Pretoria - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Lesotho ahead of the official closure of the SADC Facilitation Mission and their offices, scheduled for later today.
The ceremony will witness the lowering of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) flag and the official closing down of the SADC Facilitation Mission offices.
SADC Facilitator and Deputy President Ramaphosa, Lesotho's Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili and SADC Executive Secretary Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax will be present at the ceremony.
“The closing ceremony marks the end of the facilitation mission following the successful SADC intervention which culminated in the recently held elections being declared credible, free and fair by election observers,” the Deputy President’s spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said on Monday.
The elections arose from provisions of the Maseru Facilitation Accord signed by all Lesotho's political parties and facilitated by Deputy President Ramaphosa as part of efforts to create political stability in the country.
Even though the SADC Facilitation mission offices will be closed down, the SADC Double Troika Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation held in Pretoria early this year, urged all Lesotho's political role-players to focus their attention, post the elections, on the constitutional and security sector reforms.
SADC has committed itself to continue to assist the people of Lesotho in this process by making available expertise from member states.
During the visit, Deputy President Ramaphosa will meet Prime Minister Mosisili, former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane and will pay a courtesy call on His Majesty King Letsie III.
He is expected to return to South Africa on Tuesday. - SAnews.gov.za
