Majoro’s 100 days in office

Three months ago, former prime minister Thomas Thabane’s ship was being buffeted by powerful waves with water threatening to enter the ship from all directions. Thabane’s ship was sinking slowly and the lifeboats were either missing or of no use. It was at this time that Dr Moeketsi Majoro and Mathibeli Mokhothu took over command of the ship. The Majoro-led coalition government has completed 100 days in office in the transitional set-up formed after Thabane’s departure. This week I want to take a look at the significant milestones and upcoming challenges. The first 100 days have been extremely busy for Majoro’s administration. The first achievement I observed is that Majoro’s government became the first to comply with the 2006 law that requires that all public officials must declare their assets. In 100 days senior government officials including cabinet ministers have been declaring their assets. The declaration is a clear indicator that Majoro and his Cabinet are committed to fighting corruption in this country. Indeed, the declaration was a significant move towards stepping up the fight against corruption on all fronts. The government has also addressed the wool and mohair regulations of 2018 that impoverished our wool and mohair farmers. The regulations prevented farmers to trade in wool and mohair without a licence from the Ministry of Small Businesses, Cooperatives and Marketing. The regulations further state that “the holder of an export licence shall not export wool and mohair unless it is prepared, brokered, traded and auctioned in Lesotho”. The government has allowed the wool and mohair farmers to sell their product in any country, meaning the product can now be traded and auctioned anywhere in the world. The Majoro-led government disbanded the corrupt and ineffective Command Centre that failed to control the Covid-19 pandemic. They introduced the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) and then hired professionals to deliver on the promise to put Covid-19 under control. Thabo Khasipe is the most appropriate appointment the government could ever make. He is a brilliant and visionary leader. He is a professional who works hard. In my opinion he is the best candidate to drive a national Covid-19 agency. Furthermore, Majoro’s government will start buying agricultural produce from the nation’s farmers and distribute the products to poor citizens, in response to the economic implications of Covid-19. The decision comes at the right time when a lot of households have been negatively affected by Covid-19. In this Covid-19 era, we have witnessed MPs distributing food parcels which are largely made up of South African products. Hence distributing food that is bought from Basotho nationals will be good for the people who are to receive donations, and those the produce is bought from. Another milestone that the Majoro administration has achieved is to begin to deal with excessive and unwarranted Chinese influence in our country. In a small economy like ours when the Chinese community gets a lion’s share from government tenders, with government being the biggest spender in the economy, it undermines and leaves the indigenous Basotho worse off. Yan Xie John, who was the business and political adviser to the former prime minister Thabane, had captured the state and there was so much capital flight. I am glad this government is beginning to address this issue of Chinese dominance in our economy. This government terminated Xie’s Convention Centre contract where he was charging the government/Command Centre M53 000 a day for renting their own building. Thank God Xie no longer dominates our economy. Majoro’s government resolved to reimburse salaries of teachers who went on strike in September last year and fell victims to Thesele Maseribane’s “no work no pay” principle that was employed to punish teachers. This government has also addressed the issue of the salary structure of the teachers. I was made to understand that the current delay of payment of teachers’ salaries was brought about by the resolve to implement the new salary structure. I fully understand that the government has good intentions but they should have made teachers aware of the current implementation of the new salary structure which could cause delays in their payment. Allow me to now focus on challenges ahead of us. Covid-19 has destroyed our economy and left many Basotho unemployed. Above all it has stolen our loved ones from us. However, I think Covid-19 is our greatest gift. The pandemic has opened our eyes to lots of economic opportunities (medicinal herbs, agriculture, localised production). It has also taught us to think inwardly and be very selfish about the empowerment of our own people. The good thing about this crisis is that it has negatively impacted every country, it is even worse for developed states. We can use this crisis/opportunity to rebuild our economy. Post the Covid-19 crisis the workplace will never be the same again. Everything is possible but we need visionary and pragmatic leaders. Majoro’s government must address bureaucratic problems which bring major challenges such as red tape, the complex procedures and rules that bureaucrats follow in completing their tasks. Covid-19 has taught us that we do not have a lifetime to address our challenges. Majoro and Mokhothu must work on our ability to respond to problems in a timely fashion. Majoro’s government must attend to the national reform process. It is taking long to conclude the reforms. These reforms present an opportunity for us to find lasting solutions to our country’s perpetual political crisis. However, the processes of implementing reforms face several serious challenges. This must be addressed as soon as possible. Ramahooana Matlosa