Mosisili, Moleleki set to retain posts
MASERU — The Democratic Congress (DC)’s top three leaders are likely to retain their posts unopposed at the party’s first elective conference scheduled for later this month, the Lesotho Times can reveal.
The DC’s secretary general, Ralechate ’Mokose, told the Lesotho Times on Wednesday that the three-day indaba, which will start on January 25 and end on January 27, will see the party’s first official executive committee being elected into office for a three-year term.
Sources within the party however said while all positions will be up for grabs, there was consensus within the party that DC leader Pakalitha Mosisili, his deputy Monyane Moleleki and possibly ’Mokose “should retain their positions in the executive committee” uncontested.
“I can’t give you all the details because that would be tantamount to betrayal as it’s all still very much under wraps. But we do not expect to see many changes, especially at the top,” said one of the sources.
“The constituencies seem to agree that Ntate Mosisili, Ntate Moleleki and possibly Ntate ’Mokose should retain their current positions. As for the rest of the positions we’ll see.”
Mosisili formed the DC in February last year after a bruising power struggle with the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) national executive committee.
The party usurped power from the LCD and ran the show in government for three months before it was ousted from power after the May 26 general election when it failed to win a 61 seat majority.
Mosisili graciously handed over power to Prime Minister Thomas Thabane who had cobbled up a coalition government together with the LCD and the Basotho National Party as the junior partner.
Mosisili, who steered the ship of state for almost 15 years, told his supporters in July last year that he ceded power to the coalition government to “preserve and protect democracy, Basotho and the country’s economy”.
“We chose to hand over the reins of power to the tripartite coalition to avoid bloodshed while we go back to the public that voted for us to thank them for their immeasurable support,” he said.
The DC has over the past 11 months been functioning with an interim executive committee led by Mosisili as party leader, Moleleki as his deputy while former public works minister Semano Sekatle is the deputy secretary general.
’Mokose told this paper that the conference was of significance to the DC because for the first time in the history of the party “we’re going to elect an executive committee whose tenure of office is three years”.
“The tenure of office of the rest of the committee members is three years while that of the leader is six years and are both provided for in the DC constitution,” ’Mokose said.
“We will therefore also formulate a three-year mandate with which the new committee will execute during its tenure of office.”
According to ’Mokose, the DC will also during the conference take a journey to reflect on its political fortunes and areas of weakness and devise strategies on regrouping properly “so that we come out stronger”.
“We went to constituencies soon after elections to establish why we failed to win the elections and govern. Now it is for the party’s membership to give us direction,” ’Mokose said.
The former agriculture minister under the Mosisili-led government revealed that nominations for preferred candidates from constituencies had already been submitted but also said that “I won’t divulge anything to you at this point”.
“I stand to be guided by the DC leadership as to when to announce the nominations officially,” ’Mokose said.
Asked if he still harboured ambitions to be the DC secretary general, ’Mokose evaded the question and would only say that “the mandate will be given by the people of my Kolonyama constituency”.
“I’m only a humble servant. The self in me cannot dictate the direction I should take but my constituency,” ’Mokose said.
Comment by Makoetje on 4 January 2013:
Interesting development ka sebele ruri for the DCs first ever conference/indaba, three posts to be retained to the incubents uncontested? That’s democracy to DC! Likholo li sa tla, hona ke linyane-nyane.
Comment by Linotsi on 4 January 2013:
What a blow-hard Makose is. This is a sham; how can a constituency have a say without elections? They are having this elective conference but they have already chosen their leaders?????
Comment by Mphosong #7 on 4 January 2013:
ke tseo he litaba tsa maDC tseo ba tummeng ka tsona, hona esale mafafatsane pula esa tla nela batho, hare lebelleng Mopotjoana hotsoa Potoaneng.
Comment by Sekho on 4 January 2013:
I am afraid of the kind of democracy advocated by DR Mosisili! Basotho are having a serious watchful eye in line with casting their votes in these era of the fight against inequality. I thnk God that at least in few years to come, a good number people will follow politics by brains and not by heart. We are tired of long term arrogant serving leaders. Hae fofe nonyana!!!
