37THE BOTTOM LINE By awarding the Lesotho Wool Centre a
monopoly on wool and mohair sales, the government effectively
upended its biggest economic engine.to New Zealand to be tested for the fineness of the
fiber after a South African industry body refused
to do it. The wool is auctioned online, mainly to
anonymous Chinese buyers. Koenane says he can’t
disclose the names of the buyers for “political” rea-
sons. Export documentation shows that at least
some of the wool goes to Yulian Wool Industry Co.
in Jiangbu, China. Calls to Yulian weren’t answered.
Wian Heath, the managing director of the Wool
Testing Bureau of South Africa, says Shi declined
to bring full bales of wool and mohair to be tested.
At the South African auctions, the names of the
buyers and the amount they purchase is disclosed,
wherever they’re located.
Many farmers have yet to shear their sheep and
goats this year because they aren’t sure they’ll be
paid. Others have taken to smuggling the raw fiber
over the border into South Africa. With Lesotho’s
ruling party split and a possible no-confidence
motion against the prime minister likely to trig-
ger an election in the near future, politicians fear a
backlash from farmers. In June, thousands who said
they hadn’t been paid for their sheep and goat wool
staged an unprecedented march on Parliament.
Two months later the government eliminated
the monopoly, but it’s still insisting that the fibers
be auctioned locally. Brokers say this is unrealistic
because on its own, the amount Lesotho produces
is too small to attract international buyers. “There
was a lot of noise from farmers, lots of problems.
All of them are angry,” says Kimetso Mathaba, an
opposition lawmaker and the head of a parliamen-
tary committee that’s looking into the matter. “Mr.
Stone has told us his side of the story. We heard
what he said. It was very different from what the
farmers and associations are saying.”
The biggest question, still, is how Stone Shi
managed to persuade the country to entrust him
with its biggest export. “Who is this fellow?” says
Moteane. “I still want to know.” �Antony Sguazzin
and Mathabiso Ralengau, with Sarah Chen▲ Shearing a sheep
in Maseru