By Neo Kolane
Pressure continues to mount on the government to prove its worth following its perceived failure to accomplish the targets it had set itself when it ascended to power last year.
The Prime Minister Samuel Matekane’s 100-day plan of action which he announced when he took oath came to an end on February 5 and most of the promises he said would spearhead the process to right Lesotho’s historical wrongs and make Lesotho great again has seemingly not seen the light of day.
Matekane boldly proclaimed that his government was equal to this task, and would not be found wanting.
During his inauguration on October 28, 2022, Matekane said it would be naive of him if he were to imagine that the road ahead will be smooth.
He said change was a binding imperative in Lesotho’s present situation. The absence of a rigorous system of monitoring and evaluation can easily foster a culture of impunity, in which there were no consequences for poor performance and wrong-doing.
In the light of this, Matekane announced an ambitious 20-point programme for the first 100 days of the governments’ tenure. Among other items in his to-do list, he promised to:
- Prepare his performance contract and those of ministers and ensure that they are signed in 30 days. Then make those contracts public.
- Prepare and sign performance contracts with principal secretaries in 30 days, and make those contracts public.
- Develop tools and a standardised system of performance reporting and reflection for the whole of government, including district administrators and local authorities in the first 100 days.
- Develop a system through which citizens can monitor and report on the performance of the public sector and through which their inputs can be recorded and responded to, in the first 100 days.
- Develop and implement a plan to cut unnecessary government spending on fleet management and fuel consumption in the first 100 days.
Some of the accomplished are:
- Organising a meeting between his office and all district administrators and council chairpersons in 10 days.
- Organising a meeting between his office and all media institutions in Lesotho and civil society organisations in 15 days.
Those that are half done include:
- Developing a plan for improving aid and donor coordination and organise a meeting for his office with all partners and donors in 10 days.
- Preparing and signing performance contracts with principal secretaries in 30 days, and make those contracts public.
With the government having not achieved not more than three targets; opposition parties are having a field day, hauling the government over the coals, accusing it of inaptitude and lack of vision.
In an interview with theReporter this week, the secretary general of Basotho Action Party (BAP) Lebohang Thotanyane said the biggest milestone achieved is the cutting down of the cabinet size.
Thotanyane said the prime minister has done nothing except holding meet-and-greets but these are just talk shops that bear no results.
He continued to say Matekane should have told Basotho that he would meet with certain groups of people and that after the meeting, a certain project will be unlocked, but nothing like that happened.
“Up to now, we are still waiting on the prime minister’s report. If anything at all, even if he wanted to depoliticise the civil service, it has led to a lot of job losses, and there has not been any meaningful effort at job creation, which is worrying us.
“During election campaigning, the RFP said within the 100 days, 10 000 jobs will have been created but unfortunately Basotho have lost so many jobs and textile factories are closing down every day, leading to the laying off of workers.
“We do not see a lot change so we are waiting on his report, which should be interrogated. As for the prime minister using his own private jet and cars for official errands, those are very small things; they create a positive image that makes Basotho believe they are led by somebody whose heart is in the right place.”
He said Basotho voted Matekane to resolve big challenges such as unemployment, hunger and heal the ailing economy which he has done obviously nothing about it.
Meanwhile, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Congress (DC) Mathibeli Mokhothu stated that contracts of ministers and the prime minister which were meant to be availed in 30 days, were just an illusion.
Mokhothu recalled that Matekane said he would prepare a report on all companies in
which government has shares, to inform the nation about the companies that owed taxes and failed to pay dividends to the shareholders. He thought the withholding of such information means it could be privy to cabinet only.
Mokhothu also suggested the development of tools and a standardised system of performance reporting and reflection for the whole of government, including district administrators as well as local authorities in the first 100 days.
He also touched on the target that in 30 days the government would have prepared a list of all companies that are owed money by government and make recommendations accordingly.
“Let us compare the accomplishments on the promises the government set for the 100 days; nothing has come to pass, it is all a heap of lies.
“These lies did not end during the campaigning season, but the rulers are still continuing to lie to Basotho.
“Seeing that the 100 days have come to an end and have exposed the lies of the government that is led by Matekane, we anticipate the government to concoct other lies and commit itself even more,” Mokhothu harangued.