Comment by Joseph Qhojeng on 4 January 2013:
This is going to be interesting cos we gonna c the lyks Mrs Potsho Sekatle in one of those top seats. The question is who would b out, Monyane or Ralechate?
Comment by Malikotoana on 4 January 2013:
taba ke hore ke rona ho tloha makalaneng le makaleng re khethileng hore li skeletoneng tsa rona those three top positions li lule i le joalo hence ntate mokose a boneng ho latela bongata ba liskeleton tsa mabatoa a mangata hore those seats litla lula lile joalo, eseng hore re laetso no thats how we wants things 2 be like. That is Demogracy.InDC I remain.
Comment by Pelepe on 4 January 2013:
Ho bona Pont’so Seatla othetwise khutlela ho LCD le bongata boo ba hao but o itlhoekise pele pliz
Comment by Marathon on 4 January 2013:
Looking Beyond!
Five years is not a long time. This is yet another opportunity for DC to do the right things the right way. Getting 48 seats out of 120 is a great achievement in my opinion. After the 2007 general elections ABC lost members in thousands because it lacked a strategic long term vision – a party that performs so well in just 4 months being in existence in 2007 couldn’t have made it had LCD not split into two in the May 2012 general elections.
The decisions you make today and how you make them are very crucial as they would determine what volume of membership you would have retained, gained or lost towards the 2017 general elections…sometimes good choices and decisions come with great pain.
Comment by sekelekete on 4 January 2013:
na kannete?
Comment by socrates on 4 January 2013:
tlohellang ho tseka litulo , hao khotse sehela babang.sekeng la fetola polotiki lefa
Comment by madise on 4 January 2013:
Mosisidi enwa ke ofeng, eloa oa hore o tla busa Basotho ho fihlela ba tlwaela hahah!!!
Comment by LEQE on 4 January 2013:
HA!HA!HA!!!!!LEQE!LEQE!RE SA TLABE RE BONE
Comment by Pingpong on 4 January 2013:
Marathon, you cannot compare AOBC with DC which had access to all puplic resources. DC haeba ha o tsebe e ne reka livoutu ka cash. Batho ba ne ba tla fuoa cash ea ho reka lijo ha ba tlile liralling tsa party. Ha o re ABC e lahlehetsoe ke likete tsa li supporter kamora 2007 u bolelang empa e tlule le mabatooa a 26 ha ka 2007 enele 17 feela. DC e hlotsoe liresource tsohle li le ka matsohong ho eona. u lebetse le hore e ne sitisi LCD ho sebelisa liholo ho tsoarela liboka teng ba ba baJ sebeletsa qhafutsong. kahoo se bapise ABC le DC.
Comment by Nko-phara on 4 January 2013:
Politics! Ke tsoile roeleng leo la likatse.
Comment by semenekane on 5 January 2013:
three posts to be retained to the incubents uncontested, this is a nonsense. What is it that Mahaletere and his lieu tents can do for people because they are only interested in enriching themselves.
Give other people a chance. There are men and women of integrity who can manage DC party far much better than these useless Bo – Mahaletere
Mr Tlohang Sekhamane, Serialong Qhoo, Manyetse n others can take DC to task instead of this bogus DC current leadership with no direction. Nxa!
Comment by Green on 5 January 2013:
He re sa thabetse ho supporta batho ba re sotlang bana, I hate Politics!
Comment by Ras on 5 January 2013:
congreseng mona motho ha a ikete, o oa khothaletsoa ke lekalana,hoea ho lekala hoa tsoa lebatooeng,haeba ho khahlile makalana le makala ho khothaletsa boraro boo, to retain their position,haho phoso hohang.lekhotleng ha ho iketoe batho ba ea khothaletsoa.
