MASERU - AFTER having partially complied with a court order to take reasonable steps to provide clients with the requested information, local insurer - the Lesotho National Insurance Group (LNIG) was on Monday given a second chance to fully comply with the court order before an application for contempt of court could be decided.

This happened in a case in which the LNIG is being sued by former employees of the Lesotho Telecommunications Corporation (LTC) whose employment was terminated when the company closed down and they had to receive their terminal benefits through a scheme under the LNIG.
The applicants had approached the High Court challenging the calculations of their benefits by the insurer.  

They requested to be provided with information comprising actuary reports and methods of calculation.
The High Court in 2011 ruled in their favour and the insurance company appealed against the decision.

The Court of Appeal, however, ordered the company to take reasonable steps to provide the respondents in that appeal, who are the applicants in the current application, with the information requested.

When the company failed to act as directed, the applicants filed an application for contempt of court in the High Court.
The court was this week informed that the LNIG had provided some information to the applicants, which, however, excluded the name of the first applicant, ’Mampolelo Matete.

The court thus ordered the LNIG to take reasonable steps to provide the first applicant with information regarding calculations and actuary report.
It also ordered the insurance company to provide how and why Matete’s name was not included in the provided information.

The court further ordered that the information be provided as soon as available so that all the applicants could exercise their options.