{"id":15785,"date":"2022-06-10T09:06:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T09:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/eleven-provinces-calls-for-lesotho-eswatini-to-join-sa-intensify"},"modified":"2022-06-10T09:39:50","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T09:39:50","slug":"eleven-provinces-calls-for-lesotho-eswatini-to-join-sa-intensify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/eleven-provinces-calls-for-lesotho-eswatini-to-join-sa-intensify","title":{"rendered":"ELEVEN provinces? Calls for Lesotho, eSwatini to join SA intensify"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>This WOULD be interesting. There have been renewed calls for two neighbouring nations to join as one with South Africa this week \u2013 and some are now questioning how Lesotho and eSwatini can \u2018survive on their own\u2019.<\/p>\n

Herman Mashaba found himself as the chief inquisitor this week. The ActionSA leader and former Mayor of Johannesburg isn\u2019t scared to make a contentious statement or two, and he certainly hasn\u2019t become a shrinking violet on this issue.<\/p>\n

Taking to Twitter, the firebrand politician said he hoped that leaders of both nations would \u2018accept proposals to incorporate\u2019, doubting that they had the economic stability to prosper in the future.<\/p>\n

Mashaba also slammed \u2018selfish leadership\u2019 for holding Lesotho and eSwatini back. \u201cI don\u2019t know how Lesotho and [eSwatini] are not part of South Africa.<\/p>\n

It is practically and economically impossible for these countries to survive on their own. The elephant in room: Will the leaders of these two countries accept proposal to incorporate?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they are historical nations, but can they economically sustain their current geographical independence? The citizens of these countries are the victims of selfish leadership. If they had the interest of their citizens, they would reconsider. \u201d Herman Mashaba<\/p>\n

Although eSwatini doesn\u2019t always get dragged into this conversation, the concept of Lesotho becoming South Africa\u2019s 10th province <\/a>is nothing new.<\/p>\n

In January 2020, former Finance Minister Tito Mboweni suggested that SA should \u2018remove its border\u2019 with the Mountain Kingdom. <\/a>\u201cThose who think that SADC or some political internal goodwill will solve this crisis don\u2019t understand both the political economy of the Lesotho State or the political economy of Lesotho society.<\/p>\n

The solution is [to create] Southern Africa: Remove the border!\u201c Tito Mboweni As the only country on the planet that\u2019s completely enclaved by one other country, Lesotho has a unique geography \u2013 putting it\u2019s independence and sovereignty up for debate at regular intervals.<\/p>\n

Although Mboweni later back-tracked on these remarks, Herman Mashaba seems happy to carry the torch instead: I know they are historical, but can they economically sustain their current geographical independence? The citizens of these countries are the victims of selfish leadership. They had the interest of their citizens, they would reconsider<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. This WOULD be interesting. There have been renewed calls for two neighbouring nations to join as one with South Africa this week \u2013 and some are now questioning how Lesotho and eSwatini can \u2018survive on their own\u2019. Herman Mashaba found himself as the chief inquisitor this week. The ActionSA leader and former […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":15784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,8,12,16],"tags":[233,246,245],"class_list":["post-15785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nELEVEN provinces? 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