Lekhetho Ntsukunyane
OPPOSITION parties have accused Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili of being reckless by “resisting” decisions of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to deploy South African deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and the SADC Oversight Committee to monitor the political and security situation in Lesotho ahead of next month’s elections.
The opposition said Dr Mosisili’s resistance to SADC decisions was a sign that his caretaker government would not accept defeat in the 3 June 2017 elections.
The polls were announced by King Letsie III after the opposition’s successful no confidence vote against the seven parties coalition government on 1 March.
The SADC Extra-Ordinary Summit, on 18 March 2017, mandated the regional body’s facilitator to Lesotho, Mr Ramaphosa and the SADC Oversight Committee to closely monitor the political and security situation in Lesotho during the elections period.
The summit also mandated the two structures to hold a multi-stakeholder national dialogue ahead of the elections.
This prompted Dr Mosisili to write a damning letter last month to SADC chairperson King Mswati III of Swaziland, dismissing the decisions of the regional body as interference with Lesotho’s sovereignty.
King Mswati III has since responded to Dr Mosisili’s letter insisting the government of Lesotho should implement the SADC decisions.
And in separate interviews yesterday with the Lesotho Times, the spokespersons of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) and Alliance of Democrats (AD), Tefo Mapesela and Teboho Lehloenya respectively said Dr Mosisili’s actions betrayed a desperation to cling to power at all costs.
Mr Lehloenya said it was surprising that Dr Mosisili invited SADC to Lesotho to investigate the killing of former Lesotho Defence Force commander Lieutenant-General Maaparankoe Mahao and “he now rejects its decisions to bring back political stability in the country”.
“To start with, Ntate Mosisili and his caretaker government should no longer be making serious decisions on behalf of the nation because the people have long lost confidence in him. His actions betray a recklessness of highest order,” Mr Lehloenya added.
For his part, Mr Mapesela said Dr Mosisili’s actions were “detrimental to this nation in the sense that he is ruining relations Lesotho has with other countries in the region”.ate Mosisili is just destroying everything in the country knowing his days in government are over. His frantic efforts to rule from the grave are also failing him.
“Judging from this, Ntate Mosisili and his cronies are not going to accept defeat in the up-coming elections. The build-up of his resistance to outcome of the elections has started now by rejecting the SADC decisions,” he said.
But Dr Mosisili’s Political and Economic Advisor Fako Likoti yesterday dismissed the opposition’s statement as “lies meant to deceive voters.”
“They don’t know what they are talking about. All the say are lies that are meant to deceive voters. Ntate Mosisili still commands the biggest support and the opposition envies that.
“If they are not happy with the government’s stance on SADC issues, why can’t they just present their own standpoint before the regional body,” Dr Likoti said.
