martysmith.org » ABC http://www.martysmith.org Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:44:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Libya Returns http://www.martysmith.org/libya-returns/ http://www.martysmith.org/libya-returns/#comments Mon, 16 Jul 2007 03:00:46 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/07/15/libya-returns/ Libya returns to Lesotho. Story here. You may remember that recently Lesotho kicked out the Libyan ambassador for his relations with Tom Thabane of the ABC. Archive story here. Perhaps this signals some progress or at least a sign that the LCD is starting to get a bit stretched.

]]> Libya returns to Lesotho. Story here.
You may remember that recently Lesotho kicked out the Libyan ambassador for his relations with Tom Thabane of the ABC. Archive story here.
Perhaps this signals some progress or at least a sign that the LCD is starting to get a bit stretched.

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/libya-returns/feed/ 0 Curfew Updates http://www.martysmith.org/curfew-updates/ http://www.martysmith.org/curfew-updates/#comments Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:13:30 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/06/21/curfew-updates/ This sentence pretty much sums it all up:

The Lesotho government will relax the restrictions of the curfew it had imposed after a spate of attacks on cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili said on Tuesday.

Full story here. the curfew will be modified from 18:00-06:00 to 20:00-05:00. All of this comes on the heel’s [...]]]> This sentence pretty much sums it all up:

The Lesotho government will relax the restrictions of the curfew it had imposed after a spate of attacks on cabinet ministers, Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili said on Tuesday.

Full story here.
the curfew will be modified from 18:00-06:00 to 20:00-05:00.
All of this comes on the heel’s of an announcement that Lesotho is having it’s worst drought in 30 years, here.

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/curfew-updates/feed/ 0 Lesotho Politic Update http://www.martysmith.org/lesotho-politic-update/ http://www.martysmith.org/lesotho-politic-update/#comments Fri, 08 Jun 2007 19:30:40 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/06/08/lesotho-politic-update/ Pheko said when South Africa was engulfed by the chaos of the apartheid years its black people were scattered all over the world including Lesotho, now is the time to return the favour. “If the comrades in Lesotho have to seek refuge in our country, because they are being persecuted for resisting government repression, we [...]]]>

Pheko said when South Africa was engulfed by the chaos of the apartheid years its black people were scattered all over the world including Lesotho, now is the time to return the favour. “If the comrades in Lesotho have to seek refuge in our country, because they are being persecuted for resisting government repression, we shall welcome them. We promise to support the ABC as it is Lesotho’s government of the future”. This was an apparent reference to the Harvest FM’s Reverend Adam Lekhoaba who was summarily deported to South Africa in what some observers have interpreted as the Lesotho government’s attempt to gag the media.

This comes from a Public Eye story on ABC support in Welkom, SA. Read the full story here. Perhaps one of these days we will get some actual news on the Lesotho political situation, instead of hearing murmurs and grumbles only.
Then again maybe the ABC will give the ANC a kick in the pants…
Here are some details (and here) about Lekhoaba’s situation before it escalated to exile in RSA.

Government office fire update: photo here.

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/lesotho-politic-update/feed/ 0 ABC and BNP Coalition Government http://www.martysmith.org/abc-and-bnp-coalition-government/ http://www.martysmith.org/abc-and-bnp-coalition-government/#comments Tue, 01 May 2007 17:38:23 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/05/01/abc-and-bnp-coalition-government/ Old Tommy is rounding up the troops for a coalition in parliament. The ABC and the BNP have joined to… do stuff… Full story here.

Meanwhile, Mophato Monyake the chairperson of the newly formed ABC branch in Bloemfontein, says the coalition will push for improvement of the lives of many in Lesotho.

This will be [...]]]> Old Tommy is rounding up the troops for a coalition in parliament. The ABC and the BNP have joined to… do stuff… Full story here.

Meanwhile, Mophato Monyake the chairperson of the newly formed ABC branch in Bloemfontein, says the coalition will push for improvement of the lives of many in Lesotho.

This will be interesting for a number of reasons, however what I think will be worth following is how the ABC fairs in South Africa. The politics of South Africa are fairly lopsided, so who knows. ANC watch out…

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/abc-and-bnp-coalition-government/feed/ 0 Finally, An Update? Mosisili What? http://www.martysmith.org/finally-an-update-mosisili-what/ http://www.martysmith.org/finally-an-update-mosisili-what/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:26:40 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/04/04/finally-an-update-mosisili-what/ Hey banna! Mosisili says you ain’t got nothing on the LCD. Full story here.

Mosisili told a press conference in the capital Maseru that the opposition parties’ bid would not succeed because courts had ruled that the alliance was valid.

He went on to say that he should know ’cause he told them what to [...]]]> Hey banna! Mosisili says you ain’t got nothing on the LCD. Full story here.

Mosisili told a press conference in the capital Maseru that the opposition parties’ bid would not succeed because courts had ruled that the alliance was valid.

He went on to say that he should know ’cause he told them what to do in the first place.

Anyway I suppose these comments are in response to a decision by SADC to send in SADC. Story here. Sometime after Easter 14 random SADCs will come to Lesotho and probably listen to everything that Mosisili has to say. Stay tuned.
Thabane says:

“We want to prove to SADC that there is collusion between the IEC and the ruling party over the allocation of these seats. We want this matter to be resolved for the sake of peace and stability of this country.”

