…says open to coalition with business mogul
’Marafaele Mohloboli
FORMER deputy prime minister and current opposition Alliance of Democrats (AD) leader, Monyane Moleleki, has welcomed the formation of business tycoon Sam Matekane’s Revolution for Prosperity party (RFP) and expressed his willingness to cooperate with the new outfit.
Mr Moleleki served as deputy premier in the Thomas Thabane-led four party coalition from June 2017 to May 2020. Before that he had been a long-time minister in previous governments of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and the Democratic Congress (DC) before he formed his own AD in 2017.
He said unlike other established parties who are said to be in a state of panic following last week’s launch of the RFP, he was in fact happy that Mr Matekane had entered the political fray. He even hinted at forming a governing coalition with the RFP after the elections. He described the RFP as a party formed by his friends with whom he was in constant communication.
He said this while addressing a closed session of his party’s women’s and youth leagues in Maseru.
Mr Matekane launched his party last week at his Mpilo Boutique Hotel in Maseru. Some of the leading lights in the new party are prominent personalities who have tended to shy away from politics over the years.
They include former Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) governor, Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane; former Chief Justice Nthomeng Majara and prominent Moshoeshoe Walk organiser, Thabo Maretlane. Former Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) head of investment promotion, Mokhethi Shelile, prominent businessman Lephema Lebona and former Accountant General, Sam Mphaka, are the other prominent names associated with the new party.
Most established parties are said to be panicking after the launch of the RFP. Some are said to be worried at the certain prospect of losing the funding which Mr Matekane had been giving them over the years. It wouldn’t make any sense for him to continue with funding other parties when he now heads his own outfit vying for power.
Others are said to be unnerved at the prospect of having to face an opponent who is not tainted by failures and corruption allegations since unlike them, he is not a career politician and has never served in the government.
Some of the political leaders like the Basotho Action Party (BAP)’s Professor Nqosa Mahao- himself a relative political newcomer- took a swipe at Mr Matekane and other members of his party. Prof Mahao called them “thieves” for allegedly stealing the BAP’s manifesto on promoting good governance, rule of law and an inclusive economy.
But Mr Moleleki is bucking the trend of criticising the RFP. The wily political veteran, who was in 2020 cut loose by a then powerful faction of the All Basotho Convention (ABC), which successfully collapsed his coalition with Mr Thabane, is sensing a new opportunity for his party alongside the RFP.
In this week’s closed AD meeting whose recording was leaked to the Lesotho Times, Mr Moleleki told party members that they had nothing to fear but everything to gain from the formation of the RFP.
He said the political landscape in Lesotho was such that no matter how popular a party was, it could not win an outright majority to enable it to govern alone. Hence there would be an opportunity to form a post-election government with the RFP just like the AD had done with the ABC, Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL) and the Basotho National Party (BNP) after the June 2017 elections.
To this end, his AD would have to immediately work on building a rapport and understanding with the RFP, he said.
One of the ways of doing this would be to avoid following other parties’ practice of attacking the RFP, Mr Moleleki added.
He said before the end of the week he would have written a letter to his followers to allay their fears over the formation of the RFP.
“The main reason for my writing the said letter to you is to address the storm that has risen after the formation of this new party, a party which has been formed by people I know and who also happen to be my friends,” Mr Moleleki said.
“I would like to ask all of you not to make any demeaning utterances about that new party because this is a party that has been formed by people I know, whom I love and who are my friends.
“I beg of you, as individuals and in your groups, to avoid demeaning this party at all costs. This is just a party like all other parties that have come before it. Therefore, there is no reason why we should start hurling bitter insults at its founders because doing so will only tarnish our possible future relations with them.
“You can all attest that upon our inception (in December 2016), we had allies. These were the All Basotho Convention, Basotho National Party and the Reformed Congress for Lesotho. At no time did we ever insult or demean each other. In the same spirit, I beg you to respect this new party,” he added.
He said unlike other parties which were hurling brickbats at the RFP, he had written Mr Matekane a congratulatory letter and he was constantly in touch with the leadership of the new party. He said he viewed Mr Matekane in the same way that he viewed Nkaku Kabi, the newly elected leader of the fractious ABC. Mr Kabi defeated Prime Minister Majoro in a tightly fought January 2022 election to replace founding ABC leader Thomas Thabane who retired on 31 December 2021.
In the aftermath of claiming the ABC leadership, Mr Kabi and his allies attempted to coax Dr Majoro into handing over the reins of power to him. They even “withdrew” from government and blocked the presentation of the budget speech in parliament on 2 March 2022. Finance Minister Thabo Sophonea subsequently presented the budget speech to journalists the following day.
Last Monday, the Kabi faction and its allies, who included the AD, lost a parliamentary no confidence vote against Dr Majoro who polled 66 votes to their 38.
The motion was filed by Mokhotlong legislator and Basotho Patriotic Party (BPP) leader, Tefo Mapesela, and seconded by AD MP, Kose Makoa.
In the wake of their crushing defeat in parliament, Mr Kabi and his allies are said to be contemplating taking their fight to wrest the premiership to court.
Earlier last month, Mr Moleleki and most of his AD national executive committee (AD) had attended Mr Kabi’s inaugural rally in the Qeme constituency. The opposition leader even took to the podium to urge Dr Majoro to hand over to Mr Kabi.
This week, Mr Moleleki said he was looking to welcoming Mr Matekane in the same manner that he had accepted Mr Kabi.
“I have noted with delight that there are those who are already panicking and hurling insults at them (RFP). I secretly rejoice because this is not what we are going to do. We should not insult them because like I said, I know these people and we are already chatting with them because there will never be a party here in Lesotho which will govern alone.
“I am very grateful for them (RFP) just like I was with the newly elected ABC leader Kabi when he won the leadership race. I wrote a letter congratulating Kabi and I did the same at the inception of this new party (RFP),” Mr Moleleki said.
AD spokesperson Thuso Litjobo this week confirmed that Mr Moleleki had indeed urged them to warmly accept the RFP and desist from attacking it like other parties were doing.
“It’s true that our leader has asked us not to insult the leaders of the new party and its members,” Mr Litjobo said in an interview.
“It’s not just about the RFP, our leader has always insisted that we show respect to other parties.
“At this stage, it is premature to say whether we will work together with the RFP before and after the elections. That said, it must be noted that we believe in harmonious working relations with everyone. The RFP are already our friends and we are ready to work with them or any party that wants to work with us,” Mr Litjobo said.
Mr Matekane is a rich business tycoon who made a fortune out of road construction contracts with the government of Lesotho, among other ventures. Those panicking at his unexpected entry into politics fear that he will deploy his enormous resources to launch a formidable campaign ahead of the October 2022 elections. Admirers of his riches could also flock to him in the hope that he can replicate his business success in government and transform Lesotho into prosperity. But his critics say that is not necessarily so. They accuse Mr Matekane of becoming filthy rich on the back of contracts facilitated by his closeness to former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili rather than to any personal business acumen that can translate into success in government. Mr Matekane said last week he had entered politics on account of his pain at seeing the potential collapse of Lesotho into a failed state as evidenced by a comatose economy, endemic poverty and unemployment, spiraling crime rates and pervasive corruption, among other vices.
