17 Aug 2015

The Southern African Development Community (SADC)deserves credit for continued support to resolving Lesotho’s politicalchallenges.

Lesotho Prime Minister, Mr Pakalitha Mosisili said this when giving his maiden address to the SADC summit in Gaborone on Monday August 17.

He expressed gratitude to SADC for giving Lesotho support during the various conflicts that have besieged the mountain kingdom over the years, saying a ‘deserved tribute’ was due to the region for standing by his country, assisting through conflict resolution mechanisms.

But he said he was apprehensive that a lasting solution to his country’s political impasse had not yet been found.

“It is a matter of grave concern to me personally and my partners in the coalition government that the tranquility we all yearn for has once more eluded us even after the peaceful elections engineered by SADC,” he said.

Mr Mosisili, elected for a second tenure as prime minister after a short stint as an opposition leader, used the platform, as well as the new presidents of Namibia, Mozambique and Zambia to deliver maiden speeches to the SADC summit to commit his country towards peaceful resolution to its challenges.

“Our hope and prayer is that all Basotho will embrace the outcome of the investigations and ensure that we all bury our petty political differences for the good of Lesotho and Basotho,” he said.

“Once again, our regional organisation has risen to the challenge and a SADC mission in the form of a commission of inquiry, is in Lesotho to assist the country overcome the new challenges,” Mr Mosisili said.

He urged SADC states to carry on with the mandate pursued by the region’s founding fathers, saying those who founded the regional body in 1980 had sought self-reliance for their countries and were driven by a pursuit of the ideal of transforming Southern Africa into an exemplary model of unity of purpose. ENDS