KING TO LEAD PUBLIC IN TREE PLANTING

King Letsie III will lead the public in Mohale'shoek during the tree planting activities to be undertaken at ha Sekoati in the district on Friday 04 October,2002.  In an interview, the District Secretary, Mr. Sechaba Mojau, said the activity is intended to mark the National Independence Day on October 4.

The occasion, he said follows the cabinet decision that this year's celebration be marked through tree planting and land reclamation works in all the districts. Also expected at the occasion would include Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso, Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, heads of diplomatic missions in Lesotho, Members of parliament, public servants and the public.

He said, Ha Sekoati village has been identified for the occasion because of its intense problem of soil erosion.  Independence Day is observed every year on October 4 with various developmental activities throughout the country. October 4 is a day of freedom after the country got its independence from Britain, a colonial master in 1966.

Since then, Lesotho has been a Constitutional Monarchy with the King being the head of State and the elected Prime Minister, the head of Government. Since Independence, Lesotho has been under the authoritarian rule of the late Dr Leabua Jonathan of Basotho National Party (BNP). Ntsu Mokhehle, the founder of the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) was one of the pioneers in the political system of Lesotho. After his return from exile, following extensive negotiations with the then military government  he returned home to prepare for the multiparty elections in 1994, which were swept by the BCP under his leadership.

After three years of unstable democratic rule, Ntsu Mokhehle was forced to quit the leadership of the BCP under severe pressure from within, and later led to a split, which gave birth to Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), which is presently the ruling party after the May 2002 fresh general elections which followed the 1998 disputed elections.

26 September,2002