Politics

Lesotho’s new Prime Minister, Sam Matekane, sworn into office

Published

2 years ago

October 29, 2022

Lesotho’s new Prime Minister, Sam Matekane, was on Friday, sworn into office in a colourful ceremony at the Maseru Soccer Stadium in the capital packed soccer stadium in the southern African kingdom’s capital.

Matekane, a 64-year-old billionaire businessman and political neophyte and leader of the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP), becomes Lesotho’s 10th Prime Minister after his party won 56 legislative seats out of 120 in the country’s poll on October 7 just six months after its formation.

In his maiden speech after taking his oath of office, the diamond tycoon said his becoming the country’s leader represents a social contract in which he promise to make Lesotho great again.

He added that his major preoccupation will be to “pick up the pieces of a country that has been in recession since 2017.”

“The inability of the private sector to play its part in creating employment has strained the public sector. Yet, the public sector itself does not have a dependable income, a situation which is likely to get worse.

“I promise to curb graft and to reform a public service to make it more efficient, transparent, accountable and effective. We have to uproot corruption and stop a rampant embezzlement of the public funds,” Matekane said.

He also vowed to “scale back on government spending as well as publish a lifestyle audit of himself and his incoming cabinet members.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose country surrounds Lesotho, and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, were two of the regional leaders who were present at the ceremony.

Related Topics:Featured Lesotho Prime Minister Sam Matekane

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Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

14 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.

Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.