. . . DPM predicts victory in next year’s polls
Nthatuoa Koeshe
DEMOCRATIC Congress (DC) leader and Deputy Prime Minister Mathibeli Mokhothu has predicted that his party will win next year’s elections and form the next government.
Mr Mokhothu’s party is the second biggest party in the current All Basotho Convention (ABC)-led coalition which has governed the country since May 2020.
He is however, confident that the DC will step out of the shadow of the ABC and claim an outright victory in the eagerly anticipated polls which will be held any time after the September 2021 expiry of the tenure of the current parliament.
Addressing a rally in his Qhoali constituency over the weekend, an ebullient Mr Mokhothu said there could not be “two bulls in one kraal”.
In fact, the DC was the only “bull” worth talking about in the country. It would cruise to victory in the 2022 polls, the deputy premier confidently declared.
“I assure you that we don’t have two bulls in Lesotho,” Mr Mokhothu told party supporters.
“The DC remains the only bull in this country and you will see with your own eyes at next year’s general elections. We will win the elections from Tele (Quthing) to Mechachane (Butha-Buthe). You should go and vote in large numbers. When you go to church, please remember to pray for us because everything comes from God.
“In this constituency, we have always been winning the elections. You have to go out and recruit new members and ensure that no other party has members here. The DC must be the only party. I want us to win with even bigger margins in the next general elections that will be held in October 2022. I know that the DC will win elections. I won’t ever lose sleep over that,” Mr Mokhothu said.
The deputy premier was yesterday unreachable when this publication called him to find out if he was willing to forge another coalition with the ABC after next year’s polls.
Nonetheless, there is a growing feeling within the DC that the ABC has become a huge liability due to the perennial infighting in the Thomas Thabane-led party.
The DC’s exasperation with the fractious ABC was captured by former prime minister and founding DC leader, Pakalitha Mosisili, who last week expressed sympathy for Mr Mokhothu for being “yoked in government with a difficult coalition partner”.
“My leader (Mokhothu), you are in a coalition government with men from the yellow party, Ntate Thabane’s party, and that in itself is a serious challenge,” Mr Mosisili said.
“It is a serious challenge for men and women of the congress movement to work with these people (ABC). I understand the position that you (Mokhothu) find yourself in my man. In all honestly, I understand that it is not easy.
“The ABC is indeed a difficult partner. Difficult in the sense that my leader (Mokhothu) can agree with the prime minister (ABC deputy leader Moeketsi Majoro) on a certain issue but that agreement will not be implemented. Again, DC NEC members may agree on certain issues with their ABC counterparts but the agreements will come to naught. The prime minister finds it difficult to implement certain decisions and this is quite frustrating for us,” Mr Mosisili said in an interview with this publication.
He expressed confidence that the DC would win next year’s polls and form the next government.
Asked if they would consider forging another coalition with the ABC in the event that they failed to secure an outright victory, Mr Mosisili said, “at least we would now be knowing what we are getting ourselves into if we did.
“Hopefully, we would be the senior partner in that coalition and we would therefore be in a better position to influence the decision-making,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Mokhothu urged the electorate to shun smaller parties he said had been formed to take advantage of the proportional representation system to “earn a few parliamentary seats”.
“Don’t get attracted to parties that are only formed to go into parliament through proportional representation. Some people are forming parties that will never win any constituencies. They just want to garner enough votes to get into parliament through the proportional representation system.
“Don’t allow yourselves to be exploited by such parties. Try by all means to be peacemakers because the DC is a peaceful party which strives for the truth and reconciliation. It was formed to solve people’s problems by supporting farming, education, building hospitals as well as ensuring that young people get jobs after completing their studies,” Mr Mokhothu said.
He also took the opportunity to donate blankets to 89 herd boys as well as coats and jackets to adults and children in the Ha-Masupha branch of the constituency.
He said the government was well aware of the local community’s needs including a school for their children.
“I know the need for a school at Ha-Masupha. I haven’t forgotten about that and I am working on it. As soon as funds are available this will be addressed.
“We have already addressed your other concerns like the wool and mohair issue. We resolved the matter and now you are allowed to sell your wool and mohair wherever and to whomever you want.
“Your pay cheques are now being processed much faster. We are aware that some farmers from Mphaki are still owed money for their 2018 and 2019 produce and we are working together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, to ensure that they are paid.
“We also embarked on a massive campaign to donate sheep and rams to herd boys. This will be an annual project wherein we will be responding directly to the people’s needs by providing solutions that are in line with what they are already doing to earn a living.
“We also embarked on a programme of buying grain from the people. As your member of parliament, I decided to relieve you of the burden of having to transport the grain to Mphaki. We will come and collect it from your houses and the government will pay you. We are doing this to ensure that there will be food reserves which we will come back and donate to those who will experience food shortages during the lean months before the next harvest,” Mr Mokhothu said.