Politicians From Lesotho

"They (journalists) promise to publish stories that promote our campaigns, as politicians, if we give them money,."

"I can make your troubles go away, if you can compensate me with money. I can publish good stories about you."

"I told that particular broadcaster that I had no money. You know, even as I am a political party leader and a member of parliament, I do get broke like anyone else. I get cashless sometimes."

"TRC was no longer the TRC that used to stand up and speak out for the people whose fundamental human rights were being violated."

"The time for change has come for us to vote for a government that will work hard to address o Basotho’s needs."

"Some of our men and women end up doing unlawful jobs in South Africa. Men engage in illegal mining while women end up being trafficked as they search for jobs. It is on this basis that we have, as part of our BAP policy, said that there will be vocational training schools where the unemployed can be equipped with self-reliance skills."

"The time has come for Basotho living in Mafeteng, Mohale’s Hoek and Quthing districts to bring about change. If only you give me the benefit of doubt and trust me with your votes, I will make sure that this factory becomes operational and provide jobs for you."

"Hence, we as the BAP have deliberately chosen to be on the side of the poor. We are therefore going to reintroduce low-income housing for all Basotho so that they can at least service their housing loans instead of having to pay rent. This is a project which will benefit Basotho who earn low income across all sectors, including vendors and factory workers."

"Every Mosotho will be eligible to get their pension through the Social Security Bill which was motivated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) but government has chosen not to implement it."

"This Bill will be our very first assignment in Parliament once we are voted into power. Basotho workers have been crying over meagre salaries and we as BAP are going to set up a Bargaining Council, which will ensure that employers are transparent with their profits and share them with employees as it should be happening."

"We are going to make sure that once we are in power civil servants who go on pension get the larger chunk of their dues immediately to help them start up their own little projects."

"As it is when one dies before they get their dues, their families don’t get a cent out of that money, and this is very unfortunate. The very pension money is invested in other countries and creates jobs there and not Basotho who should be benefitting. This is money that should benefit Basotho and this country’s economy."

"We are going to have vocational training schools in all the 10 districts to cater for Basotho who could not attain tertiary education. This way, we will combat the tragic deaths of our women who end up being victims of human trafficking and men who end up in illegal mining and other crimes just because they have been taken advantage of owing to their illiteracy. They should all come back and work close to their homes and be part of our self-reliance initiative."

"We are a united nation."

"We must return to our roots and rely on Se Moshoeshoe to get our country out of the miseries of murders, poverty and unemployment."

"I appeal to you young people that this country is yours, love it, grow it and protect it, pray for peace and sow the seeds of peace, love and reconciliation.."

"If you want peace, it should start with you and those around you, remember that we are one thing."

"This year’s theme is exceptional as it comes at a time when Lesotho is working towards changing the status of economy through the construction of Polihali Dam, irrigation farming project funded by World Bank under the Competitive and Financial Inclusion (CAFI) project in Lesotho and the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Compact II, where the workers will work in open areas and encounter impacts of climate change."

"Together we can bring safety, health and workplaces that are safe."

"In this day and age, suspects continue to be tortured and forced to eat their faeces by police officers."

"Equipping police officers with relevant skills for investigating crimes is long over-due."

"I have a first-hand experience of appalling treatment by the police. It is despicable to say the least. It is wrong for the police to force suspects to eat their faeces or burn them with a hot spade. I suspect that they resort to these brutal tactics due to lack of proper investigative skills."

"I very strongly believe that you should only give an important job to people who can do it."

"The way people are elected to parliament right now leaves a lot to be desired, vis-à-vis their ability to do what they have been elected to do. I think there’s a huge gap there."

"Just because somebody’s father was a good person in charge of burial societies or helping the elderly and so on, it doesn’t qualify that person to go to parliament. Some will say this man has a right to go to parliament because his grandfather was a great man who did so many things for the nation. Right now, many people get rewarded just like that. I don’t believe in that. I believe that the nation should move towards a space where everyone who is in parliament and is called an honourable member, truly deserves that title because of merit."

"Lately, I have seen an attempt in some quarters to sift through and try to pick people who are equal to the job. I think that should be encouraged."

"As a country, we have become very notorious for being careless people."

"We have a careless parliament by the way. We’ve been told of a missing M6, 1 billion, we’ve also been told of the theft of more than M50 million (by finance ministry staffers). These are massive amounts but you don’t hear parliament pronouncing itself strongly on these matters."

