| S |
O here we go again.
The season of half-truths and outright lies is upon us.
Phew!
The stench of the horrible lies that office seekers utter is not what bothers Scrutator.
Rather it is the naivety with which voters gobble the lies that gets her goat.
Every five years we cast our vote for men and women seeking to make a living out of empty-promises.
They work for themselves and no one else, lining their pockets while the majority wallow in abject poverty.
And when they fail to deliver we still have their empty promises for the main course and their lame excuses as dessert.
Still we keep falling for the same trick hook, line and sinker.
We wait for a miracle to happen in our lives. We hope deliverance will come sooner rather than later.
Yet the reality is that for as long as we keep hoping our politicians will lead us to the Land of Plenty then we are “Waiting for Godot”.
| T |
he list of political parties contesting the May 26 election makes for depressing reading.
It’s the same bucket of poppycock from which voters are being asked to pick something that looks cleanable.
Never in the history of this country has a political race been run by such pathetic horses.
Never before have voters been asked to choose from such an extensive list of mediocre and weak parties.
Sad isn’t it that we are being asked to choose between a rotten tomato and a rotten tomato.
| O |
n top of this pile is the newly formed Democratic Congress (DC), a party cobbled out of wounded rejects from the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD).
To its credit, the DC hasn’t pretended that it offers anything special.
It came to power under controversial circumstances and it now seeks to be confirmed as government through the ballot.
As far as policies go it is as empty as a vacuum. In terms of credibility it is as bankrupt as MKM.
You know you have hit rock bottom when your only claim to fame as a party is that you are led by a former leader of another party.
Second on the list is the LCD, a party that fought its way to a split and kicked itself out of power.
The weak and headless LCD is promising people nothing new because it has nothing new to offer.
There comes a time when you are trapped in the web of your own lies.
To untangle yourself you have to stop weaving that web lest people laugh you off as a pathological liar who is now so naive to believe your own lies.
The LCD has already proven beyond reasonable doubt that it has neither the will nor the zeal to fight corruption.
To return it to power will be as good as asking for five more years similar to the last 15.
We now know how the LCD people looted when they were in power.
We know when they were in power they were so corrupt that we had to pray hard so that they don’t give tenders and jobs even to cats, ducks and goats from their villages.
| N |
ext in the morass is the All Basotho Convention (ABC), a party led by a man with a bucket list. Despite being only half a decade old the ABC has grown old and frail.
It remains rooted in Maseru when the reality is that elections in this country are decided by poor peasants in the villages.
The leader has surrounded himself with people whose IQs are lower than his.
You can only make it in the ABC if you know how to say a very loud “yes” to the old man at the top.
Did I hear someone say “Basotho National Party (BNP)?”
Well, this one is burdened by its historical sins.
The reason why this country is still one big village in the 21st century is because of the BNP’s rule.
The talk that it is going through a revival is a self-delusional lie perpetrated by those who still have a terrible hangover of dictatorship.
Selective amnesia is not strength but a weakness.
Scrutator didn’t know dictatorship was so addictive.
The BNP has no idea what it will offer this country in the unlikely event that it gets into power.
| W |
e have the National Independent Party (NIP), a mistress of a party.
Apart from the fact that it likes marrying too much nothing else substantial is known about its policies.
Enter the Lesotho Workers’ Party. Mmmmm, now this is one fat joke of a party.
The least Scrutator says about this party the better.
The Basutoland Congress Party which was left bereft of supporters and ideas when it unwillingly gave birth to the LCD is simply shallow.
The Lesotho People’s Congress just has no people.
Senkatana Party, Basotho Democratic National Party, Basotho Batho Democratic Party, Sefate Democratic Party and African Development Corporation (silly name that one) are only there to make up the numbers.
| S |
crutator would have loved to give you the whole list of political parties in this country but the futility of that exercise just saps her energy.
The fact is that the options in this election are so varied yet so pathetic.
That is why there is no reason to be excited about this election unless you are one of those who have been promised a tender, a job or a ministerial position.
You can be as sure as the sun rises from the east and sets in the west that there will be no substantial policy debate in this election.
Of course there will be quotable quotes but they will be limited to petty insults only fit for a school playground.
As usual Size 2 will breathe fire and call the opposition unprintable names. The old man from the ABC will shout his head off.
The other pretenders in the opposition camp will scream and whine. But the politics of this country will remain hollow.
| Y |
et that does not mean you should not vote. What you must not do is to fool yourself that any government will change your fortunes.
You can elect those that are less dirty but you should not be disappointed when they too are corrupted beyond recognition.
Never deceive yourself that any government in Lesotho will pull you out of poverty.
Never let the change of a government limit your ambition and will to succeed.
Only you and not the government of the day can map your destiny.
Work and fight for what you want.
As for those who still insist on putting their faith in politicians, well, just know that the “Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born”.
Ache!
scrutator29@gamil.com
