Moroke Sekoboto
MINISTER of Finance and Development Planning, Retšlisitsoe Matlanyane, has expressed gratitude to her native Qalabane constituents in Mafeteng for electing her to represent them in parliament.
Admitting that she had been scarce in the constituency, she told the constituents: “It’s not because I’ve neglected you, I have just been busy”.
“I know you have good faith in me as you sent me to represent you well in parliament. I am not neglecting you, as I have been scarce. I was given the huge responsibility of being the minister of finance, so I have a busy schedule as the government is broke and I am working hard to find funds for the country,” Dr Matlanyane said.
She evidently holds the most demanding portfolio in the government. Prime Minister Sam Matekane inherited a bankrupt treasury and a comatose economy. As finance and development planning minister, Dr Matlanyane has the unenviable task of formulating and leading the Matekane coalition’s economic development agenda.
Suppliers of the government, who were short changed mainly by the previous Moeketsi Majoro coalition, have been knocking on Dr Matlanyane’s doors for their long-delayed compensation. Apart from scouting for the resources and investment to rescue the economy, Dr Matlanyane must also attend to these impatient legacy debt holders.
She nonetheless found time to visit her Qalabane constituents at the weekend and staged the event where she donated 321 pairs of school shoes to 19 primary schools, courtesy of a M19 200 contribution by Naledi Funeral Planners.
She told the learners and teachers gathered she had also dug from her pockets to buy socks to complement the shoes bought by Naledi Funeral Planners. She also donated sanitary pads as well as 130 blankets for the elderly people in the constituency to keep them warm during this hard winter.
Dr Matlanyane won the Qalabane constituency under the banner of Prime Minister Matekane’s Revolution for Prosperity (RFP). She is also the party’s treasurer.
She promised her constituents she would “continue to come back and lend a helping hand wherever it is needed”.
“I will be back to help where I can and accommodate those who didn’t receive gifts this time round as they also deserve the gifts,” Dr Matlanyane said.
To the elderly people in attendance, Dr Matlanyane said she had bought them fleece blankets so that they could “beat the cold while queuing when you go to collect your pensions”.
“My elders, you are always close to my heart and always in my thoughts. The government is on a learning curve, we have identified what is needed to be done for us to start working hard to change lives especially of the youths. Our intention is to create jobs, to make Lesotho self-sufficient and eradicate hunger and poverty.”
Dr Matlanyane said the government remained committed to service delivery as promised during the 2022 general elections campaign.
“I am aware of the poverty and high unemployment rate in the constituency. I reassure you that the government is working tirelessly to fight poverty and unemployment as we promised. We are going to change the situation and make the constituency a better place to be,” she promised.
Moreover, the Qalabane MP expressed her gratitude to Naledi Funeral Planners for their helping hand.
“I am grateful to Naledi Funeral Planners for opening their doors when I knocked asking for help. It is very important for businesses to give back to the community. I will continue knocking at other businesses’ doors to look for funding for initiatives like this because it is our responsibility to change the lives of less privileged people,” she said.
