Lesotho’s diamond tycoon Sam Matekane got sworn in as the country’s new prime minister on Friday at Maseru’s Sesoto Stadium, reported The Africa News.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by several regional leaders, including the presidents of Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described Lesotho as being over the years “a refuge for many people facing many challenges in their own countries.”
Notably, Matekane is a complete newbie to politics, having formed his Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party only six months before Lesotho’s October election. The RFP party secured 56 out of 120 parliamentary seats and came together with two other parties to form a coalition government.
In his first speech after taking the oath, the prime minister said his stepping into office “represents a social contract in which I promise to make Lesotho great again”.
Matekane said he will be picking up the pieces of a country that has been in recession since 2017. He said the private sector’s inability to play its part in creating employment has strained the public sector.
He vowed to curb graft and to reform a public service to make it more efficient, transparent, accountable and effective.
“We have to uproot corruption and stop a rampant embezzlement of the public funds,” Lesotho’s new prime minister said.
He vowed to boost foreign direct investment in the country. He said he has already chalked out several measures to achieve that objective.
Last year, the 64-year-old was named Lesotho’s richest person. Lesotho is a landlocked country of approximately 2 million people that ranks among the world’s poorest. It is a constitutional monarchy with the king as Head of State.
Matekane has replaced Moeketsi Majoro, who was named as the prime minister in May 2020, when Tom Thabane resigned after being accused of involvement in his ex-wife’s murder.
