WINDHOEK – Leaders of the coalition government in the Kingdom of Lesotho yesterday promised to work in harmony for the sake of peace and stability in the country.
The pledge was made by a Basotho delegation on a visit to Namibia, which included Lesotho Prime Minister Dr Thomas Thabane, who is the leader of the All Basotho Convention; the Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing, Lesotho Congress for Democracy leader; and the Minister of Home Affairs Joang Molapo who represented the leader of the Basotho National Party.
The two-day visit to Namibia was a follow-up to President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s visit to Lesotho last month.
Word doing the rounds was that the visit was to solicit advice from President Pohamba, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, on how to peacefully co-exist in the tripartite political matrimony.
Briefing the media after the high-profile meeting yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the coalition government partners reaffirmed their commitment to move expeditiously to address any outstanding issues, with the aim to enable the government to serve the best interest of the Basotho people.
The delegation also thanked Pohamba for assisting parties in the coalition government towards finding a solution to the challenges facing them.
Lesotho is due to take over the chairmanship of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
According to the SABC, South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday met with the leaders of the three parties in an attempt to assist Lesotho return to normalcy.
“He [Zuma] has spent Tuesday locked in meetings with the leaders of the three governing parties that form the government coalition in the Mountain Kingdom. The political partnership is in trouble, with parties attempting to oust Prime Minister Thomas Thabane of the All Basotho Convention,” reported SABC.
Thabane last month suspended the National Assembly of Lesotho.
Amidst several challenges in the two-year-old coalition, the government has been successful in unshackling the Directorate on Criminal and Economic Offences from direct government control and giving parliament authority over it – a move that economic experts in that country say was designed to demonstrate the new authorities’ determination to weed out corruption in government and public enterprises.
In its first year, the coalition government also came up with a new salary structure for public officials for the first time in over twenty years
By Mathias Haufiku