Billy Ntaote
BASOTHO National Party (BNP) leader Thesele ‘Maseribane has slated the coalition government’s programme of action as outlined in King Letsie III’s Speech from the Throne, saying it did not prioritise youth empowerment.
Speaking to the Sunday Express following the opening of Lesotho’s 9th Parliament on Friday in which King Letsie III delivered his Speech from the Throne, Chief ‘Maseribane said strategies to alleviate the plight of youths were “glaringly missing” from the seven party coalition government’s programme of action.
“While King Letsie III did a marvellous job by kick-starting the work of parliament with his Speech from the Throne, we thought His government would mainstream and prioritise youths in its programmes for the coming five years to ensure their development in business and all other sectors of our country’s economy,” said Chief ‘Maseribane.
“The youth make up the largest share of our population as a country. Added to that, sport helps foster peace among our people, but we did not hear anything about the youth or sport.
“As the Speech from the Throne is based on the Coalition Agreement, one would then surmise that the government does not consider the youth as a priority, yet they are the very same people who are mostly affected and infected by HIV/AIDS and also do not have jobs.
“Youths are the ones talked about when it comes to education and training more than anybody else in any country, but nothing was said about them in the government’s programme.”
The BNP leader added that he expected the government to introduce bills to address some of the challenges the youth are facing.
“We thought that we would see draft legislation and amendments intended to mainstream youth development in business and other activities of national interest among the incoming bills,” he said.
“We need to have bills enacted that support the work of the National Youth Council so that it can function properly.”
Chief ‘Maseribane said despite the “very large” compliment of cabinet ministers, it was unlikely that youth issues would be adequately addressed.
“Yes there is a Small Business Development, Cooperatives and Marketing ministry but cabinet is now large and cumbersome,” he said.
“I know that we should not dwell on complaints, but we don’t need such a large cabinet of ministers. We were told ours was a very huge cabinet but this one has far surpassed ours.
“However, what matters now is whether this ministry headed by Minister Thabiso Litšiba will be able to collaborate with other ministries to achieve the desired results.”
The former Sports minister also noted that during his time in office, he realised that government ministries in Lesotho operated like “silos” by not cooperating with other ministries.
“The problem is that government ministries tend to be inward looking and not collaborate with other ministries,” said Chief ‘Maseribane.
He added that the dearth of collaboration and integration between ministries was resultantly detrimental to the developmental agenda.
“For instance there is no working relationship between the Sports and Health ministries or any other ministry for that matter.
“Hopefully, the Small Business Development, Cooperatives and Marketing ministry will collaborate with other ministries to be able to assist our people from all walks of life launch start-up companies and ensure the sustainability of their businesses,” said Chief ‘Maseribane.
“The youth should be given a chance to participate in every project. For example, if there is a road construction project, the youths can be allotted a 10 kilometre stretch to construct as a way of uplifting them.
“Government also needs to come up with a new transport policy and develop the industry so it can grow and become professionalised.”