VZCZCXRO5212
PP RUEHMR
DE RUEHMR #0143/01 0791427
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 201427Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1951
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 2216

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MASERU 000143 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/S 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/17/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KICC PINR LT
SUBJECT: POTENTIAL SHIFTING WEIGHTS IN LESOTHO'S RULING PARTY 
 
REF: (A) MASERU 124 AND PREVIOUS 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: JUNE CARTER PERRY, AMBASSADOR, EXEC, STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: JUNE CARTER PERRY, AMBASSADOR, EXEC, STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
SUMMARY 
---------------- 
 
¶1.  (C)  Over the past two weeks, Ambassador has met with the 
Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Health and Tourism and 
Culture.  In our conversations with Foreign Minister Moleleki, 
Finance Minister Thahane, Health Minister Phooko and Tourism 
Minister Nts'inyi, we have detected a hesitancy on the part of 
the latter three to discuss the January 29 shooting of the 
Foreign Minister and a special effort to reassure the 
international community that security and democracy remain top 
priorities for the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). 
While Foreign Minister Moleleki retained his position as 
Information Head of the LCD, Minister Nts'inyi assumed the 
number two position as Deputy Executive Secretary of the party. 
In her position, Minister Nts'inyi has significant 
responsibility for national elections (2007) preparations and 
LCD relations with opposition parties.  Her role now appears to 
be a greater one within the Government.  At the same time, 
Moleleki's dramatic claims about the January attack have not 
been verified through a formal government statement or through a 
police report.    A media report on a second attempted assault 
on Moleleki (February 27) was confirmed by the Foreign Minister, 
but dismissed by military and police authorities as an attempt 
to burnish his image.  There have been rumors of a potential 
Cabinet shuffling since late 2005.  It remains to be seen 
whether any immediate changes will be forthcoming, but there is 
certainly a sense of ongoing development within the party.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Foreign Minister Moleleki's discussions with us over the 
past two weeks have centered on the January 29 attack as well as 
bilateral and multilateral issues.  Moleleki has continued to 
assert that the January attack and the alleged February 27 
attack were both the result of Communications Minister Thabane's 
machinations.  He has also strongly alleged that Libya's envoy 
to Lesotho (Ambassador Algamudi) is on close terms with 
Communications Minister Thabane and he has an agenda that the 
Foreign Minister claims Tripoli has not approved.  Specifically, 
on March 16, the Foreign Minister charged the Libyan Ambassador 
with a disingenuous attempt to console him while he was in the 
hospital.  At that time, the Foreign Minister said the Libyan 
envoy asked the Foreign Minister if anyone had been paid to 
mount this attack.  Moleleki saw the Ambassador's query as a 
suspicious one since he himself had not made any mention of a 
paid, would-be assailant.  Moleleki is planning to go to Tripoli 
soon and express his questions about Libya's representative in 
Maseru.  We observed during this conversation that Moleleki 
appeared to have lost weight and seemed somewhat obsessed with 
the Libyan issue.  Despite these confirmed or unconfirmed 
attacks on his life, the Foreign Minister told us he was 
planning to travel to Johannesburg on March 17.  He considered 
his residential security adequate and seemed to have no concerns 
about this trip and, in fact, took pains to say that he would 
drive himself. 
 
¶3.  (C)  Moleleki also reasserted his role in the foreign 
affairs arena and his relationship with Prime Minister Mosisili 
(who had asked him about the status of the proposed Article 98 
Agreement with the U.S.) (Note:  We had already delivered our 
response to the GOL's draft agreement and took the opportunity 
on March 16 to provide another copy for the Foreign Minister and 
one for the Attorney General.  We have not received a response 
to our points delivered March 8.  End Note)  The Foreign 
Minister's situation was not clarified during our March 14 
meeting with Minister of Tourism Nts'inyi.  There was a decided 
reluctance to discuss it and to shy away from any comment on the 
state of his health, the response of the government, or any 
police investigation.  She said the security environment was 
stable following the January 29 incident.  Nts'inyi, former GOL 
Ambassador to Germany, on the other hand, went to great lengths 
to express her appreciation for our bilateral relationship and 
for the sustained U.S. interest in supporting Lesotho's 
electoral processes.  She stated that her government and her 
party were most interested in peace, stability and orderly 2007 
national elections.  We emphasized how important it was to build 
on Lesotho's democratic process to date and stated our 
commitment to support an open and fair process over the coming 
year.  For the first time in over a year, Nts'inyi was named 
Acting Foreign Minister on March 17.  Her designation, which 
 