"The thing is that we have four estates, namely, parliament, the executive, the judiciary and the media. As the legislative arm of state, parliament makes laws, the executive implements the same laws while judiciary interprets them. And the media plays a watchdog role over the other three arms of state. The media can only shout and tell the nation that money is being stolen. It cannot do anything else. But parliament is the only institution charged with the oversight function. It has teeth and should be using them to bite, to act against the theft and misappropriation of public funds. Yet it is not performing its oversight function."

"Parliament must make laws and stop the theft of public funds. Right now, we are embarrassed that we were not able to pass the reforms bills. These things were expected of us by our people, SADC and our development partners. Everybody had expectations. It’s not an easy thing to pass laws. But then again, I have an appreciation of what needs to be done and how to talk to people so that they can deliver on their mandate."

"So, the 11th Parliament will make laws. Some of these laws are obsolete. There are many laws that have to passed or amended; laws to do with empowerment of women, to deal with gender-based violence. I’m determined to ensure that priority laws can actually pass in the 11th Parliament, without further ado,"

"There’s also the issue of parliament’s proximity to the people. Parliament is too far from the people. This is the people’s parliament, and it must go to the people. Parliament must go to Mokhotlong, it must go to Qacha’s Nek. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker go there. MPs should go to the people to say what they are doing. How that will be organised, I don’t know but it will be organised under my leadership. We can’t have people who sit in Maseru and make laws for people who are at Sehlabathebe. Parliament must go the people."

"MPs should be learning a lot. We have a library at parliament building; we have access to SADC, the AU, the Commonwealth and other important bodies. Our people must benefit from such. When leaving parliament, MPs should not be the same as they were when they first came to parliament."

"I would like to say yesterday I was in another space and that was the political space. Today, I am in a different space, that of Speaker of the National Assembly. I’d be extremely worried if people were to perceive me as a member of a party or a section of society. I want my people to trust me to do a neutral job, without fear or favour to any side. I want MPs to trust me to provide guidance in terms of parliamentary processes to help the country and not any political party. I will strive to be a neutral Speaker and to facilitate the affairs of parliament in manner that benefits the people of this country."

"We are grateful that you honoured this meeting …..Today we are talking about media and parliament. Media is a strategic partner in governance. The main purpose of governance is to ensure that people’s lives are improved."

"To achieve that in a representative democracy, the role of MPs is to represent the people, legislate, allocate public funds and play an oversight role on the executive."

"Media doesn’t only inform but also exposes issues that the public would otherwise not know. You educate, inform, in a friendly manner that accommodates the educated, the illiterate, and the semi-literate."

"You process information, breaking it down in such manner that consumers understand issues. In the pursuit of improving lives, you expose issues that they would not otherwise know."

"When the watchdog just watches as the economy deteriorates, the crime rate escalates and people are plunged further into poverty, it then means we are all drunk. When a country is in that state, nothing can ever come right."

"We see it when you arrive at different events to provide coverage, how badly you are treated and made uncomfortable. Where people shun you. They don’t accommodate you when you attend events to cover issues affecting the people. You are usually forced to sit at the back, making it difficult for you to see as things unfold."

"We’re therefore here to pledge a partnership with the media to ensure that such things don’t happen."

"I must be honest and tell you that as much as we have made some progress in addressing gender issues, I will be much happier if next time we celebrate the African Women’s Month we would all be speaking the same gender language."

"Women continue to be compelled to wear a mourning cloth in the event their husbands or children die, with very strict rules preventing them from actively participating in economic and social activities."

"Yet men are not subjected to these outrageous norms and traditions because they know how oppressive such practices are."

"For instance, it is heartbreaking that in the 21st century, children born out of wedlock are still discriminated by their families. This practice is deeply hurtful to women."

"I dream of a country where women will be taking a leading role in the business, social and economic sectors and even having a female prime minister. That is very possible."

"A female premier can only become a reality if women start supporting each other and taking charge of their lives and their families. Women also need to stop pulling each other down to ensure progress."

"Our ministry has initiated programmes to empower women in terms of business training to ensure they are skilled before venturing into entrepreneurial activities."

"However, we have not yet reached a stage where we can financially support business entities owned and run by women."

"Farming is the backbone of this country, and it is encouraging to see young people embracing it with such passion."