Keiso Mohloboli
President Hifikepunye Pohamba reportedly recommended that parliament should re-open before 14 August 2014, during last week’s meeting with the three leaders of Lesotho’s coalition government.
Mr Pohamba met Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing and Home Affairs Minister Joang Molapo in Windhoek on Wednesday, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
Thabane is under fire from his partners, particularly Mr Metsing, who has openly accused him of not consulting his fellow principals when making key decisions, among them suspending parliament for nine months — from 13 June to 27 February 2015 — without consulting the other parties.
King Letsie III invited South African president Jacob Zuma to Lesotho on Tuesday last week, in an effort to end the feuding between the three parties —Thabane’s All Basotho Convention (ABC), Metsing’s Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and Basotho National Party (BNP) led by Thesele ‘Maseribane—which formed a coalition government in June 2012.
One of the resolutions reached at Zuma’s meeting was that the three leaders should go to Namibia and have an audience with Mr Pohamba, who would advise them how to operate in a coalition government and also help the three partners draw a roadmap to follow in ironing out their differences.
According to sources who spoke to the Sunday Express, President Pohamba asked Dr Thabane to take the necessary steps to ensure parliament was re-opened within two weeks of the meeting.
“The prime minister was asked to advise King Letsie III, as per procedure, to re-open parliament before 14 August as there can be no democracy without parliament,” said one of the sources.
“In-fact, the public announcement of this re-opening was supposed to be made today (Friday) at 9am, but had to be postponed due to Metsing’s court appearance on graft charges yesterday (on Thursday, which were later withdrawn).
“We expect the announcement to be made on Monday (tomorrow), should there be no more surprises again,” another source said.
The Sunday Express was also told by the sources that Lesotho was warned by Mr Pohamba that it might fail to assume the chairmanship of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation later this month, should the country’s political instability continue.
Contacted yesterday for comment, Mr Metsing said there was a declaration the three partners signed in Namibia last week, but would not go into details.
“We signed a declaration when we went to Namibia (on Wednesday) but I am not in a position to give you its details before the official announcement,” Mr Metsing said.
Mr Molapo, who went to Namibia in place of the BNP leader Thesele ‘Maseribane, also told the Sunday Express that the three coalition partners signed an agreement before President Pohamba, but refused to reveal the details.
“The details of what transpired during the meeting in Namibia can only be made public during an official announcement,” Molapo said yesterday.
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