…Khama, Malema say Matekane’s win is a lesson that blundering career politicians “who think they are God’s gifts to their countries can be ousted from power”…
NEW Prime Minister Sam Matekane was sworn in at a colorful Friday ceremony in front of a jam-packed and appreciative Setsoto Stadium in Maseru.
For the first time in a very long time, SADC leaders and other world diplomats and dignitaries were not in Maseru on a fire-fighting mission to listen to political squabbles and mediate between rivals. They were there to celebrate the installation of an extremely popular prime minister whose Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party had wiped the electoral floor clean, taking 56 out of the available 79 constituency seats. Had it not been for the controversial proportional representation (PR) system which was deliberately designed to resurrect political parties and leaders who had been shown the middle finger by the electorate, Mr Matekane would have been able to form government on his own. In the end he had to cobble a coalition agreement with the Monyane Moleleki-led Alliance of Democrats (AD) and Selibe Mochoboroane-led Movement for Economic Change (MCC) to realise his dream of ruling the country.
The nation did not disappoint; the people came in their thousands and packed Setsoto Stadium to the rafters to show just how much Mr Matekane’s victory meant to them. Regional leaders like South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa graced the occasion along with former presidents such as Botswana’s Ian Khama. United States President Joe Biden sent a high powered delegation led by Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) CEO, Alice Albright, herself the daughter of the renowned late US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright.
In May this year, the MCC and the former government signed a lucrative US$300 million deal for a second MCC compact to fund various projects aimed at fostering socio-economic growth in Lesotho.
The presence of Ms Albright and her delegation was no doubt a ringing endorsement of Mr Matekane whose government will implement the second compact.
Amid the din of celebrations and well-wishes, the Lesotho Times Editor, Herbert Moyo, tracked down some of the leaders, foreign dignitaries and opposition leaders, who came to witness for themselves the swearing-in of a man who from whom so much is expected over the course of the next five years. All of them had nothing but praise and words of advice for Mr Matekane as he begins his tenure.
Below are excerpts of the various interviews:
MCC CEO Albright
I’d like to congratulate Lesotho on the holding of free, fair, and transparent elections that were free of violence and reflected the will of the people of Lesotho.
Because of this, Lesotho presents a model for other countries throughout Africa that will be holding national elections over the next year.
The United States will continue to work in partnership with the Government to deepen cooperation around our shared priorities, including democracy, economic growth and investment, global health security and public health, and climate and energy goals to create a better future for the people of Lesotho.
To new Prime Minister Matekane, I would say: Congratulations on your inauguration. As you lead the Government, please remember that your mandate has been entrusted to you by the people of Lesotho, who seek a brighter future for themselves and their country.
Former Botswana President Ian Khama
What the victory and inauguration of Mr Matekane says without any shadow of doubt is that the people of Lesotho have chosen the government they want for the next five years.
What Lesotho has done is something we’ve always been aspiring for in all SADC countries; that is the holding of free and fair elections which reflect the will of the people. This election shows that although there will always be attempts by those in power to retain it, if democracy is followed to the letter by holding credible polls, the voters will remove you from power if they think you didn’t do a good job while in charge. If you don’t fulfil your promises while in power, the people are going to vote you out.
You will realise that in many African countries there are usually attempts to manipulate the outcome of elections because politicians want to stay in office indefinitely even if people no longer want them and think it’s time for change.
If you look at what is happening in the UK, the Prime Minister (Lizz Truss) only lasted for 45 days. The message she got from the British people was that she was not being assertive; she was unable to fix the (economic) problems and she resigned. But do you think that could happen in Africa where some leaders are known to be incompetent and corrupt? They are in government for their self-interests. For them, it’s all just a joyride. They behave like they are God’s gifts to their countries and they act like there is no one else who can replace them. That is the problem that we are facing in Africa. I’m not saying it’s the whole continent but in a significant number of African countries there is that serious political immaturity.
So, I hope that Lesotho is going to have an entrenched democracy, stability, peace and prosperity. My advice to Prime Minister Matekane is that he should always be driven by people’s policies. His government must account to the people, it must deliver on its mandate.
Julius Malema
This is a historic ceremony because a party (RFP) which has only been in existence for less than a year has taken over the reins of government. This confirms that it is possible to replace traditional parties in government. There were certain parties that were now thinking that they were entitled to rule forever. We are therefore pleased that Lesotho has joined many other countries that are saying they have had enough of the established political parties and traditional leaders. We are witnessing this historic moment in Lesotho and what I’ve learnt from them (RFP) is that you can succeed if you have a focused election campaign with a well-articulated message communicated through different platforms. We are glad that Lesotho has led on this front.
Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs Minister Frederick Shava
His Excellency (Zimbabwean President), Emmerson Mnangagwa, would have been very pleased to be here to witness for himself a change of government in Lesotho. He is a great supporter of peaceful change and this change in Lesotho will please him very much. Lesotho and Zimbabwe enjoy excellent, cordial relations dating back many years. You will recall that many of our leaders attended university here in Lesotho before we got our independence from Britain in 1980.
The lesson to be drawn from this is simply that there must be peaceful, free and fair elections. Political parties must have clear manifestos showing what they promise to do for the people. The (RFP) had a clear manifesto and even today (Friday) it was clearly articulated by the new Prime Minister (Matekane).
On whether the ruling Zanu PF, which has often been accused of violence and intimidation of the opposition, will peacefully hand over power in the event that it loses:
Shava: Zimbabwe will be holding elections next year. The question of whether Zanu PF would conceded defeat and hand over power in the unlikely event that it loses should not even arise. What then would be the point of holding elections in the first place if the winners are not allowed to take over government?
Zimbabwe’s opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change leader Nelson Chamisa
This is a clear lesson to Africa as a whole that a transition or change of government should not be a source of instability. A transition is not a threat to the state and transitions from one government to another are a good thing for democracy. Smooth transitions or transfers of power must be supported by all players.
Those in government and those who are not in it must always understand that they have to put the country first and their political parties second. That is the message we got from the Lesotho experience. Lesotho’s politicians have conducted a smooth transfer of power from one government to another. They did this after conducting free and fair elections which were not violent. The polls were not discredited and this is an indication of what Africa is capable of.
We saw that there were smooth transfers of power in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), Malawi, and Kenya. We’ve now seen that happening in Lesotho and we want to see it happen in more countries.
Zimbabwe, Nigeria and several other countries that are going to hold elections soon must take a leaf from Lesotho and other countries that have held credible elections which were then followed by smooth transitions.
On whether Zimbabwe’s electoral commission is independent of the incumbent government and capable of holding credible polls:
Chamisa: The situation in Zimbabwe when it comes to the electoral commission is slightly different from Lesotho. However, we have a constitution that speaks to the commission’s independence as well as free and fair elections. That constitution must be followed.
Former Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili
This occasion (PM Matekane’s inauguration) has gone very well. For the first time in many decades, we witnessed the inauguration of a government without me or (former Prime Minister Thomas) Thabane being involved in any way. You will recall that in 2012 I handed over to Ntate Thabane and in 2015, he handed power back to me. In 2017, I handed the reins back to him. This time the two of us were not involved but everything went on very well.
I want to congratulate the new Prime Minister, Sam Matekane. I wish him well and I want to say to him, he is taking over at a very difficult time for the country.
Economically, we are not in good shape and he has to breathe fresh air into the government and work extra hard to revive the economy. I am available whenever he needs my advice. I’m just a phone call away if he thinks there is any way I can be of assistance. I’m willing to help because he is serving our country now.
