Prime Minister Thomas Motsoahae Thabane has launched the most awaited comprehensive programme aimed at implementing national reforms in the national assembly on Monday May 14. “We have no choice. We have no choice. We have no choice,” he told members of parliament as he invited them to at least once in their lifetime put the interests of a poor Mosotho woman ahead of their differing political party interests.
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May 15, 2018
3 min read
Thabane launches national reforms programme
Prime Minister Tom Thabane
The reforms will kick start with a national prayer on May 22 followed by leaders national forum, which will be followed by the national reform agenda forum and the multi stakeholder national forum. He announced: “We begin today with this launch before this honourable house. The launch will be followed by the National Day of Prayer to be held across the country on the 22nd May 2018. The national prayers will be followed by the national leaders forum at which the national dialogue planning committee will be established and the draft reform agenda formulated. Then Lesotho will host the multi stakeholder national dialogue on reforms which deliberations will delve into the core business of the reform agenda, the modus operandi as well as institutional arrangements for the reforms.”
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Dr Thabane urged the nation in all its sectors to own and contribute meaningfully to the reform programme which will benefit the country and be bequeathed by the generations to come. He explained: “As we embark on a new era for the Lesotho we aspire for, we do not make our first step without tracing our history. From at least when Lesotho gained independence from United Kingdom in 1966, Lesotho experienced a variety of challenges and the most daunting challenges include, inter alia, lack of political security, lack of security stability, poor administration of justice, constitutional deficiencies and declining service delivery.
“Sadly, in recent years, the security of the country has been greatly compromised with the resultant of killing of two army commanders. In response to these ailments, the government of Lesotho, sought intervention from the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Lesotho received unwavering support from sister countries in the region and beyond.” Dr Thabane said the international community shared with great concern the unsettling political situation in Lesotho. “It’s against these sad realities that the people and government of Lesotho found it prudent to undertake a comprehensive review of the ways we have been doing business to address the anomalities of the past,” he explained.
When asked by the official leader of opposition and deputy leader of Democratic Congress (DC), Mr Mathibeli Mokhothu if the leaders in exile will be back in Lesotho before the reforms programme starts, Dr Thabane said the arrangements were underway unless there could be anyone who can say he has been denied to come home. When responding to the question by the leader of National Independent Party (NIP) Mr Moupo Mathaba, as to why the minister of finance did not include the reforms programme in his budget for 2018, Dr Thabane said: “There is no budget for bad behaviour. The world is waiting for us to correct our bad behaviour. The world is still showing interest to help. Rest assured that there will be funds from local and international if needed.”
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