Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is encouraged by the progress towards peace, stability and reforms in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.
On Wednesday, the Deputy President, who is also the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Facilitator, visited Maseru.
The visit took place against the backdrop of the June general elections in Lesotho, which saw the inauguration of a new Coalition Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.
During the visit, Deputy President Ramaphosa consulted with the new government, leaders of opposition parties, the college of chiefs and civil society stakeholders in Lesotho.
According to the South African Presidency, the meeting charted the path for the full implementation of SADC decisions on constitutional and security sector reforms.
“Upon concluding his multi-sectoral consultations, Deputy President Ramaphosa said he was encouraged by the various stakeholders' commitment to peace and stability in the kingdom and said the consultations would enable SADC to develop appropriate support for the country,” the Presidency said on Wednesday in a statement after the meeting.
During the visit, Prime Minister Thabane also indicated that planning was underway for a multiparty dialogue that would complement a national multi-stakeholder dialogue.
The dialogue would deal with issues of constitutional reform, security reform as well as the implementation of the SADC decisions, and is expected to frame the reform process in the kingdom.
The visit by Deputy President Ramaphosa forms part of the report on the reforms process, which he will table at the upcoming SADC Double Troika Summit in Pretoria next week. - SAnews.gov.za
