….no to a party of zombies
The Revolution for Prosperity needs to begin some serious soul searching if it is to avoid being swept off by the headwinds that have paralysed many a political formation in Lesotho before.
There’s always a fine line between the need to impose party discipline and stifling legitimate dissent. It’s a line that the RFP must stride carefully if it is to survive as a cohesive political force.
Granted, it is essential for parties to avoid internal hotchpotches by debating issues and agreeing on very clear courses of action that bind everyone in the parties. A political party in which every member or official does whatever they want risks turning into a circus. But seeking consensus on issues must not be an excuse for stifling legitimate dissent.
To that end, I must say I beg to differ with the harsh decision to impose long six-year suspensions on Ntate Thuso Makhalanyane and his two colleagues Mahali Phamotse and Rethabile Letlailana.
Let me stick to Ntate Makhalanyane to illustrate my point here as he has been the most outspoken. The issues he has been raising are also clear to all and sundry who don’t live under huge rocks. His Big Interview in this edition is a must read even for the semi-literate.
This does not mean, I agree with all issues raised by Ntate Makhalanyane . I am just of the view that the RFP would have been better off engaging with the issues he raises for the party’s own good instead of seeking to politically behead him. With his suspension and that of his two colleagues, it could mean robust debate within the RFP is now dead in the water. What with MPs fearing for their political careers if they dare speak their minds out? The last thing every Mosotho wants – including those who are not party members – is an RFP of zombie legislators, who when asked to jump by the party’s top brass ask; how high?
Ntate Makhalanyane accuses the RFP top brass – who were doing business with the government before the party’s helicopter revolution of October 7 2022 – of failing to renounce their interests and continuing to do so when they now occupy top government positions. Is that not a legitimate question to ask? Even if you have the brain of a mongoose, you have to agree that this is a legitimate question. It is common cause that many business “high flyers” – who founded the RFP were keen tenderpreneurs who racked in millions if not billions from government related contracts. In fact, many of them now stand accused of going into the RFP and government to solely protect their interests which they feared losing. This is because they have failed to do the simple thing of renouncing these interests to avoid the blatant conflict of interest situation that has arisen from them doing business with the very government they lead.
I don’t believe in blind trusts. In fact, they are meant to hoodwink people into becoming blind to reality. But the world over, blind trusts are an instrument used by businessman to at least try and create a veneer of preventing conflict of interest’s situations when they join politics and win government posts. Even the hapless house nigger, Cyril Ramaphosa, used this instrument to try and keep a veneer of distance between his vast business interests – to which he was gifted by the Stellenbosch mafia – and his new political role when he initially joined the government as deputy to philanderer Jacob Zuma.
RFP gurus known to be beneficiaries of companies in which the government has stakes have done no such thing. They continue as usual. They have not in the slightest attempted to hide their interests under these opaque blind trusts. That is a cause for worry. Is Ntate Makhalanyane wrong in characterizing this as corruption. Is he wrong in accusing them of enriching themselves at the expense of Basotho when they do business with the government they are part of? We all know that the government is an equity holder in all the major mines. Is it appropriate for any RFP official now serving in government to be still doing business with these mines? Without belabouring the point, I think the RFP has inadvertently started the very painful process of cutting its throat by failing to engage with these legitimate issues. Under the United States’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, these conflict of interest situations are illegal. I do not want to say much at this stage, suffice to say that this very virulent piece of legislation has spread its tentacles to many parts of the world. Just ask the Guptas’ who -with the aid of the singing, giggling, philandering, laughing and sexting Jacob Zuma – brought down South Africa to its corrupt knees. They have now become international pariahs; thanks to this piece of American law. You don’t need to be an American for the law to catch up with you? Food for thought for the RFP.
What about Ntate Makhalanyane’s charge that the RFP has failed to deliver on its grand electoral promises? Is this a charge that should lead to the expulsion of a legislator? Or the RFP would have been better of engaging honestly with this issue and reassessing and self-introspecting its reign so far? Isn’t it true that the RFP promised Basotho milk and honey? Has the honey flowed as yet? If so, can those who have tasted it tell us – who haven’t – about its real test. Is it sweeter than icing sugar for instance? Or is it a bit dour? And where is the milk? Has anyone seen any? Is the milk whiter than a herd-boy’s tooth? If I were among the RFP top brass, I would have said let’s honestly engage with these legitimate issues and assess if we have indeed been delivering on our promises to the electorate? If not, then why not? How can we salvage the situation as Basotho are after all very impatient voters? Lesotho is the greatest democracy in Africa. The only country in which free and fair elections are conducted. The only African country in which governments indeed change after every two years. All that means time is not on the RFP’s side.
And what about Ntate Makhalanyane’s charge that RFP ministers are employing their nyatsis into top government posts? Wouldn’t it be better to establish who exactly these nyatsis’ are? Are they as beautiful as the wives? Where are they exactly kept during the night? And how are the ministers able to juggle the demanding work of their portfolios, look after nyatsis and even find lucrative jobs for them at the same time? Are the ministers able to keep both the nyatsis and the real wives satisfied? To which posts have the nyatsis been appointed? Could the nyatsis be the real reason why the promised milk and honey has not yet flowed? How does the whole concept of nyatsis fit in the meritocracy mantra? Was any of the nyatsis appointed on merit? Does merit in this case mean whether a nyatsi is good in bed? How is merit best measured in a nyatsi?
By sweeping all these critically important questions under the carpet, the RFP might just have lost the plot?
Also, worth reflecting upon are Ntate Makhalanyane’s allegations over the appointment of the DCEO boss, Knorx Molelle, Auditor General ’Mathabo Makenete, whom the MP alleges is a bosom buddy of the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Dr Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane. For me these issues should have been very easy to deal with.
The fact that ‘M’e Makenete could be a friend of ‘M’e Tshidi is neither here nor there? The critical issue is whether or not ‘Mme Makenete is qualified for the job and whether she can do it effectively? So is Ntate Molelle. This is a matter the RFP could have dealt with easily instead of calling the MP raising it to a disciplinary hearing. After all Basotho are interested in all these questions.
The same applies to the appointments of the relatives of bontate Mokhethi Shelile and Richard Ramoeletsi to key posts. Are the relatives fit for purpose? Are they qualified for the jobs to which they were appointed? If they are, then there is no issue? After all, Ntate Mosisili’s son, Rethabile, was a deputy PS in his father’s government. The fact that he was often enjoying his drink during working hours was neither here nor there. Rethabile was good at his job and even Ntate Motsoahae kept him in his government after ousting his father. I think he even remains in the RFP government. There is no doubt that dealing with Ntate Makhalanyane’s issues honestly and holistically would have done better than harm to the RFP. Responding with a machete to his neck serves no real purpose. Time will vindicate me.
And how was the punishment of six years arrived at. For me, six years is like a death sentence. It means these three poor MPs would not be able to participate in the RFP’s elective conference. By the time the six years ends, who knows, we might already have had three different governments? Their political careers might by then have been wholly Nikuved. After these suspensions, is any RFP MP going to be able to speak their minds freely? Or the MPs will just become zombie’s toing the line? The party of swanky helicopters owes us some real answers?
Ache!!!
