Deputy President Ramaphosa welcomes SADC Double Troika reaffirmation of the SADC terms of reference for Commission of Inquiry into Lesotho

Deputy President and SADC Facilitator Cyril Ramaphosa today, Wednesday 19 August 2015 welcomed the decision of the SADC Double   Troika meeting held in Botswana on Sunday to reaffirm the current terms of reference for the SADC Commission of Inquiry into Lesotho.

Deputy President Ramaphosa was  part of the South African delegation led by President Jacob Zuma which attended the SADC Summit of   Heads of State and Government held in Gaborone, Botswana from Sunday, 16 August to Tuesday, 18 August 2015.

In this regard, Deputy President Ramaphosa was invited to attend the SADC Double Troika Summit which was held on the margins of the SADC Summit in Gaborone on Sunday, 17 August 2015 to discuss among others terms of reference for the SADC Commission of inquiry into Lesotho. These terms of reference were agreed to during the Double Troika Summit held in Pretoria on 3 July 2015.

During his visit to the Kingdom of Lesotho on 30 July 2015 and in his interaction with Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili as well as members of the opposition political parties, proposals were presented to Deputy President Ramaphosa for SADC to consider amending the terms of reference for the Commission of Inquiry.

“In its deliberations in Botswana on Sunday, 16 August 2015, the SADC Double Troika decided that the SADC terms of reference as agreed to on 3 July 2015 in Pretoria should stand,” said Deputy President Ramaphosa.

“In this context, the Troika was of the view that the current SADC terms of reference in their original form are broad enough to accommodate  proposals raised with the Facilitator by the Lesotho government and members of the opposition political parties,” said Deputy President Ramaphosa.

“The Lesotho government is thus expected to gazette the  SADC terms of reference to enable the SADC Commission of inquiry  to continue with its work as soon as possible,” continued Deputy President Ramaphosa.

“As the SADC Facilitation mission, we look forward to the SADC Commission of Inquiry beginning its work in earnest within the framework of the terms of reference as set out by the Double Troika Summit. We reiterate our call for Basotho to give the commission their unreserved support as part of efforts to find a lasting solution to their security challenges,” concluded Facilitator, Deputy President Ramaphosa.

Issued by: Ronnie Mamoepa at 082-990-4853

The Presidency

Pretoria