Staff Reporter
March 02, 2022
In spite of all that happened in the National Assembly today wherein the motion for the approval of the financial proposals in the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2022/23 usually known as the Budget Speech was disrupted, the lower legislative house will only be meeting for prayer tomorrow.
As is tradition, the Minister of Finance was expected to table the National Budget estimates before a combined sitting of Parliament entailing members from both the Upper House-Senate and the Lower House-National Assembly today. However, as that was on the verge of happening, the Speaker of the National Assembly Sephiri Motanyane received correspondence from the higher-ups in the main coalition government partner the All Basotho Convention (ABC) informing him that they are withdrawing their party from the ruling pact.
ABC and then main opposition Democratic Congress (DC), cobbled up their numbers in a historic grand coalition in May 2020 to oust a four-member coalition which was made up of ABC, Alliance of Democrats (AD), Basotho National Party (BNP) and the Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL).
Resulting from the commotion that had ensued as a result of the announcement this morning, finance minister Thabo Sofonea could not forge ahead with his budgetary estimates presentation.
In interviews with Newsday on the sidelines of the expected presentation at the National Assembly grounds today, Leader of the House and Deputy Prime-Minister Mathibeli Mokhothu indicated that since there had not been any physical changes in government the National Assembly would be expected to continue with its business.
And its business per the Order Paper released this afternoon, National Assembly will be meeting for prayer tomorrow morning at 0900, and that is the only item for the day. This was further confirmed by National Assembly Spokesperson Neo Mokatsa.
According to Mokatsa, tomorrow’s business is only prayer as the House prepares for deliberations on the Motion for Vote of no confidence in the Premier Dr Moeketsi Majoro and his government as was lodged by opposition AD Member by Proportional Representation Kose Makoe today.
