Lesotho’s Election Winner Announces New Coalition Government

BY HERBERT MOYO

Lesotho business mogul Sam Matekane attends an election rally in Maseru, Lesotho, Friday, May, 27, 2022. Matekane's upstart party, Revolution for Prosperity has won 56 of the 120 constituencies in the general elections, in Lesotho, announced Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Silence Charumbira)

MASERU, LESOTHO (AP) — Lesotho’s businessman-turned-politician Sam Matekane is set to become the southern African country’s next prime minister after cobbling together a coalition headed by his Revolution for Prosperity party.

Matekane, 64, announced the new three-party coalition Tuesday in the capital, Maseru. His party will team up with two smaller parties, the Alliance of Democrats and the Movement for Economic Change parties, to secure a parliamentary majority needed to form a government.

Matekane, whose party was only launched in March this year, won 56 of the legislature’s 120 seats in last week’s general election. That was five shy of the 61-seat threshold required for any party to form a government on its own.

Although he had emphasized the importance of governing alone to enable his party to implement what he called a “developmental agenda,” Matekane joined forces with other parties after he failed to secure an outright win. Together the two smaller parties are bringing 9 seats into the new coalition, giving Matekane’s government a slim majority of 65 seats.

Addressing the media Tuesday, Matekane said he chose the two parties because they share the same vision of cutting down on government expenditure and improving the delivery of government services to Lesotho’s population.

Matekane is a newcomer to politics but the leaders of the two partner parties bring experience in government. Alliance for Democracy leader Monyane Moleleki served as deputy prime minister from June 2017 to May 2020. Movement for Economic Change leader Selibe Mochoboroane was development planning minister in the outgoing All Basotho Convention-led government which will hand over power when Matekane is sworn-in to office on a date to be announced.

Matekane said the coalition’s immediate tasks will be “reining government expenditure, stabilizing the economy and uniting the nation.” Lesotho has been plagued by chronic instability and widespread poverty. He said he would hold a weekend retreat with coalition partners to map the way forward.

Hundreds of people lined the streets near Matekane’s offices to celebrate his announcement of a new government.

Commenting on Matekane’s victory in his first election, National University of Lesotho political science lecturer Tlohang Letsie said his new party won because the electorate was fed up with the political status quo.

“The votes came from a place of anger ... The election outcome is a clear message to all political parties that when people choose them to govern, they expect them to deliver,” he said.

Matekane’s “incoming government must deliver, the people’s expectations must be met,” Letsie said.

Maseru resident Tene Mabuse voiced similar views.

“I want the new government to create jobs. Previous governments failed the people, they only sought to promote and serve their own interests,” Mabuse said. “I’m happy the Revolution for Progress has won because we need new players. We need them to create jobs.”

He said Matekane and his party “should be warned that if they disappoint us, we won’t hesitate to dump them the same way they did the parties that we have ditched.”

Upstart Party Wins In Lesotho Polls, Must Form Coalition

Party members celebrate Lesotho's business mogul Sam Matekane's upstart party, Revolution for Prosperity after winning 56 of the 120 constituencies in the general elections, in Maseru, Lesotho, Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. The results were announced by the Independent Electoral Commission on Monday afternoon. (AP Photo/Silence Charumbira)

BY HERBERT MOYO

MASERU, LESOTHO (AP) — Lesotho business mogul Sam Matekane’s upstart party, the Revolution for Prosperity, has won 56 of the 120 constituencies in the general elections, according to results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission on Monday afternoon.

Celebrations have erupted on the streets of the capital, Maseru, upon the news of the strong showing of Matekane’s party. Just seven months old, the party attracted support from young voters eager for change in Lesotho, a constitutional kingdom of 2.1 million people entirely surrounded by South Africa’s Drakensberg mountains.

However, Matekane, 64, fell short of his goal of winning an outright majority and will have to find a coalition partner as his party is five seats shy of a 61-seat majority.

Throughout the campaign, Matekane emphasized the need for his party to govern alone in order to fully implement its development agenda to lift Lesotho out of endemic poverty, high unemployment and rampant crime.

Matekane is a self-made businessman with companies in transport and construction, including lucrative earthmoving contracts at the Letseng diamond mine and contracts to build roads and dams. He has said if he becomes prime minister he will hand over his businesses to avoid conflicts of interest.

Now Matekane must find a coalition partner. He could strike a deal with the Democratic Congress which has come in second place with 26 seats.

Other parties with seats are the Basotho Action Party with six seats, the Alliance of Democrats with four seats, the Movement for Economic Change with four seats, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy with three seats, the Basotho National Party with two seats and the Socialist Revolutionaries with two seats.

The results highlight the spectacular collapse of the ruling All Basotho Convention which did not win a single seat of the 80 directly elected but did get eight proportional representation seats. In the last elections in 2017, it obtained 53 seats and formed a coalition government.

