Africa-Press – Lesotho. Prime Minister Sam Matekane is not going anywhere. That is the bold prediction of Makotoko Moshe, the MP for Matsieng constituency and a loyalist of the premier.
Matekane has come under renewed pressure from rebels within his Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party who are now calling for his ouster just 11 months after he won the general elections.
The rebels have been sharpening their knives and are now colluding with some opposition parties to topple Matekane in parliament when the House re-opens next month.
Moshe, who has worked closely with Matekane in business for decades, says his experience with his boss has taught him that he is not a quitter and will patiently fight until he succeeds.
“When things are tough that is when he becomes happy,” Moshe says.
“The current turbulence in the RFP does not pose any threat to Matekane at all.
Moshe says there is just no way that the rebels and the opposition will muster the required numbers to pass a vote of no-confidence against Matekane in parliament.
He says when parliament re-opens, the RFP MPs will come into the House as a united force to support their leader and prevent the toppling of the coalition government.
“There will be no turbulence at all,” he says.
“We are not afraid of those who are fighting Matekane. They have lost and the people have not supported them in their endeavours to pull him down. ”
Moshe recalls that just before last year’s elections, Matekane had told him that it would be the people who would have lost if they failed to win power because their party had a bigger and cogent plan for the people.
He says those seeking to topple Matekane were bitter because they were not appointed ministers. Moshe says he did not come into politics to earn a mouth-watering salary because he was earning much more when he was running his engineering consultancy business.
He says MPs who joined the party with the aim of being appointed ministers have lost direction. “Some came to the RFP to look for ministerial opportunities and not to work for Basotho,” Moshe says.
He says when things do not happen in line with their expectations, they cause unnecessary trouble for their own government. “I have not come here to earn a huge salary,” Moshe says.
“I have come here clear in my mind that there is no money in politics,” he says. The 58-year-old MP says he had been running his own businesses where he generated some money for his family.
“I used to make money while running my own businesses that could at least help me keep the wolf at the door,” he says.
“I am not expecting much here but just to work for the people,” Moshe says. Moshe studied Civil Engineering in England way back in 1989.
Upon completion of his studies, he wormed his way back into the country to look for a job without success. He says there was no job available for him so he teamed up with others to establish a consultancy engineering company.
But along the way, two of his partners left to do construction work elsewhere. “That was when I began to know Matekane closely,” Moshe says. “I did business with him through the Matekane Group of Companies (MGC) for a long time,” he says.
The MGC comprises all companies run by Matekane. “I did the consultancy work with Matekane until the RFP was formed,” he says. Moshe says he has run a lot of projects with Matekane and he knows his character as a person.
“Matekane is a man of his own word,” Moshe says, adding that Matekane does not want to fail in his endeavours.
“He is a hard worker who believes in himself,” Moshe says.
So when Matekane formed the RFP last year, Moshe says he felt compelled to rally behind him to help him achieve his dream – to transform Lesotho’s anaemic economy.
“I know he is a truthful person. I know for sure that I will be able to help my people if I am next to him,” Moshe says. Moshe says Matekane wants to see plans and ideas being translated into action. “At times he could work overtime,” Moshe says.
He recalls that when Matekane’s company was building the road to parliament in Maseru, he would work even at night and people would see the results the next day.
He says he has worked with Matekane in almost all his projects including those in his home constituency of Mantšonyane where he built schools and churches.
With his Client-ech Consultancy Company, he assisted Matekane with the costing of his projects. “I assisted him with the management of these projects,” Moshe says.
He says Matekane has a solid track record in fulfilling his goals. “I just had to follow him after he formed his own political party”. Moshe believes that if Matekane is given a chance to prove himself, he could revolutionise this country and resuscitate its economy.
“Matekane should be given a chance to change this country,” Moshe says. He says he has learnt a few things from Matekane which he is now using to help his people in Matsieng get connected to the national electricity grid.
“I put people in order so that we could establish an electricity scheme in Matsieng,” he says.
Before he came up with this plan, Moshe says electricity was only installed at the Royal Palace, Moeshoeshoe II High School and the Royal Family farm only.
“My political philosophy is that of changing people’s lives,” he says.
“I know I will earn a little here. I only came to help people,” Moshe says.
“I am not gunning for a ministerial post”. Moshe says it is sad that some MPs come into politics with the intention of just becoming ministers.
Their dreams are then not realised because Matekane made a commitment to limit the number of cabinet ministers, he says. That then breeds problems for the party, Moshe says.
Matekane appointed a small cabinet of 15 ministers inclusive of himself when he assumed power last year. Out of that number, only three were women. Moshe argues that some MPs have since lost focus after they were not appointed ministers.
“They want quick money,” he says.
“We are still intact. It is only a few who are not cooperative,” Moshe says. Moshe says he was 100 percent focused on his business ventures before he joined politics. Moshe was born in Matsieng Ha-Paanya in 1965. He enrolled at Machabeng International College in 1987 before moving to England to study Civil Engineering.
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