Ntsebeng Motsoeli
THE next National Leaders’ Forum will be held on 5 and 6 June 2019, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitator to Lesotho, Justice Dikgang Moseneke has said.
Justice Moseneke said this in Maseru on Friday while addressing the media after consultations with various stakeholders including opposition parties in parliament, parties outside parliament, the government and development partners during his two-day visit to Lesotho.
He said the NLF will decide on the national structure that will take over processes leading to the reforms when the current structure’s tenure ends.
He said the NLF will also consolidate the agenda for the second plenary of the reforms dialogue which is scheduled for 18 to 20 June 2019. He said the reforms were expected to be implemented in July.
Justice Moseneke arrived in Maseru on Thursday and met members of the NDPC where, apart from receiving briefings from various members on their experiences from the in-district consultations, the team plotted the way forward for consolidating the programme towards Plenary II and preparations for the NLF.
He was also the guest of honour at an in-district consultation session at Ha-Mohlehli in the Qibing Community Council in Mafeteng on Friday which was the official launch of the in-district consultations.
Other in-district consultations are on-going throughout the country and are expected to be concluded by 3 May 2019.
“The facilitator and the National Dialogue Planning Committee (NDPC) agreed on the dates for the next National Leaders Forum which will consolidate the agenda for Plenary II.
“This will include familiarising the leaders with both the reports and proposals of Plenary I and the in-district consultations. The dates agreed will be 5 and 6 June 2019. The National Leaders Forum will also consider proposals for the national structure that will take over when the NDPC is dissolved.
“After a thorough consideration of the work done so far and issues that need to be distilled in preparation for the Plenary II, the meeting agreed on the proposed dates of 18th, 19th, and 20th June 2019 for convening Plenary II.
“It is expected that the National Dialogue Planning Committee will deliver their final report by the 04 July 2019.
“Both the report of Plenary I and its extension, as well as the in-district consultations will ultimately be handed over to experts or consultants who will develop them into workable reform proposals for consideration by the National Leaders Forum and ultimately Plenary II.
“We would not end this project without hearing from you what you want discussed and those that you would wish to see them change.
“The purpose of the in-district consultations is to hear and understand your ideas and concerns. At the end, all the issues and to record them faithfully and submit them to the national leadership forum where they will be consolidated to form the reforms; will be formulated into the reforms which we hope will be implemented from around July 2019.
“They are all going to take to parliament which will implement the reforms, the changes which would have been decided upon by you the Basotho people. I am thankful to all the members of the NDPC for working very well together. It has been a year but we have not fought. Maybe we might fight as we move on but we are working well together,” Justice Moseneke said.
He said he also told the Deputy Prime Minister Monyane Moleleki during their meeting on Friday morning that “there was light at the end of the tunnel”.
“We started this process and we must see it through to the stage where the reforms are implemented and hopefully your lives are changed,” Justice Moseneke said.