That African Presidents Wives' Annual Health Summit In Beverly Hills

Not much was talked about it. Not much was known about it. Not even the mainstream media mentioned it. In fact, it was not a big deal, because, as usual, knowing what should be expected from such a gathering of the wives of inept and corrupt African presidents, the errand boys, the opportunistic organizers had to run the show their own way which is typical of deceit and fraud. We've seen this kind of stuff happen many times as it ends up being a picnic and a loophole for money laundering.

I was socializing with some friends when the event and its issues popped up. We were discussing about a retarded African continent, Nigeria in particular, and what should be done about it until one curious-minded fella among us brought up the topic, and stressed on how we lost it here in Diaspora as a collective and the failure to complete ourselves.

"Did any of you hear about the summit held in Beverly Hills? Can you imagine the wife of our president was here and nobody knew about it?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yes, I heard about it but it was nothing to talk about," I responded without feelings.

As it happened, most, if not all, among us never heard of Nigeria's First Lady visiting the Los Angeles area for a summit, except, probably, the organizers who were the opportunists. I am not sure why it was too much of an event from the errand boys who ran their mouth in praise of the First Ladies of Africa visit, and particularly, "our own" Turai Umaru Yar'Adua who sneaked in and the numerous Nigerian women's organization in the Los Angeles metropolis did not know or heard about it and did not do anything about it.

The health summit which was held at the Jewish Skirball Cultural Center was attended by Turai Umaru Yar'Adua (Nigeria); Queen Inkosikati Mbidiza (Swaziland); Ida Odinga (Kenya); Laraba Tandja (Niger); Penehupito Polamba (Namibia); Thandive Banda (Zambia); Maria da Lu Dai Guebuza (Mozambique); Mathato Sarah Mosisili (Lesotho); Sia Nyama Koromo (Sierra Leone); Adelcia Barreto Pires (Cape Verde); Chantal Bida (Cameroon) and Ana Paula Dos Santos (Angola).

After the summit at Skirball which eventually would produce no effective result for what the continent has been known for over three decades since the colonists of various European enclaves had left for the new rulers to figure things out. Nothing in the long run was figured out but widespread scandals of bribery and corruption, political and economic instability, and anarchy coupled with civilian and military staged coups.

The gist: The summit gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel was sponsored by US Doctors for Africa and ExxonMobil which is a clear indication that the organizers were up to something.

Who does not know ExxonMobil and other oil companies and how they destroyed the environment of the oil-producing countries in that ailing continent? Who does not know how the doctors in collaboration with the medical errand boys to save according to Amanda Peabody who reported the event for The Beverly Hills Courier the "critical issues of HIV/AIDS, infants and maternal health and girls education?" Who does not know how the US DOctors for Africa and the so-called medical mission and how they misused the priorities meant to carry out a sound, thorough and effective project that should have been in the obvious?

Unfortunately, it is pointblank. The motive is deceptive, unclear and fraudulent on the ground it is evident that all the money being poured in by charity organizations, United Nations International Children Emergency Fund, World Health Organization and several other independent caring institutions over the years for the projected developments, has not yielded any meaningful dividend save for misappropriation of funds and things like that. In most cases, these funds are wasted due to lack of accountability and transparency.

But the irony of this kind of disturbing propanganda is when well-intentioned people get involved by way of financial contributions and other voluntary works "to provide primary care, strategic planning, education and training first as aid and then to empower the people of Africa to respond to the health crisis they face" and later to find out something is not right somewhere; and that the whole project has become a cock and bull story.

Hollywood celebrities -- Sharon Stone, Kristin Davis, Danny Glover, Paris Hilton, Naomi Campbell, Rosario Dawson and Chris Tucker -- who came to the gala and got excited about a comatose summit, had no idea what the entire event would lead to. Deadend, to be precise.

Has any of these celebrities who've been giving their moral and financial support ever asked why Africa remains toxic despite its enormous natural resources and abundant human capital? Has any asked why would such staggering amounts in the millions, if not in the billions, been invested in the continent annually yet there's nothing to show for it? Has any attempted to approaching the root cause of the problem dealing with it once and for all so the continent can march toward onward objectivity? Has any considered the importance of a radical step by way of an organized and timed political revolution to effect change? Has any thought of the normalcy of due process taking into account prosecuting to the limit of the law those that raped their country's public funds and caused all sorts of hardship to its people, as a result, and learning from the steps taken by Paul Kagame of Rwanda?

Today, Nigeria in particular, is on the list of the world's highest number of malnourished children and yet it is the one called the giant of Africa.

Until the thought of the above-mentioned necessary steps is taken, the African continent will continue to sink beyond imagination and like in a situation where no matter how many gallons of palm oil is used in preparing a dog's meal, its stool will not change; it will still be black. Since the event was a success as the organizers made us believe, the point here is, as the First Annual Health Summit by Africa's First Ladies, its too early to start applauding because from my observation it will end up like any other African summit where nothing gets done. Davis who was at the gala pointed it out clearly: "It's really amazing to have the First Ladies (in Beverly Hills) and hear what their countries are going through and what they need..."

Yes, everybody wants to help but the people in question are cocky and crooked. So why don't we weep for those shattered people and also for the poor and penniless who have been oppressed and crushed instead of applauding a sect that intends to rape the peoples fund.