho, Lesotho Weekly
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
LENA is owned by the government of Lesotho through the Department of Information, which makes all the decisions related to the agency’s staff, management and overall operations. LENA belongs to and operates from the Department of Information situated in the Ministry of Communications, Science & Technology. The agency is led by a Director General who reports to the deputy principal secretary in the ministry.
Source of funding and budget
LENA is almost entirely financed by the government. In the 2019/2020 fiscal year, LENA was allocated by the government a subsidy of LSL 4.4m (US$ 284,000) to cover its operations, according to data from the finance ministry. In the 2022/2023 fiscal year, LENA received a state subsidy worth LSL 5.35m (US$ 283,000), according to the finance ministry.
Editorial independence
LENA’s editorial coverage is openly biased towards the government and ruling elite. Its editors are government appointees and subordinates who report to the minister through a thicket of bureaucratic structures, according to local journalists and ad hoc content analysis.
LENA does not have an independent editorial policy that is independent of government guidelines and directives.
LENA follows in its editorial coverage government guidelines put forward by the parent ministry through the Department of Information. No independent mechanism to assess LENA’s editorial independence has been identified.
September 2023