Everyone said they would play ball with SADC when they showed up…

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/finally-an-update-mosisili-what/feed/ 0 Lesotho Stay-Away Stil in Effect http://www.martysmith.org/lesotho-stay-away-stil-in-effect/ http://www.martysmith.org/lesotho-stay-away-stil-in-effect/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:43:14 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/03/21/lesotho-stay-away-stil-in-effect/ The stay away began yesterday with the burning of two cars in the outskirts of the capital. Tyres were also burnt in roads to stop traffic to the city centre. The police said investigations suggested the burned cars were scrap vehicles intended to give the impression that people driving to work ran the risk of [...]]]>

The stay away began yesterday with the burning of two cars in the outskirts of the capital. Tyres were also burnt in roads to stop traffic to the city centre. The police said investigations suggested the burned cars were scrap vehicles intended to give the impression that people driving to work ran the risk of having their cars burnt.

All seven people who drive to work in Lesotho were rumored to be quite angry about this. However this does sound like it is escalating.

With public transit at a standstill, the government-owned Lesotho Freight Bus Corporation together with government vehicles carried civil servants to work, each vehicles guarded by soldiers and policemen. A government statement read over state radio said that any state employee missing work could lose his or her job.

In response to this, Bo-M’e said “Hmmmpph” but in the way that only a 50 year old Mosotho civil servant can. Full story here.
One has to think that this is going to continue until something irrational happens between factions (some sort of “blockade” fender bender or the like) and then the whole situation is going to melt down. I wish Mosisili and the the LCD would properly acknowledge the situation. Oa tseba?

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/lesotho-stay-away-stil-in-effect/feed/ 0 Maseru Is Closed http://www.martysmith.org/maseru-is-closed/ http://www.martysmith.org/maseru-is-closed/#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:12:43 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/03/19/maseru-is-closed/ A BBC correspondent in the capital, Maseru, say the city is deserted, with no public transport and almost all shops closed.

Full story here. The election numbers were dramatically in favor of the ABC in Maseru (Lowland Urban in general) so this is so very possible. I hope that this goes well and peacefully. I [...]]]>

A BBC correspondent in the capital, Maseru, say the city is deserted, with no public transport and almost all shops closed.

Full story here. The election numbers were dramatically in favor of the ABC in Maseru (Lowland Urban in general) so this is so very possible. I hope that this goes well and peacefully. I wondered why i suddenly got an email from a friend in Lesotho today and now I know. He’s not going to work today (though apparently the Chinese Internet Cafe operators are).

The ABC says they accept the election results and are willing to work with the ruling party, but the allocation of seats in Parliament are wrong and not according to the law. The party says if government does not come to the table by Wednesday they will find more peaceful ways to force them.

Uh oh again. Full story here.

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/maseru-is-closed/feed/ 0 Lesotho Election Stolen!!! (Legally?) http://www.martysmith.org/lesotho-election-stolen-legally/ http://www.martysmith.org/lesotho-election-stolen-legally/#comments Thu, 01 Mar 2007 17:21:02 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/03/01/lesotho-election-stolen-legally/ Check out this post at Maseru Observer about how the proportional representation system was toyed with to give the LCD more seats than they had last time.

Do you declare an election fair that gives 70% of the seats to a party that only won 54% of them legitimately?

The article shows how the LCD [...]]]> Check out this post at Maseru Observer about how the proportional representation system was toyed with to give the LCD more seats than they had last time.

Do you declare an election fair that gives 70% of the seats to a party that only won 54% of them legitimately?

The article shows how the LCD and the ABC used secondary party names to skew the proportional representation equation. According to this article the LCD will walk away with 83 seats (out of 120) instead of 63 seats. The ABC ends up with 27 instead of 35 seats. Other parties get 10 instead of 22.

Gonna keep an eye on this one.

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/lesotho-election-stolen-legally/feed/ 0 Now things get tricky http://www.martysmith.org/now-things-get-tricky/ http://www.martysmith.org/now-things-get-tricky/#comments Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:48:33 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/02/21/now-things-get-tricky/ The elections are over, the LCD have won handily and now we protest. The BNP is not happy and neither is the ABC, though less so… Mosisili says cool.

]]> The elections are over, the LCD have won handily and now we protest. The BNP is not happy and neither is the ABC, though less so… Mosisili says cool.

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/now-things-get-tricky/feed/ 0 LCD Wins 2007 Lesotho Elections http://www.martysmith.org/lcd-wins-2007-lesotho-elections/ http://www.martysmith.org/lcd-wins-2007-lesotho-elections/#comments Tue, 20 Feb 2007 19:22:38 +0000 marty http://b.martysmith.org/blog/2007/02/20/lcd-wins-2007-lesotho-elections/ The LCD have won the election hands down. Though it should be noted that the ABC did well in the urban areas. Stories here and here.

]]> The LCD have won the election hands down. Though it should be noted that the ABC did well in the urban areas.
Stories here and here.

]]> http://www.martysmith.org/lcd-wins-2007-lesotho-elections/feed/ 0