Africa-Press – Lesotho. AS a member of a large political “family,” Lethole Lethole had always expected that there would be individuals who would hold different views on key matters within his Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party.
At no point did he expect everyone within the party to think alike. “In my family, we are just four family members and we always quarrel over some issues,” he says.
That is equally true for the RFP, Lethole told thepost this week. Lethole spoke as the RFP is grappling with some serious infighting that saw three MPs suspended two weeks ago after they voted against the party in parliament.
Dr Mahali Phamotse, Jacob Makhalanyane and Rethabile Letlailane were slapped with six-year suspensions for challenging the party’s national executive committee.
This was the first real turbulence to affect the RFP, a party formed by businessman Samuel Matekane last year. Lethole says what is happening within the RFP are “normal quarrels” that happen in every family.
“We could argue with my wife why she bought a certain pair of trousers for the child,” Lethole says. But soon, he says, such misunderstandings are solved.
He believes that whatever is happening to the RFP are “normal family feuds” that will soon be resolved. What has worsened the crisis is the fact that the RFP is a “big family” of 57 MPs and also has two other coalition partners to deal with.
That mixture is bound to bring all sorts of characters with differing viewpoints, he says. “I strongly believe that these problems will be solved soon,” Lethole says.
Lethole says the biggest problem is that when the RFP won the elections in October last year, people were expecting immediate results on the ground. And when the pace of the “revolution” did not match their expectations, they became a little bit disgruntled, he says.
“The people wanted things to happen speedily,” he says.
“Matekane should be given a chance to prove himself. It’s still too early to judge him,” he says.
Lethole’s vociferous defence of Matekane comes at a time when the opposition has already drawn its long knives against the premier arguing that he should step down immediately.
They have accused Matekane of failing to live up to his electoral promises, a charge Lethole says is premature. Lethole, who is the party’s chief whip in parliament, says it is vital that all RFP MPs work as a team.
“We should work towards one common goal. No individualism,” Lethole says.
“I have to see to it that all the MPs pull along the same direction,” he says. Being a Chief Whip is like being a captain, he says.
“MPs from one party should accept whatever comes as a solid body,” Lethole says.
“We have to speak with one voice,” he says.
“This is not the time to work for fancy cars but to work for this country.
” Lethole says they hold caucuses where they mobilise all MPs to speak with one voice while in Parliament.
“I hope this storm will finally be over,” he says. As a qualified civil engineer, Lethole says he wants to “work to enact sound laws that could put this country on a path to development”.
“I only want to help change the lives of Basotho,” Lethole says. He says as an MP he is perfectly aware of the abject poverty that most Basotho have to deal with every day.
He says it is unfortunate that instead of coming up with policies to fight poverty, “some people want to fight”. Lethole says he wants to see Lesotho grow its own crops to feed itself.
“We have to put in place sound mechanisms to change this economy,” he says.
He says when Matekane formed the RFP, he had one key mission in mind: to promote prosperity and reduce extreme poverty. He says many Basotho are still trapped in abject poverty.
“It is an undeniable fact that Basotho are suffering,” Lethole says.
He says he joined politics under the RFP because professionals and entrepreneurs were on the frontline and he thought he could also contribute to the development of Lesotho.
“I saw that I could fit in,” he says.
“I could see that Matekane could extricate this country from the bondage of poverty.
” He says there is no way he could ditch Matekane, vowing to back the Prime Minister if push comes to shove.
“He is still moving in line with our party’s manifesto,” Lethole says. Lethole says he believes the only people who can take Lesotho out of the mud are professionals and entrepreneurs, and Matekane fits the bill.
He however admits that the RFP is a fairly new entity on the political scene and will make mistakes along the way as it looks for a proper footing. The party is still in its infancy and all that has happened recently “has allowed us to know each properly”.
As a new MP, Matekane believes the key to developing Lesotho lies in tweaking the country’s education system. He wants to see technology playing a key role in Lesotho’s education system.
He says schools must have access to Wi-Fi to improve educational outcomes. He says the current education system does not address the current problems that the country is facing.
He says Basotho children are graduating from universities in large numbers and hunt for jobs that they unfortunately do not get. “We have to copy what some developed countries are doing in their education system,” Lethole says.
He says children should be trained to create jobs not to hunt for jobs. He also wants to see Lesotho fully benefit from its abundant water resources. “Lesotho is blessed with a plethora of water sources that should benefit this country,” he says.
He says some countries are in dire need of water and Lesotho should take advantage of this opportunity. Lethole says Lesotho is also blessed with majestic mountains that have clean air that could be used to generate electricity.
“We have to make use of these natural resources for the betterment of this country,” he says. Growing up, Lethole says he was never fond of politics.
He says he only fell in love with politics after Matakane announced that he was forming the RFP. Lethole was born 53 years ago in Ha-Tšitso on the Berea plateau.
He studied for a diploma in civil engineering with Lerotholi Polytechnic before furthering his studies in the built environment in the United Kingdom. He later worked in the Ministry of Natural Resources, drilling boreholes for rural communities.
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