{"id":64955,"date":"2025-12-06T11:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T11:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pm-celebrates-christmas-charity-luncheon-with-children"},"modified":"2025-12-06T11:08:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T11:08:27","slug":"pm-celebrates-christmas-charity-luncheon-with-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pm-celebrates-christmas-charity-luncheon-with-children","title":{"rendered":"PM Celebrates Christmas Charity Luncheon with Children"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. <\/strong> <\/span>Prime Minister Samuel Matekane on Friday hosted a Christmas charity luncheon for vulnerable children drawn from various districts across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing attendees, the PM reaffirmed his commitment to dedicating his monthly salary to support this annual initiative, aimed at brightening the future of children living with different disabilities. He noted that he has forfeited his salary since assuming office in 2022 and pledged to continue doing so for the remainder of his term.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Matekane expressed appreciation to the \u201clittle PMs\u201d he has worked with throughout his tenure, acknowledging their dedication to public service. He also welcomed the newly appointed little PM and commended the children for their enthusiasm, talent, and sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is important that we teach these children responsibility and integrity towards their country and their nation,\u201d he said. The PM also thanked the private sector for its support, particularly through a golf tournament that raised approximately M1 million, which he said significantly contributed to meeting the needs of vulnerable children.<\/p>\n<p>He further urged all stakeholders to help ensure a bright future for the country\u2019s youth. The PM announced that he has ordered charging devices for wheelchairs to enhance the mobility and independence of children with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>While noting that much progress still lies ahead, Mr. Matekane applauded development partners for their continued support. He reiterated the government\u2019s willingness to collaborate closely with development partners and their respective countries.<\/p>\n<p>Minister in the PM\u2019s Office, Mr. Limpho Tau, recalled that the government has been in office for only two months when he reminded the PM of his salary-forfeiture pledge. The PM\u2019s response \u201cI have bigger plans\u201d foreshadowed what has now become a well-established annual event, currently in its third year. Mr. Tau emphasized that the initiative seeks to provide Basotho children with the quality education they deserve.<\/p>\n<p>Outgoing little PM, Mr. Mandla Malewa, reflected on his term with gratitude, saying, \u201cWe all take different paths in life, but wherever we go, we take a little of each other with us. From you, I take with me clear priorities, resilience, and hard work.\u201d He then officially welcomed his successor, Honourable Bohlokoa Molai, expressing pride as he handed over leadership and encouraged continued support for the new office-bearer.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Molai described her appointment as one of the greatest honours of her life. She shared that meeting the Prime Minister had long been her dream, one that now feels both real and inspiring. She noted that the PM\u2019s example teaches young people that leadership is demonstrated through kindness, honesty, and hard work.<\/p>\n<p>She thanked Mr. Matekane for being what she called \u201ca shining light\u201d for the country and prayed that his leadership continues to bring peace to the nation. Ms. Molai pledged to lead with honesty, humility, and courage, stressing that \u201ctrue leadership is not about power, but about service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The event is estimated to have cost around M1 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Lesotho<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. Prime Minister Samuel Matekane on Friday hosted a Christmas charity luncheon for vulnerable children drawn from various districts across the country. Addressing attendees, the PM reaffirmed his commitment to dedicating his monthly salary to support this annual initiative, aimed at brightening the future of children living with different disabilities. He noted that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":64953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-64955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>PM Celebrates Christmas Charity Luncheon with Children - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Lesotho. Prime Minister Samuel Matekane ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pm-celebrates-christmas-charity-luncheon-with-children\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PM Celebrates Christmas Charity Luncheon with Children\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Lesotho. 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