—claims it will introduce a wholly new trajectory to Lesotho’s politics
Mohloai Mpesi
LEBOHANG Thotanyana, the leader of the newly formed and registered political party, Transformation For Change (TFC), claims that he is on a mission to reshape Lesotho’s political landscape for the better.
Mr Thotanyana, who previously served as secretary-general of the embattled Basotho Action Party (BAP), told the Lesotho Times yesterday that his TFC would offer a “distinct perspective and approach” to solving the country’s pressing issues.
Although Mr Thotanyana had announced his intention to form a political party after he was expelled from the BAP in December 2023, the party was only formally registered with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) last week. It received its registration certificate last Thursday.
Mr Thotanyana said TFC, which he has also dubbed “Metla-Khola”, which loosely translates to “one who fends for his people”, aimed to ensure the utilization of Lesotho’s resources and wealth to benefit all citizens.
Mr Thotanyana, a former senator and Minister of Mining under the 2015-2017 Pakalitha Mosisili-led coalition administration on a Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) ticket, said TFC aimed to champion a policy-driven agenda focused on developmental programs to uplift the country’s underprivileged.
“As the TFC party, our primary mandate is to drive a policy-driven agenda of development, with the intention of contributing through thought leadership and advocacy,” Mr Thotanyana said.
He said if elected at the next general elections due in 2027, the TFC party would implement pro-poor policies to tackle poverty, unemployment, and the struggling agricultural sector.
“When we assume government power, we will implement pro-poor policies that will give answers to problems that Basotho have like poverty, unemployment and poor agriculture which causes poverty,” he said.
Mr Thotanyana also vowed to combat Lesotho’s rampant criminal activities, noting that the country had the third-highest murder rate in the world.
“Lesotho is a murder capital in Africa, it is number three in the world, there are a lot of criminal activities. Our primary objective is to provide answers and combat all these illnesses,” he asserted.
Furthermore, Mr Thotanyana emphasized the need to prioritize private sector-led economic development. He believes formal sector employment in Lesotho is too small with only 87,000 people employed in that sector while 400,000 worked in the informal sector.
“We also want to lead the agenda that Lesotho must be a private sector led economy. You can’t have a private sector-led economy with anti-private sector policies like we have, which are hostile to the private sector and small businesses,” he explained.
Mr Thotanyana also discussed plans to create development programs in villages to engage the youth and help them contribute to the country’s economy.
“We need to take those small businesses and drive them to end up being medium sized businesses. So, we need to help the small businesses to develop,” he said.
The TFC party leader also acknowledged the challenges of inter-personal conflicts among Basotho businesses, stating that successful long-term partnerships between Basotho entrepreneurs were rare due to infighting once profits were generated.
According to Mr Thotanyana, the “Metla-Khola,” philosophy aimed to ensure that all Basotho benefitted from their country’s resources.
“When we say ‘Metla Khola o lebisa ho oa habo,’ we mean that all the riches of Lesotho have to benefit Basotho,” Mr Thotanyana explained.
He said his party believed that it was introducing a new approach that had never been seen in Lesotho before. One that it believed would help change the country’s political trajectory.
“At the end of the day, politics are a question and answer affair on how the majority live. Our current politics are not addressing that,” Mr Thotanyana said.
He also criticized members of the current 11th Parliament for pursuing “self-aggrandising” policies to improve their individual welfare instead of focusing on issues that affected the poor masses.
“There is no progress, no movement, the country is stuck where it is and where it has been all along….We need a new approach to politics. We need leaders who prioritise the needs and interests of the masses,” he said.
Some of the party’s prominent members include former legislator in the 8th Parliament, Sello Maphalla, and others from the BAP.
The party is still in the process of recruiting more members, as it has just recently launched, he said.
Mr Thotanyana said things did not go well in the BAP, as most people in the party were self-centred, leading to internal squabbles rather than focusing on national issues.
“They compromised principle for survival….and we ended up parting ways. As you will know, that party (BAP) is still going through internal fighting,”.
The TFC aimed to be a true alternative, based on principles and research of what the masses require, with policies focused on the betterment of the nation as a whole, he asserted.
Lesotho’s political landscape had long been dominated by similar ideologies, despite the different political parties and colours, Mr Thotanyana claimed.
The TFC thus aimed to bring a fresh approach, he said.
“In current Lesotho politics, we often hear that some are ‘nationals’ while others are ‘congress,’ but when you look closely, there is little real difference between them,” Mr Thotanyana explained.
“The only distinctions are the colours of the political parties, their songs and dances, and the faces of their leaders.”
Mr Thotanyana argued that even when the government changed following elections, Basotho saw little tangible differences from previous regimes.
“Look at the United States – President Trump has shaken things up, which is different from the traditional congress parties here. That’s the kind of change Basotho are looking for when they vote,” Mr Thotanyana said
“The ideologies of Lesotho’s existing parties remain largely similar. When they take governance, you don’t feel any real difference.
“So, we want to bring a new ideology with a minimum program that addresses the country’s key issues, from making our education more industry relevant, among other things.”