MASERU 00000143  002 OF 003 
 
 
usually falls to the Minister of Local Government or the 
Minister of Justice, is interesting, coming in conjunction with 
her elevated status in the LCD ruling party. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Minister of Finance Thahane shared with us, before our 
meeting with Nts'inyi, his doubts about obtaining a full account 
concerning Minister of Foreign Affairs January attack.  He made 
no mention of any subsequent "ambush" upon the Foreign Minister. 
 Thahane, in his role as special representative of the global 
fund, as well as in his full time portfolio focused also on the 
importance of stability.  We raised with Thahane the necessity 
of continued progress on the bilateral front and our positive 
exchanges on the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) as Lesotho's 
interministerial committee continues to prepare its proposal. 
Although viewed by some as more of an outside player, within the 
Cabinet Thahane's voice clearly makes a difference in sending a 
strong, positive message to donors and to the international 
community at large.  In a later conversation, Thahane revealed 
that bilateral issues to include the MCC proposal and the 
proposed Article 98 Agreement were scheduled to occur during an 
April 20 session.  It appears, given the large amount of press 
he has been given during the budget meetings, that Thahane's 
profile is rising somewhat and that each public statement he 
makes includes positive reinforcement for investors and donors. 
We observed that Thahane represented the Prime Minister during a 
March 10 ground breaking for a new hospital in Maseru; he hosted 
us at a follow-on  lunch with business representatives from 
South Africa. 
 
¶5.  (C) At the same event, the Minister of Health reaffirmed 
Lesotho's interest in working with the private sector as well as 
donors in improving health care, particularly in the area of 
HIV/AIDS.  In a meeting with the Ambassador, Minister Phooko 
requested additional assistance in analyzing the organizational 
needs of his Ministry.  We indicated that we would continue to 
support the leadership of the government of Lesotho in moving 
forward on the HIV/AIDS issue and we were in the process of 
reviewing our long term strategy.  (Comment:  Minister of 
Finance Thahane in the same timeframe shared his impression that 
the Ministry of Health was disorganized and asked for our help 
in securing an overall director for the country's "Know Your 
Status Campaign".  End Comment).  Minister Phooko in response to 
our query on the implementation of the "Know Your Status 
Campaign", stated that he had put together a task force in the 
Ministry to begin addressing this problem and he hoped for 
assistance from the international community in this regard.  In 
addition to reassuring the Minister of all of our support, both 
directly through the USG programs as well as through NGOs such 
as CARE, CRS, etc., we felt it was important during this time of 
critical pandemic to maintain stability within the country and 
to maintain sustained progress, particularly during the 
pre-electoral months ahead.  The Minister, a relative of Prime 
Minister Mosisili, confirmed Minister Nts'inyi's assertion that 
the Government is committed to peaceful elections and to 
maintaining a tranquil and secure environment within Lesotho. 
Although the Minister of Health is viewed by the press and by 
the public as less competent than some of his Cabinet 
colleagues, he has continued to hold on to his position and, 
despite some criticism from the First Lady, appears to have a 
special relationship with the Prime Minister.  In donors' 
opinions, Phooko's Ministry has serious human capacity needs and 
weaknesses; the international community has been offering 
technical assistance to him, especially in the HIV/AIDS arena. 
 
¶6.  COMMENT:  Although it is not possible to predict 
developments over the coming months, it seems that the LCD is 
assessing how best to move forward to secure its place and 
leadership role during the national elections.  As part of this 
process, the Minister of Tourism has been tasked to intercede 
for the Prime Minister with the Independent Electoral Commission 
(IEC) to ensure that current commissioners continue to hold 
their positions as the country moves into the pre-electoral 
period.  She has taken on the responsibility of assessing the 
opposition party's desire to end the terms of a number of 
commissioners and go into the 2007 elections with experienced 
members on the IEC.  The fact that the Minister has moved into 
this high profile position of great responsibility as the party 
begins its preparations suggests that she will be playing a 
highly visible and important role in the year ahead. 
Concurrently, the conflicting stories and swirl of rumors around 
the Minister of Foreign Affairs have raised questions among 
government officials, diplomats and the public about his 
standing in the party, internal conflicts within the LCD and 
possible Cabinet changes.  From our vantage point, on the whole 
all of these key players in the LCD constellation have reflected 
a desire to insure stability in the political and economic 
spheres and to send a strong message to the U.S. that the GOL is 
serious about a potential Article 98 Agreement and about the 
Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).  Our dialogue with these and 
other players including opposition and private sector elements 
are, we believe, continuing to reveal more about the inner 
 
MASERU 00000143  003 OF 003 
 
 
workings of the LCD and the strength or weaknesses of the 
officers within it.  End Comment. 
PERRY