Comment by moleko on 5 January 2013:
Khang e ile ea sala ka taba tse kang tsena Dr.Ntsu o lutse a sia litulo ho ea latelang Dr.Mosisili eo ena a sitiloeng ho tloha a mpa arohanya macongress le ka jeno o tsoela pele ho lula a sa fetlisi marapo molokong o hlahlamang e be ke polotiki ea tlang ho tsoela pele ea mofuta oo kapa o sa tsoana le morena. Che ha eba ke tsoelo-pele DC re sa tla be re bone hore na ho ikolla ka boetapele ho ka etsang all da best DC
Comment by moleko on 5 January 2013:
Se nka se chong ke hore Mugabe,Gaddafi,Lekhanya (as BNP leader) le ena Dr.Nosisili a(as PM and LCD leader) failed ho bane they wanted to be life time leaders watch the space Dr.Mosisili will be self destroyed too much of everything is bad
Comment by Ras on 5 January 2013:
@ moleko, ha ke utloisisi mongaka, ana mosisili ona ipehile moo kapa ona khethoa ke sechaba?bothata ba lona lenahana mosissili is or was a mohatelli, no he ws not cz after every five yrs lesotho mona esale ho u oa likhethong,and mosisli sechaba se mokhetha ona sa ipeha moo ka manganga empa esale antsa hlola.mosisili ha a so batle hoba life time leader,bothata ke batho bao bantseng ba mokhetha ho etella pele, ele hoba bana le tsepo e matla ho ena.Ha hothoe motho oa democracy ho boleloa dr mosisili hantle, ha ho moo mosisili a kileng atsitlalela ho lula litulong ka sheshe, but esale a lula a khethoa joalo.le hona joale tjena ha hoo moo a reng o batla hoba moetapele oa dc,sechaba hotloa makalaneng le makaleng a lesotho mona ke sona sebatlang joalo,joale lere a hane thomo ea sechaba,ache lematla lehe ese khoho joale tjena.
Comment by semenekane on 6 January 2013:
@ Ras leha eba motho oa khothalletsoa, empa motho ea itlhomphang a ka fa batho ba bang monyetla. Joale ntate Mosisili o ikentse Kokotane khoramela litulo ha a ntse a le ho LCD ho fihlela a bile a arohanya Ma-congress. Ke enoa hape o etsa ntho e ts’oanang ho CD le Mahaletere enoa oa hae without a vision.
Just watch the space, CD ena e ntse e tlo qhetsoha haufinyane ha feela Mahaletere le ntate Mosisili ba ntse bale teng ketapeleng ea CD. Mosebetsi oa hae ke ho arola batho.
Hee batho ba ntena ba babeli bao. DC e hlolehile ho theha ‘muso ka lebaka la bona. Ba tebeleng.
Comment by Razmataz Mokorosi on 7 January 2013:
Congratulations to the DC on its upcoming elective conference.i am sure that DC members will elect worthy leaders which should not be difficult given d high number of educated and experienced leaders in its ranks.
Mosotho what does “consensus” mean and what is “democracy”?WHILE UR AT IT READ THE ARTICLE AGAIN AND LOOK AT SOME OF THE COMMENTS TALK ABOUT BASELESS AND STUPID.WHENEVER THERE IS AN ARTICLE ABOUT DC U PPL WRITE COMMENTS AS IF THOUGH YOUR ILLETERATES.hai then one has the audacity to put Dr Mosisili in the same breath as Ntate Lekhanya chehe.
Comment by Moshoeshoe on 7 January 2013:
Guys, these people ran the country down completely during their tenure as the ruling party,they ruled with so much arrogance shunning partnership with South Africa. Education, healthcare, economy etc collapsed. Lesotho is left behind in Africa by far,it’s so shameful to identity oneself with Lesotho among the nationalities.
Comment by Qoo on 7 January 2013:
Ke leshano ntho ena hobane le rona re tonetse tse ling tsa li position mahlo. Ekaba jpale re ngoaeana mekokotlo. Nna ke le sebuelelli sa DC taba ena ha ke e tsebe. Hoo ke ho tsebang ke hore there will be the change. Batho ba rata ho senya ntho tsa batho. Rona ma DC a ikanang ka KAMELE re hlokomela bohlokoa ba democracy, unlike some of our counterparts ba ipehang. RE TLO CHENCHA HEAD OF DC. FINISH AND KLAAR.
