Leemisa Thuseho
Speaker of the National Assembly, Tlohang Sekhamane, says Lesotho’s youth have the capacity to drive change and rescue their country from reliance on international aid, provided they are given the necessary resources.
Mr Sekhamane believes young people possess more than average energy, are technologically adept, and are the victims of the poverty created by their elders.
He argues that what the youth need are resources, empowerment, and a conducive environment to excel.
However, Mr Sekhamane also expresses concern that youth have a sense of entitlement and are too confrontational, which can deter political/government leaders and high-ranking executives from engaging with them.
Mr Sekhamane made these remarks during a youth dialogue on economic independence held at Kick4Life premises on Friday.
The dialogue, one of two hosted in Maseru by one organizer Tumelo Moteuli and other youth leaders, aimed to provide a platform for Lesotho’s youth to voice their challenges and ideas on how to make the country financially independent.
This edition of the dialogue also incorporated the commemoration of Africa Day, which is officially celebrated on May 25 (today).
“The solution to Lesotho’s economic independence is our youth – in fact, they are the solution to the country’s poverty challenges,” Mr Sekhamane said.
He asserted that older people “cannot rescue the country” because they have given up, believe in poverty, and are the cause of the many challenges faced by the youth.
“Madness is when you think you can solve poverty with the same mentality that created it…Older people cannot solve the problem of poverty because it has become their way of life, they are intrinsically poor,” Mr Sekhamane said.
Mr Sekhamane believes the youth, on the other hand, do not accept poverty, hate it, and are hurt by it the most.
He said they just need the necessary resources, as they have the energy, are technologically sound, and are more adaptable to the tech-driven world than older generations.
Mr Sekhamane, also highlighted concerns about the youth’s approach to engaging with the government. He said that the grievances of young people often fail to reach the right people due to a “sense of entitlement and of always being confrontational.”
“The problem with our youth is that they are always fighting and are confrontational, and no one feels free to engage with them,” Mr Sekhamane said.
“They need those people in high positions to open doors for them, they need to partner with them, not chase them away.”
The Speaker also criticized Lesotho’s reliance on international aid, describing it as “transactional” rather than free assistance. “Foreign aid will not take us anywhere,” he said. “We have been going that way for a long time, but here we are today, nothing has changed… those people giving us donations, what do they want in return? There is nothing for free.”
Additionally, Mr Sekhamane expressed concern about the misuse of agricultural land, noting that Lesotho’s arable land had decreased significantly due to the construction of houses and graveyards.
“Some years back Lesotho was 9 percent arable, but I do not think that is still the case, looking at how many houses are being built on the land that is considered for agriculture,” he said.
“Again, the graveyards keep on occupying much of the land when there are other ways of how we can deal with the dead, like cremating them.”
One of the youth participants, Khabasheane Masupha, said a major challenge was that when they approach people in power with their ideas and proposals, they were instead pressured to join political parties.
“We have ideas, but the challenge is that to be considered, we are told to join political parties,” Masupha said.
Mr Moteuli said the dialogue would not only be centred in Maseru, noting that they planned to make rounds across Lesotho “to allow young people to voice out their concerns”.