MASERU — Lesotho’s opposition leaders yesterday slammed the national agriculture forum describing the conference as a joke that was “doomed to fail”.
They said it was too late for Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili to start looking for solutions in agriculture as he had ignored farming issues for far too long.
Mosisili officially opened the two-day conference on agriculture at Manthabiseng Convention Centre yesterday.
The forum was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to discuss ways of improving the performance of the agriculture sector.
The opposition leaders did not attend the conference claiming they had not been invited.
Basotho National Party (BNP) leader Metsing Lekhanya told the Lesotho Times that he had “neither been formally informed about it, let alone invited to it”.
He accused Mosisili of organising the conference to raise money which he “intends to divert elsewhere”.
“Mosisili is not in the least committed to agriculture. Neither are his ministers. The late agriculture ministers Vova Bulane and Rakoro Phororo are good examples,” Lekhanya said.
“Vova Bulane used money amounting to M72 million in the name of agriculture but nothing much came of it. Rakoro Phororo also used up to M152 million in three months but nothing came of that one also.”
Lekhanya said Mosisili had as late as 2009 declared in parliament that Basotho were not interested in farming and that “investing in agriculture was a waste of money”.
“The forum’s purpose is to simply convince donors to pump more money into government’s coffers so that he can divert it,” he said.
“The truth of the matter is that this government has failed dismally where agriculture is concerned, just as they have failed on health.”
All Basotho Convention (ABC) party leader, Thomas Thabane, said he was not invited to the conference.
“We did not know about it (conference),” Thabane said.
He insisted the problems in agriculture were too complex to be remedied by a “mere forum”.
“I doubt they will come up with solutions. Even if they do, will they be able to implement them?” Thabane said.
“This forum will no doubt fail to make an impact. Lesotho will still be in the grip of abject poverty in 2015. Mosisili should not mislead people into believing otherwise,” Thabane said.
Senkatana leader, Lehlohonolo Ts’ehlana, said the forum could have succeeded “if only the prime minister did not do things alone”.
“The fact that he does things alone is a stumbling block to progress. The fact that we were not invited and that he tackles agricultural issues alone is unacceptable,” Ts’ehlana said.
“If Mosisili wants the agricultural sector to be revived, he needs to do something drastic about his agric minister. He should be replaced with a committed individual who will be a breath of fresh air.
“When a minister does not have a practical understanding of agriculture, it is a cause for concern.
“Having qualifications in that field does not make the current agric minister eligible for the task.”
Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP) leader, Moeketse Malebo, said although they were not informed about the agriculture forum “attending would have been a waste of time”.
“Going to that meeting would have been a total waste of time because we would be listening to Mosisili talk about something that he has no passion for or believes in,” Malebo said.
“Mosisili undermined the integrity of Basotho when he declared not so long ago that this nation has lost interest in agriculture.
“The forum is a complete waste of time; it is too late for him to revive agriculture. He only called the forum because he bungled up block farming.
“He has never given agriculture serious priority. Agriculture is planned, common sense work. We do not have to wait for 2015 to be food secure.”
The leader of the Popular Front for Democracy, Lekhetho Rakuoane, also said he was not invited to the forum.
“Although I was not invited I would have loved to attend the forum. I believe the forum was the right place to sell my ideas about the proper management of land,” Rakuoane said.
Government spokesperson and communications minister, Mothetjoa Metsing, said he was not in a position to know why opposition party leaders were not invited to the forum.
“It was not the cabinet that organised the forum but it was organised directly by the Ministry of Agriculture,” Metsing said.
“I am therefore not in a position to know why they were not invited.”
