The fallacy of a GNU

THE stampede to form a Government of National Unity (GNU) could be a nobble idea that has come way too late. The GNU initiative is primarily being driven by aggrieved members of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party. Their grand target is the removal of Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro who fell out with a faction led by former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane. By putting together a new GNU, the Thabane camp would have got back at Majoro by pulling the rug under his feet. That explains why this “coalition of the wounded” has ganged up against the Prime Minister. However, at the time of writing last night, it appeared Majoro would survive after all after the rebels failed to garner enough political parties to endorse the idea. While the GNU idea might have found a few takers in the past, we do not think this is the right time to float the idea. The current Parliament is only due to be dissolved in June next year. With only six months left, we find it inexplicable that some political parties would push for a new government. We would like to argue that there is nothing that a new Government of National Unity, cobbled in great haste, would do in six months which they failed to do in the last four years. It is against this background that we think the whole spirit of the push towards a GNU is wrong. It would also appear that this new push for a GNU is being driven by political parties that think they need to get closer to the seat of power in order to have access to national resources. With an election only nine months away, political parties want to build a war chest for the elections and parcel out jobs to their own people to secure votes. That, in our opinion, explains why the Thabane faction and its like-minded allies want this GNU at all costs. They want to get closer to the cookie jar. But perhaps most importantly, this GNU idea appears to be an elitist pact. It is being cobbled by a few political parties which are being driven by self-interests. It has nothing to do with Basotho in general. It is for the above reasons that we also reject the idea of a GNU at this moment. The timing is just plain wrong. In any case, we think the Thabane faction miscalculated badly when it tried to “recall” Majoro. Two weeks after it recalled the Prime Minister, Majoro remains firmly ensconced within State House. But after failing to topple the Prime Minister, the faction is now cobbling a coalition of the aggrieved under the guise of a Government of National Unity. We think that attempt is highly disingenuous. This is a party that dismissed with utter contempt Mothetjoa Metsing when he raised a similar idea in 2017 when the ABC was still intact. The ABC dismissed Metsing as a sore loser who was trying to sneak into government through the back door. Four years later, we should ask: What has changed? In our humble opinion, Majoro must be allowed to complete his term in nine months’ time. To oust him at this present moment would not serve any purpose apart from embarrassing the man simply because he refused to toe the party line. We would also like to argue that the Thabane faction should desist from using the cover of the GNU to resolve its own internal affairs.