Bongiwe Zihlangu
MASERU— Deputy Prime Minister Lesao Lehohla says attempts by a coalition of trade unions and civic groups to stage protests on Tuesday were aimed at toppling thegovernment of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.Lehohla made the remarks while speaking in Parliament on Thursday on the government’s response to the planned protests.The police yesterday refused to sanction the protests, effectively neutralising the planned demonstrations. Lehohla said it was clear the indefinite protests were meant to destabilise and unseat the government.He urged the organisers to “wait for elections” which he said were not a long way off if they want to effect regime change. “Fortunately, the time for this government to be unseat is not a long way off. There’s no need for people to resort to underhand tactics in an attempt to overthrow it,” Lehohla said.“My advice to those who harbour aspirations to govern this country is that they are at liberty to lobby support from Basotho to bestow unto them the power they seek.” Lehohla added that the government was currently working with the opposition leaders to prepare for next year’s general election.“This is the very key to unseating the current government and endorsing a new one. It therefore defies logic, if it is true, that there are some who are resorting to illegal tactics to achieve that,” Lehohla said. He urged those planning “to overthrow the government” to reconsider their stance and “come and sit around the table for a legal transition of government”. If Basotho needed regime change, Lehohla said, they would happily do so without being coerced.
“But resorting to illegal tactics to strip this government of power is not on,”Lehohla said.n He warned that the police and army will not hesitate to maintain peace and order in the country.Lehohla also lashed out at the protesters’ demand that Mosisili should personally receive their petition, describing it as an insult on the prime minister’s integrity. “This is not acceptable. That he personally receives their petition is a deliberate ploy aimed at insulting the Prime Minister’s integrity,” Lehohla said.
He said although there had been a series of demonstrations that had been endorsed by the police under the Public Meetings and Processions Act 2010, it had been clear that some of the protests were aimed at bringing about political instability in Lesotho.
“There have been some criminal incidents associated with these protests,” Lehohla said.The coalition first took to the streets in August demanding that the government address a raft of demands. Among these demands were that the government should review taxi fares by 100 percent and reverse its decision to freeze civil service jobs this year.Taxi operators also wanted the government to suspend plans to
construct toll gates along Lesotho’s main roads.Trade unions said they wanted the government to increase the minimum wage in the textile industry and allow women working in that sector to enjoy the same maternity leave conditions as workers in other sectors.
The majority of textile workers earn about M900 which they want increased to about M2 020 per month. Business groups want foreigners to concentrate on huge enterprises and leave small businesses to Basotho.Youth organisations want the state to sponsor all colleges and courses.The coalition also demanded that the block farming scheme be audited.The block farming scheme, a revolving fund established by the government to help small-scale farmers, was allegedly looted by senior government officials.There have been allegations that some senior government officials failed to pay back the millions they borrowed from the fund which is run by a local bank.But the demands have since grown with the protesters now asking Mosisili to fire Education Minister ‘Mamphono Khaketla, Labour Minister ‘Maphoka Motoboli and Public Works Minister Semano Sekatle for alleged incompetence.