Take them on, Mr Prime Minister

THE All Basotho Convention (ABC) was set to hold a crisis meeting this week to discuss the fate of Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro, who is also the party’s deputy leader. The meeting however could not proceed after party leader Thomas Thabane was said to have been taken ill. We are not surprised that the ABC has turned on Majoro and the hawks within the party are now aggressively laying the groundwork for his ouster. Despite his dramatic ouster from office last May, Thabane’s shadow continues to loom large in the background. He has continued to pull the strings behind the scenes. In fact, Thabane has refused to let go and continues to call the shots within the embattled party. That is precisely why party members continue to make a bee-line to his home in Makhoakhoeng to pay homage. However, we have serious doubts if Thabane is his own man. All indications would seem to point out that he is merely a pawn in the hands of a powerful faction that revolves around his wife, ’Maesaiah and his son-in-law Lebohang Hlaele. These two appear to be the driving force behind the Thabane camp. But they have no base of their own. They appear to be holding the old man hostage in a desperate push to fulfill their own political ambitions. With no other leader commanding the same charisma as Thabane, the ’Maesaiah-Hlaele camp appears woefully inadequate. That is why they do not want the old man to go. They want to ride on Thabane’s back to fulfill their own ambitions. Instead of serving as an elder statesman by providing guidance to the party, Thabane has continued to be the central player in the party’s problems. Ideally, he should have been the glue that unites the ABC. With Thabane’s shadow looming in the background, the ABC has failed to move forward. The sad result is that it now has a deputy leader who is being hounded out of office. Majoro, who is the ABC deputy leader, should have been the man to take the ABC forward. But the hawks have not allowed him to settle. Instead they have scuttled his plans to lead time and time again. The ABC is split in the middle and stands no chance of retaining power in the next elections. Compounding the crisis is the fact that the public mood has soured against the ABC, thanks to bungling by Thabane when he was still in power. This is a party that is now seen as rudderless. It is now seen as a party that is incapable of resolving its own disputes. While all this is playing out, Majoro must decide, and decide fast, what he wants. We think his options are few but he can no longer afford to prevaricate. He needs to act now or risk being consigned to the political dustbin in the next elections. Majoro should decide now whether he wants to be a sitting duck Prime Minister in an environment that is hostile to him or fight it out. The Prime Minister appears cornered and the only way out for him to take on his political opponents. Time is fast running out for Majoro. He must stop playing Mr Nice. He must fight back, and fight back now.