Parliament Speaker suspends house sitting for Urgent Party leaders meeting
579 total views, 2 views today
By Staff Reporter
National Assembly of Lesotho Speaker Sephiri Motanyane suspended the house sitting to convene political party leaders meeting ahead of a 2022/2023 budget speech presentation that opposition parties had vowed to block.
Motanyane told the house that he had just received an urgent letter that needed to be discussed by political party leaders in the house in his boardroom and suspended the house saying it will reconvene in an hour.
KDNews understands the Speaker could have called the party leaders to go and discuss a letter from the All Basotho Convention (ABC) that purportedly withdraws the party from the incumbent coalition government led by Prime Minister Moeketso Majoro in a move calculated to unseat him.
Following the election of new ABC leader Nkaku Kabi, who is also the Qeme constituency legislator, there have been many calls for Prime Minister Moeketsi Mojoro to step down and make way for his new party leader but he refused.
But Majoro remains Prime Minister and a clear deal has not been reached on whether he would be stepping down or not.
This has prompted Official Leader of Opposition Monyane Moleleki to call for the King to convene the Council of State in order for the Speaker to inform the King of the changes in the house that he said call for a new Prime Minister appointment.
Moleleki openly said at an ABC Star rally welcoming Kabi as its leader in Qeme he would vote for his installation as Prime Minister.
Furthermore, Moleleki and Basotho Patriotic Party leader Tefo Mapesela called for Majoro to step down or be they would block the national budget presentation under the current Prime Minister.
When the party leaders return from a meeting of the Speaker, it will be clear whether indeed the ABC has withdrawn itself from government or not and whether the much anticipated national budget for the 2022/2023 financial year speech would be presented to the house or not.
