New prime minister promises to ‘make Lesotho great again’

Lesotho’s new prime minister, Sam Matekane, revealed his plan to make the country “great again” when he officially assumed the premiership on Friday, at Setsoto Stadium in Maseru.

“This address represents a social contract in which I promise to make Lesotho great again,” Matekane said in his address, which centred on revitalising the country’s battered economy, partly the result of years of political instability.

“My remarks form the basis for holding accountable the government of Lesotho under my leadership.”

The speech repeated much of Matekane’s rhetoric from the election campaign. It was replete with promises to improve the country’s macroeconomic position, tap into and realise the potential economic returns of the existing positive investment environment, and provide access to quality services for all.

He also promised to move Lesotho from a growth model that depends almost entirely on the public sector, to one that is driven by a strong and competitive private sector “that is export-oriented”.

“As Lesotho pursues this new growth model, the importance of expediting ongoing national reforms cannot be emphasised.”

He said Lesotho’s journey towards peace, political stability and tolerance had improved after the resolution of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Double Troika Summit held on 24 April 2018, in Luanda, Angola.

This summit endorsed Lesotho’s roadmap for reforms and national dialogue and urged the government of Lesotho to prioritise the constitutional and security sector reforms.

“I thank you, your Excellency President [Cyril] Ramaphosa and your right-hand man — the leader of the mediation team. Justice Dikgang Moseneke. for your commendable efforts in leading and guiding our national dialogue and reform agenda,” Matekane said.

“I promise to expedite the successful completion of the national agenda, a journey towards the Lesotho we want.” 

Ramaphosa and Moseneke were among the dignitaries that attended Matekane’s inauguration.

Hage Geingob, Mokgweetsi Masisi, Hakainde Hichilema, the presidents of Namibia, Botswana and Zambia, respectively, and Themba Masuku, the deputy prime minister of eSwatini, were also in attendance, as well as Rwanda’s prime minister, Edouarrd Ngirente. The ceremony was also attended by thousands of Basotho.

Lesotho went to the polls on 7 October 7. Matekane’s Revolution for Prosperity (RFP), a party formed only in March, won 56 seats out of 120 in parliament — five seats short of an absolute majority that would have ended the era of unstable coalition politics in the country.

The RFP has partnered with two smaller parties, the Movement for Economic Change (MEC) and the Alliance of Democrats (AD), to form a governing coalition.

“The people voted in large numbers for my party, the RFP. The people have spoken,” Matekane said on Friday. “However, I must hasten to say I am fully aware of the profound nature and deep seriousness of this responsibility, and I do not take it lightly.” 

Under his leadership, he said, the government would strengthen human capital, build an enabling infrastructure and strengthen national governance and accountability systems for improved service delivery.

His government would also strengthen climate risk management resilience and adaptation and strengthen public financial management.

“Our ability to achieve these strategic goals will be largely dependent on the actions that the government will take in the first 100 days of its tenure,” Matekane said.

He then publicly instructed the government secretary, Lerotholi Pheko, to roll out the 21-point systems and structures reform programme in the first 100 days of the new government’s tenure.

“Prepare my performance contract and those of ministers and ensure that they are signed in 30 days. Then make those contracts public,” Matekane told Pheko. “Take action on the M6.1-billion indicated in the auditor general’s queries and make the action plan in 15 days.” 

The report of the auditor general on consolidated financial statements of the government of Lesotho for the year ended 31 March 31 2021, showed that there was M6.157-billion that could not be accounted for.

Matekane also instructed Pheko to organise a meeting between the office of the prime minister, the media and civil society organisations in 15 days.

The outgoing prime minister, Moeketsi Majoro, who was heckled by the crowd during his speech, wished Matekane well on his appointment, saying leading a nation was “a sacred responsibility given by God”.

“Today I peacefully hand over the reins of power to the right honourable prime minister, Mr Ntsokoane Matekane, as a sign of maturity of our democracy.”

He said Matekane must put the interests of Lesotho and Basotho first. He also warned his successor against what he called “the new scramble for Africa”. 

“Unless African leadership is united against it, the impact will be pervasive and the united Africa we want will not materialise.”

Majoro apologised to citizens for his shortcomings while in government. Part of the reason he was booed was over the widely held view that his administration had failed to steer the country to calmer waters following its two-year rule.

“I will not lie to myself to say I did no wrong during my service. No one is perfect. I therefore beg your pardon for where I may have erred. The intention was always to do right.”

Majoro attributed his administration’s underwhelming performance to a number of issues he said were beyond their control. These were high unemployment and the Covid-19 pandemic, which decimated the economy and led to more job losses.

He said the country also experienced heavy rains, which negatively affected food production and destroyed the road infrastructure in many parts.  

“On top of this, we also suffered the effects of a war in Europe, which resulted in an unprecedented rise in fuel prices globally. Most of these things were beyond our control,” Majoro said.