Moroke Sekoboto

REVOLUTION for Prosperity (RFP) leader, Sam Matekane, has reiterated his promises of establishing a corruption-free government based on accountability, rule of law and merit-based appointments, if voted into power.

Addressing thousands of RFP supporters yesterday in his final rally in Mazenod, Maseru, ahead of Friday’s crunch polls, he urged his supporters to cast their votes to give his party an outright victory which would enable them to govern alone.

“The RFP will establish a government based on the pillars of good governance, transparency, accountability, meritocracy and the rule of law,” Mr Matekane said.

“We will fight corruption and nepotism in order to build a government which will be beneficial to all Basotho.”

The RFP leader said his government would revamp the education curriculum to produce graduates who were not only ready for the current market but also capable of creating employment opportunities for others. He said his government would establish distance learning centres to reduce overcrowding in institutions of higher learning.

“An RFP government will embark on commercial farming as Lesotho has enough arable land. This will help reduce food imports and even allow us to export some of our produce.

“We will establish a development bank to support farmers. The bank will fund start-ups and this will allow youths to venture into agribusiness to uplift the economy. Our government will also construct roads and bridges as the economy cannot grow without proper infrastructure.”

Mr Matekane promised that youths who failed to start their own businesses would be offered employment in various sectors including the cutting and polishing of diamonds for export.

He emphasized the importance of civil servants as they were the ones who delivered services to the people. He promised to increase their salaries and improve their working conditions as part of efforts to enhance efficiency, he said.

“There is no way a government can be stable if the public service is unstable and not working efficiently and effectively. Civil servants are vital in government administration. Therefore, we have been engaging with them to understand their expectations from us,” Mr Matekane said.