I’m ready to serve, says Mputi

MAPUTSOE – FOR a long time, Mputi Steven Mputi toed the neutral line, refusing to be overtly associated with any political party despite being involved in many community projects — until the formation of the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party.

Mputi is the RFP candidate for the Maputsoe constituency.

“As the saying goes: actions speak louder than words, then you are talking RFP,” he said.

“It is an action oriented political forum which is meant to take immediate action to ensure that the needs of Basotho are dealt with. The RFP advocates for the rule of law and this is one of the ethos, if appropriately upheld, that can bring about free and happy communities,” he said.

“Above all, the RFP advocates for meritocracy, which is a rule based on merit.

No other party in this country has ever exercised meritocracy, hence the stagnation of our country. A person has to be elected based on their abilities and capacities, not merely for occupying a particular position of power without any merits.

Meritocracy has positively benefited other countries with vast growing economies such as China and Rwanda,” he added.

Maputsoe, a textile industrial hub, is likely to be one of the fiercely contested constituencies in the elections slated for next month.

Mputi says he was propelled to join politics by his desire to see the community prosper.

“My hunger for the development of communities has resulted in me joining politics,” he said.

“I have already served my community in different ways. To mention a few, I was the secretary of a local community football team, Roaring Lions, which eventually was promoted to the premier league while I was only at high school. I am also the co-founder of the small businesses association called Tycoon Business Forum which is meant to enhance such businesses.

I had a call to serve my people and despite having the opportunity to stay and work in South Africa I listened to the call,” he said.

On being a candidate for the RFP, Mputi says he has realised that the RFP is one of the few political parties which still upholds the issue of ethics in its structures.

According to him, some political parties appoint leaders solely based on one’s financial status and disregard values which such people possess.

The major challenge which the residents of Maputsoe are faced with, as identified by him, is the high poverty rate driven by lack of jobs and security.

Due to the high crime rate in the area, Maputsoe has since been dubbed a crime hub that has stirred twenty-four hour security operations at the border.

“It’s true that an idle mind is the Devil’s workshop. Quite a number of people in this area are unemployed and they are easily dragged into activities of crime because there is nothing positive they can make of their lives,” he said.

In order to reverse these sordid conditions of the constituency, Mputi is of the opinion that there has to be strong laws which need to be put in place to ensure people’s safety and the safety of their property.

The government should aid Basotho to engage in business to alleviate poverty, he said.

“It’s in the RFP manifesto that a development bank has to be set up in order to make it easy for Basotho to access loans in order to establish themselves in business. This has happened in India and it has yielded good results, so it’s inevitable that we also adopt it in the country. We need to have nationalised banks which can perform a positive role in boosting the economy,” he said.

Mputi also believes “it’s high time that the mindsets of Maputsoe residents be reconditioned into being pro-business”.

They should also be trained in strong ethics for business, he suggested.

“People need to be made aware that since they are part of the problem, they can also be made to be part of the solution by taking strides to remedy their problems.

We have to come together and work together as one in order to sufficiently tackle our challenges. Maputsoe loses a lot of potential income of traders to Ficksburg since they would prefer to live there and commute daily here for work. A lot of wealth is lost in the process,” said Mputi.

Mputi stressed the need for certain businesses to be localised to make sure that they are reserved for Basotho.

Patriotism is a cornerstone for success, he said.

“People need to be trained to love their country. Youths should undergo incubation programmes intended to promote responsible citizenry. A lot of our economy has to be in the hands of young people. We should strive for generational wealth, which will keeps on accumulating,” he said.

The model of leadership which Mputi advocates for is stewardship; entails that leaders become the servants of their subjects to eliminate vices such as corruption and nepotism.

Mputi was born and bred in Maputsoe, having spent his childhood on the banks of Mohokare River, which is a gateway to and from South Africa.

He was raised at Ha-Chonapase and went on to pursue his primary education at St Luke Primary school and later went to St Boniface High school for his secondary education.

Professionally, Mputi was initially trained as a teacher and he has obtained several qualifications in this trade having undergone post-graduate studies.

He also has vast experience in teaching locally and abroad.

“I was trained as a teacher at the National Teachers Training College (NTTC), the now Lesotho College of Education (LCE), where I obtained a Diploma in Secondary Education.

I went on to work as a teacher at Butha-Buthe High School before I could proceed to further my studies at the Central University of Technology in South Africa, where I studied towards a degree in Education in

Technology as well as a Master’s degree in the same field. After that, I had since been a student development practitioner there from 2005 to 2014,” he said.

Whilst still a student at tertiary level, Mputi served in different portfolios as a students’ representative.

This was perhaps where he took his first leap into politics.

“I was a leader and an activist during my days at CUT. I was the president of the Lesotho Students Association which was responsible for the welfare of Basotho students there for two consecutive terms.

Being elected for the second term showed that I had the capability to lead,” said Mputi.

Once Mputi accomplished his studies there, he was given a role to train and produce student leaders and also to ensure that students possessed sound leadership qualities.

It was during this time that Mputi also got into business, facilitating residence permits for Basotho students in Bloemfontein.

“My students’ residence business was flourishing in the early days. However, with time, the business collapsed due to the failure by the National Manpower Development Secretariat (NMDS) to promptly pay students’ housing allowances.

“I had to shut it down completely as it was no longer viable. I later invested in construction, which needed much support from the government but due to government problems it did not get a good market and it had to close,” he said.

Calvin Motekase