…as Matekane’s cabinet expands
…. while opposition vows to topple him sooner or later
Mohloai Mpesi / Mathatisi Sebusi
PRIME Minister Sam Matekane’s cabinet has been expanded by the appointment of five new ministers, bringing the total number of ministries to 20.
The Prime Minister appointed five new ministers as a payback to the four opposition political parties that joined his fragile three-party coalition government as he spiritedly fought to cordon off attempts by the opposition to oust him through a no confidence vote.
But the move has inevitably forced the premier to walk back on his election pledge to maintain a lean cabinet. He had appointed a small cabinet of only 15 ministers when he was sworn in on 28 October 2022 to save resources for productive purposes. The spectre of being ousted from office has inevitably forced him to ditch that arrangement. The swearing in of seven new deputy ministers was deferred from yesterday to an unspecified date. It was not explained why. Their names had been on an official government notice for the new appointments.
Mr Matekane says his government now commands a majority of 67 seats, adequate to insulate him from the no confidence vote should it proceed in due course. The Constitutional Court will rule tomorrow on whether parliament can proceed with the motion or wait for the completion of the reforms process.
For the moment, it was all smiles at the Royal Palace as the newly appointed ministers took their oaths yesterday.
The Basotho Action Party (BAP) leader, Professor Nqosa Mahao was sworn-in as the Minister of Energy while his party’s deputy, Motlatsi Maqelepo was appointed as the Minister of Tourism, Sports, Arts and Culture.
The deputy leader of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), Tṧeliso Mokhosi, was allotted the Ministry of Labour and Employment, while Mputi Steven Mputi of the main ruling Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) now leads the Ministry of Justice and Law. Lisema Adontsi, also from RFP, has been assigned to marshal the Ministry of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
They took their oaths of office before High Court’s Justice Tṧeliso Monapathi.
Prof Mahao, who is making his second bite as a minister, immediately after taking oath, pledged to put all hands-on deck to ensure that the entire country got electricity connections.
He told the media that his BAP had been roped-in to save Mr Matekane’s then “sinking ship”. They would use their presence in the new coalition to reinforce service delivery in the country.
Lack of electricity resulted in education inequalities as those living in the urban areas had access to better education, compared to their counterparts in the remotest areas, he said.
“This is a big responsibility, more than 70 per cent of Basotho still need energy services and it says we have been brought on board to underpin service delivery in the country,” Prof Mahao said.
“The education of people living in the deepest rural areas does not equal those living in the urban areas where there is electricity, meaning that when we upgrade electricity connections, we will have to prioritise them so that they get an equal chance to learn like their counterparts living in urban areas.”
He added: “The clinics and hospitals in the rural areas also do not have sufficient electricity and that affects the quality of their health delivery efforts. This means we must put our shoulders to the wheel and work tirelessly to improve people’s lives.”
He further highlighted the importance of energy in any country, saying electricity was a pre-requisite to stimulating any economy.
“A living example is our neighbour South Africa where inadequate electricity has affected their economic growth. So, this is a big task that His Majesty and the Prime Minister have bestowed upon us to ensure we make an immense contribution to the government to improve the economic growth of this country,” he said.
“I have been in Qacha’s Nek and Mokhotlong and witnessed how much the communities living there suffer because they get electricity from South Africa. It is one of the projects that we must study and probe how we can speedily solve that problem for those two towns to be connected to Lesotho’s own grid.”
Mr Adontsi said he would introduce new systems such as trash for cash to save the environment.
Mr Adontsi was adamant that his new strategy would help to keep Lesotho clean as people would be keen ‘to make quick cash’.
The RFP’s Mokhotlong legislator plans to deploy lessons he learnt as a teacher to his new role as minister.
“I was a teacher for a very long time. Back then we would plant trees, collect all the trash surrounding the school to create a clean environment. We should do the same for the rest of the country,” Mr Adontsi said.
“If we can pay for trash collected, I am telling you that before the end of the coming year, there will be no trash at all because people will be willing to generate money through collecting trash to sell.”
“There should therefore be a budget for the ministry of environment allocated for buying trash. I assure you that there will never be littering again ……Also now that I have been granted this opportunity to represent the people of Mokhotlong in the Cabinet, I will try by all means to provide them with whatever they need.”
Mr Mokhosi from the LCD said he would promote good relations between employers and their employees and attract investors.
“We are in a situation where the economy and stability in the country are shaking. When the country is stable, the economy will easily flourish as investors will come in numbers,” Mr Mokhosi said.
“We are happy that we are also given this opportunity to contribute to the administration of government.”
He continued that he had been assigned to a critical ministry which mostly deals with workplace animosities and therefore was determined to work hard to provide solutions.
“I am going to work on reinforcing stability in the industry. We also have to work on empowering Basotho with skills so that they can create their own living after acquiring the said skills,” he said.
Mr Mputi, from the RFP, said he believed that satisfied employees delivered the best services. It was his main objective to ensure that civil servants under his ministry were well taken care of.
“It is my aim to ensure that I work hard and with dedication to ensure service delivery in the ministry I have been entrusted with,” Mr Mputi said.
He said he would meet with the outgoing Minister of Law and Justice Nthomeng Majara for advice on how best way to uphold the rule of law in Lesotho.
He said he believed supporting growth of the private sector would “immensely reduce the high government’s wage bill”.
While the ministers can revel in their newly found glitz, the opposition believes it will all be short lived. It is vowing to press ahead with plans to oust Mr Matekane in a no confidence motion, dismissing his claim of enjoying the support of 67 MPs as a hoax.
Democractic Congress (DC) leader Mathibeli Mokhothu insists the figure must be tested in an actual no confidence vote in parliament. BNP leader Machesetsa Mofomobe does not believe Mr Matekane has 67 MPs considering the upheavals in his RFP. Should the Constitutional Court rule that parliament can proceed with the no confidence motion, the government should not throw any more bottlenecks to stop it but allow the motion to proceed to debate and voting, the opposition leaders say.
