The three months old government has resumed the journey towards completion of the reforms process and adoption of the 11th Amendment to the Constitution Bill (Omnibus Bill).
When opening the stakeholder consultations with the government on the continuation of the national reforms process, the Prime Minister, Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane reminded the parties in Parliament that the reforms are for the Basotho.
Mr. Matekane asked the meeting to start working on the reforms to make sure they reach finalisation and for that to happen, the government is going to make sure that they become transparent and inclusive.
“We received a report from the Ministry of Justice, Law and Parliamentary affair about the progress that the past government reached with the reforms and we are all aware that the reforms process stopped as Parliament collapsed due to elections, so let’s start where we left off,” Mr. Matekane explained.
The Prime Minister said he have observed that Lesotho’s leaders take the reforms process very seriously as they are aware that they may assist Lesotho in growing the economy of the country. The government therefore wishes to put before you some suggestions on how we can go about the reforms process to make them a success.
“The first suggestion is to start with the 10th Amendment to the constitution, interrogate it and make sure it becomes a success. There is no doubt that the bill will have to be worked on with deliberations and agreements between all stakeholders,” Matekane said.
He added that the understanding is that the Bill be divided into sections in that there will be other amendments which will be passed by simple majority while other amendments will be passed using the two, thirds majority and referendum.
Moreover, he said when all the amendments are in Parliament, the Parliament will then look into forming a body that will continue with the processes of amending the constitution. He added that after the body has been formed there will be a need to bring back the nation’s trust to the Parliament and togetherness among Basotho.
The Minister of Justice, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Justice Nthomeng Majara said the government has made consultations as promised about how Lesotho can complete the reforms without excluding anyone.
Justice Majara said the likes of experts, Development Partners, Non-Governmental Organisations and National Governing Council have all been consulted so that the current government can finish off from where their predecessors left.
Observers have predicted that the new government which will be formed after the coming national assembly elections has a huge responsibility of ensuring that the national reforms serve the purpose they were meant for.
Source LENA: 15/02/2023
