THE former ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) party is back in the news, for the wrong reasons once again. This time, the party’s National Executive Committee has conspired to block four candidates from contesting for the highly coveted position of deputy leader at an elective conference set for this weekend. Over the last two weeks, Basotho had to bear the bad news with a spate of increases in the prices of basic commodities. The Lesotho Flour Mills, the country’s biggest milling company, announced a seven percent price hike on all maize products. The increase is with effect from next Monday.
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Those that have been blocked include former Government Secretary Moahloli Mphaka, Kefeletsoe Mojela, Katleho Molelle, and Lekhetho Mosito.
Mphaka told this newspaper this week that he has since instructed his lawyers to challenge the ban in the High Court.
That was to be expected.
On the face of it, the decision to bar the four looks irregular and highly unreasonable for a party that touts itself as a democratic party.
It would appear there are individuals within the ABC leadership who are not comfortable to allow a democratic process to elect a new leadership. They want to ring-fence the deputy leader’s position for their own cronies.
That is sad.
If party leader Nkaku Kabi fails to handle this dispute well, he risks yet another damaging split that would leave his party’s seriously weakened.
That is a possibility if history is anything to go by.
At one point, Professor Nqosa Mahao stood on the cusp of the deputy leader’s position until former party leader Thomas Thabane came up with a similar excuse to block Mahao. It all ended in tears for the ABC.
Mahao was to later walk out of the ABC with a sizeable chunk of supporters ahead of the 2022 elections. The result was that his departure severely weakened the ABC as seen from the general election results of 2022 where the ABC received a thunderous clap from voters.
Kabi risks going through a similar patch if he resorts to underhand tactics to block any potential rivals. We hope Kabi is not in any way linked to the decision to block the four.
There is fear among some ABC leaders that the four command grassroots support and could win outright if allowed to contest. It would be highly undemocratic to bar the four from contesting on the basis of a flimsy excuse that they were not in the party’s committees.
Kabi must not seek to surround himself with pliable “yes-men and women”. He must allow the best minds within the ABC to contest for leadership positions if the party is to make any inroads ahead of the next general elections.
That would allow the ABC to renew itself.
That starts with the elective conference this weekend. Any attempts to muzzle that democratic process will likely backfire for the party and its leadership.
At the heart of the ABC’s troubles is the party’s dismal failure to renew the leadership structures. While former party leader Thomas Thabane was a charismatic leader when he was at his peak, he made terrible mistakes by seeking to hang on to the leadership position when he was way past his sell-by date.
Thabane never made any plans for a smooth succession process. He had to be hounded out of office after he was accused of masterminding the assassination of his estranged wife Lipolelo Thabane in 2017.
Two years after Thabane left, his sad legacy of bungling continues to haunt the ABC.
It is precisely for this reason that Kabi must allow an unhindered contest for the deputy leader’s position. That is the best he can do to prepare the party for succession.
ABC must allow free, fair contest
THE former ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) party is back in the news, for the wrong reasons once again. This time, the party’s National Executive Committee has conspired to block four candidates from contesting for the highly coveted position of deputy leader at an elective conference set for this weekend. Over the last two weeks, Basotho had to bear the bad news with a spate of increases in the prices of basic commodities. The Lesotho Flour Mills, the country’s biggest milling company, announced a seven percent price hike on all maize products. The increase is with effect from next Monday.
This content is for subscribers only. To subscribe, Click Here. Or Sign In
[membership level=”1,2″
Those that have been blocked include former Government Secretary Moahloli Mphaka, Kefeletsoe Mojela, Katleho Molelle, and Lekhetho Mosito.
Mphaka told this newspaper this week that he has since instructed his lawyers to challenge the ban in the High Court.
That was to be expected.
On the face of it, the decision to bar the four looks irregular and highly unreasonable for a party that touts itself as a democratic party.
It would appear there are individuals within the ABC leadership who are not comfortable to allow a democratic process to elect a new leadership. They want to ring-fence the deputy leader’s position for their own cronies.
That is sad.
If party leader Nkaku Kabi fails to handle this dispute well, he risks yet another damaging split that would leave his party’s seriously weakened.
That is a possibility if history is anything to go by.
At one point, Professor Nqosa Mahao stood on the cusp of the deputy leader’s position until former party leader Thomas Thabane came up with a similar excuse to block Mahao. It all ended in tears for the ABC.
Mahao was to later walk out of the ABC with a sizeable chunk of supporters ahead of the 2022 elections. The result was that his departure severely weakened the ABC as seen from the general election results of 2022 where the ABC received a thunderous clap from voters.
Kabi risks going through a similar patch if he resorts to underhand tactics to block any potential rivals. We hope Kabi is not in any way linked to the decision to block the four.
There is fear among some ABC leaders that the four command grassroots support and could win outright if allowed to contest. It would be highly undemocratic to bar the four from contesting on the basis of a flimsy excuse that they were not in the party’s committees.
Kabi must not seek to surround himself with pliable “yes-men and women”. He must allow the best minds within the ABC to contest for leadership positions if the party is to make any inroads ahead of the next general elections.
That would allow the ABC to renew itself.
That starts with the elective conference this weekend. Any attempts to muzzle that democratic process will likely backfire for the party and its leadership.
At the heart of the ABC’s troubles is the party’s dismal failure to renew the leadership structures. While former party leader Thomas Thabane was a charismatic leader when he was at his peak, he made terrible mistakes by seeking to hang on to the leadership position when he was way past his sell-by date.
Thabane never made any plans for a smooth succession process. He had to be hounded out of office after he was accused of masterminding the assassination of his estranged wife Lipolelo Thabane in 2017.
Two years after Thabane left, his sad legacy of bungling continues to haunt the ABC.
It is precisely for this reason that Kabi must allow an unhindered contest for the deputy leader’s position. That is the best he can do to prepare the party for succession.
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