Pretoria - Deputy President and SADC Facilitator Cyril Ramaphosa says he is encouraged by a deep sense of patriotism among all political role-players and their determination to help find a lasting solution in Lesotho.
Deputy President Ramaphosa concluded his first official visit to the Kingdom of Lesotho as part of regional efforts to assist the people of the country to find a peaceful resolution to their current challenges on Thursday.
During the visit, the Deputy President paid a courtesy to King Letsie III to brief him about the mandate from the South African Development Community (SADC) Double Troika plus DRC and Tanzania, which met in Pretoria on Monday, to chart the way forward out of the current challenges facing Lesotho.
Critical among these issues are the agreement by the role players was to bring forward elections in Lesotho, the reconvening of parliament, as well as the stabilisation of the security situation in the country.
The Facilitator also met with the three leaders of the Coalition Government led by Prime Minister Tom Thabane, Deputy Prime Minister Metsing and Thesile Maseribane as well as members of the College of Chiefs and Members of main and small opposition political parties to exchange views on the current situation and the way forward.
According to the Presidency, all parties welcomed the visit and committed themselves to working with SADC to resolve their challenges.
Deputy President Ramaphosa was supported by SADC Deputy Executive Secretary Themba Mhlongo, experts and members of the SADC Secretariat.
They will return to Maseru on Monday and Tuesday, 22-23 September, as part of a series of visits that he will pay to assist the people of the Kingdom of Lesotho to find an amicable resolution to their challenges. - SAnews.gov.za
