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Lesotho PM says country now peaceful and stable

Sunday June 17 2018
thabane

Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas Thabane. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By ARNALDO VIEIRA

Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane says his government has done well to ensure peace and stability, local media reported.

Dr Thabane told the Lesotho Times newspaper on Saturday that the major challenges facing his administration included reforming the judiciary and reviving the economy to create jobs and improve the welfare of all Basotho (Lesotho people).

“Currently, there is peace and stability in the country.

“You can drive your car freely and no one will carjack you on our roads,” Dr Thabane was quoted saying, adding that the citizens could enjoy their civil liberties as long as they did not infringe on others’ rights

Four-party coalition

“You can do what you want and as long as it is lawful, nobody will bother you. Anyone who does anything unlawful gets arrested and goes to court.”

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Dr Thabane took the oath office on June 16, 2017 as the head of a four-party coalition government, marking his second return to the coveted office from which he had been toppled by long term ruler Pakalitha Mosisili about two and a half years earlier.

During his inauguration, Dr Thabane vowed to end the lawlessness that had gripped Lesotho under his predecessor, as well as revive the economy and create jobs.

He said the government had made huge strides in restoring peace and stability which had been decimated during the tenure of the previous administration.

Two million people

In April, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders met at an extraordinary summit to analyse the situation in Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Political instability in Lesotho started after the killing of two of its army top officials in 2015 and 2017 respectively, that led regional authorities to send a 299- military mission in December last year.

Lesotho, a mountain kingdom, is completely surrounded by South Africa.

A constitutional monarchy, Lesotho was a British protectorate known as Basutoland before independence in 1966.

The country of two million people has been hit by several coups since the independence as a result of this over the decades thousands of workers have been forced by the lack of job opportunities to find work at South African mines.

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