Nna Sebueleli sa DC.
Comment by RABOSULU on 7 January 2013:
Seconded.
Comment by Marathon on 7 January 2013:
@comment by Pingpong.
ABC vs DC. I was not actually making a direct comparison here…mine was just to highlight the importance of learning from the mistakes of others.
After just four months in existence, ABC in 2007 ACQUIRED 17 constituencies; what a marvelous performance! The 17 constituencies were won with very big numbers. After the elections, and when ABC couldn’t be the next government, it started being involved in stupid stay-aways and supporting the MKM sagas and in my view that showed they lacked a vision…and they started loosing members in big numbers.
My view is that many who joined DC was because they were hoping for greener pastures and big positins in government. If that does not materialize and as is the case now, these people most of which came from LCD are likely to go back home, unless the DC leadership indeed shows their strong leadership…
If DC wants to remain relevant in 2017, it needs to do a thorough SWOT analysis now…
Comment by Goduka on 7 January 2013:
Any new organization will have to keep its founders at the front seat for sometime before handing it over. this would help in making sure that all members are provided with a clear roadmap and understands the mission.it takes more than five years for a sole trader to understand his own bussiness hence will take DC a longer time as an organization. our debate should focus on how the DC is positioning itself as a party and what its future leader Moleleki is holding in store for Basotho.
Comment by Jomalet on 8 January 2013:
May the spirit of peace harmony and tranquility prevail in that conference dc is the number 1 biggest party which won the 2012 but never attained the required percentage to run ,it is still the highest voted political party in lesotho,it won the election in seven district ,however I personally believe lcd need dc in order toreign in 2012 or versa vesa, the leaders of both parties must swallow their pride ,we want the reconciliation congress conference of all congress parties very soon ,the selfishness of moleleki and metsing has seperated us,if u don’t take my advice Abc will win come nxt elextion
Comment by Bobete on 8 January 2013:
Moetapele bophelo ba hae kaofela le motlatsi oa hae. DCs, you are so brain washed. You are so gullible it hurts.
Comment by Bosso-ke-mang? on 8 January 2013:
Bosso ke mang? Bosso ke Pakalitha. Pakalitha is our best foot forward at the moment. That’s why some people, mostly Maseru-based folks, are so obsessed with DC politics more than their own. It’s precisely because of the paranoia they suffer. At the right time, we shall unveil a new generation of capable leaders who will take the movement forward. We, the members are content with the capable and servant leadership that Pakalitha provides. Ha lea le bona le le tjametse lona libuela-ruri, come 2017. Le tlo nkuoa ke tsubalala.
Comment by Nakeli on 8 January 2013:
Empa Mccd o ile a re o ba ts’elisa molatsoana oa likhetho feela ha ntsa ipolelisa hore ‘yours truly’ o sa tlo li wina la ho qetela. Kapa o tla re bo Ponts’o ba ile ba its’ela ka likhapha ha a re o oa theoha ka 2013 joalokaha ba ile ba etsa ka 2007?
The smart thing for him is to decline and hand over the reigns. That will strengthen and give credibility to the reinvention of DC.
Comment by Born to kill on 9 January 2013:
Lesotho Times, we are not zulus but sothos. We don’t have the word ‘indaba’ in our language. Please refer to our language but not zulu language. We hate to see any zulu word in our sesotho article please. It is not a mistake that we are Basotho, we are proud & confident to be Basotho.
Comment by Halakashaa on 9 January 2013:
The best decision that DC could have taken is to promote new and fresh leaders with fresh ideas to build the party with support of Mccd, Halti, ‘Mokose, Ponts’o, etc but I guess like Marathon stated, they are probably on a path to destroy themselves, and deny Lesotho good politics it deserves.