Lesotho’s Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro is now that country’s incoming Prime Minister.
The Council of State, the body that advises His Majesty the King, approved the proposed changes to parliament.
He will replace embattled Prime Minister Tom Thabane, who is expected to hand in his resignation on Monday. Thabane had been facing pressure to step down from his position for several months after falling out of his party’s favour. He’s been accused of numerous political tricks to retain power. This included an attempt to dissolve parliament.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Tom Thabane announced that he would step down by the end of July. This was as continuous pressure to resign from his party, the All Basotho Convention (ABC) mounted. Being fingered in the 2017 assassination of his wife along with the current First Lady did not help his case.
The final push came when ABC’s National Executive Committee withdrew the party from the ruling coalition forcing it to collapse. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro’s name has been presented to the Council of State, the body that advises His Majesty the King to replace Thabane as Prime Minister.
Thabane ready to step down
In January, Tom Thabane had agreed to step down and retire from his position. This came after his party, the ABC and the opposition coalition applied pressure on him to vacate office.
Thabane and his wife, Maesaiah, are linked to the murder of Thabane’s first wife.
President Cyril Ramaphosa sent former minister, Jeff Radebe, as the special envoy to Maseru to facilitate transitional talks.
Radebe said the coalition government would announce steps towards Thabane’s retirement.
“We are very optimistic as a special envoy, myself and Deputy Minister, Zizi Kodwa, about what we heard as the coalition partners and they were telling us about how the next few days would be unfolding.”
