Keiso Mohloboli
QUTHING — Democratic Congress (DC) leader, Pakalitha Mosisili, has described the coalition government led by Prime Minister Thomas Thabane “an absolute joke”.
Addressing a DC rally in Quthing on Sunday, Dr Mosisili — who was succeeded by Dr Thabane on 8 June 2012 after 15 years in power — said the current government was a “playhouse” that had failed to fulfil many of its promises.
Dr Thabane’s All Basotho Convention (ABC), Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and Basotho National Party (BNP) formed a coalition government after the 26 May 2012 general election had failed to produce a single party with a majority seats in parliament.
“This coalition government announced that after 100 days in power, it would have solved all the challenges facing this country. I was surprised because I knew from experience that it was not going to be easy,” said Dr Mosisili.
“The coalition administration has turned two years old today, and all I see is poor administration and assassination of good governance.
“Thabane is not governing this country in a democratic manner; he has failed Basotho through his empty promises.
“Where is the M2 020 minimum wage that he promised textile factory workers? He also said he was going to resolve the MKM saga (Basotho lost thousands of maloti after the Central Bank of Lesotho closed the company in 2007 for operating illegal funeral and banking schemes) in a month’s time, but this has not happened to this day. Where is the M800 quarterly allowance that he promised the elderly?”
He also alleged Dr Thabane had claimed his friendship with South African President, Jacob Zuma, would enable him to ensure relaxed immigration regulations for Basotho within one week of taking over government.
“But the situation is worsening and I am wondering, where is Thabane’s friendship with Msholozi?
“In my 20-year journey as a Member of Parliament (MP), I have built good governance and democracy in Lesotho, which Thabane has killed in two years.
“In addition, this man has crippled the country’s courts of law by firing Chief Justice Mahapela Lehohla and he recently pushed Michael Ramodibedi to resign as Court of Appeal President”.
Dr Mosisili also called his successor “a two-tongued individual because after Lehohla’s removal, he felt bad about it and offered him to chair the Independent Electoral Commission.”
He added: “Thabane has so many shortcomings; for instance, when he fired the government secretary last month, the letter of dismissal was all over the radios and social networks.
“Now he wants the Director of Public Prosecutions and Attorney General to give him reasons why they cannot be dismissed from work. Those positions are within the constitution of this country but ‘Lekhoakhoa’ does not care about the law and continues to make illegal decisions.”
Dr Mosisili also called upon the prime minister to intervene in the on-going dispute between the Lesotho Defence Force and Lesotho Mounted Police Service.
“If the two security institutions are not at peace with each other, the whole country cannot be stable, so the prime minister must make sure whatever differences might exist between the two are resolved as a matter of urgency”.
Dr Mosisili also spoke about the no-confidence vote the opposition in parliament wanted to pass on the coalition government in March this year.
“We wanted to move a vote-of-no-confidence motion against Thabane, but it was stopped by a court order. What a calamity! It was a lawful act that is in our constitution. The court’s duty is to implement and interpret the law, not to stop parliament from exercising its rights.
“In a democracy, there should be separation of powers where the courts should be clear that they implement the law while parliament is the maker of the law.”
The DC leader also accused the Minster of Health, Pinkie Manamolela, of misleading the nation by saying “our government was wrong to build Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital”.
“That hospital meets international standards and we are also proud that it is named after our Queen Mother, not that crumbling hospital (Queen Elizabeth II Hospital) that the government of England donated and named after their own queen,” he said.
“Dr Manamolela must stop saying the establishment of the hospital came at the wrong time
and address the issue of staff salaries.”
