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Misanet.com / Mopheme, 5 July - After the May legislative elections, Lesotho's new political landscape is getting clearer contures. Members of the Parliament's Upper House are now elected, and political analysts see clear guidelines for the new government - which mostly picks its most important representatives from the Senate. Now that new members of the Lesotho's Lower House of Parliament, the National Assembly, have been sworn-in and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker elected, King Letsie III, on the advice of the Council of State, has nominated 10 other Senators beside the twenty-two Principal Chiefs, who according to the Constitution, are ex officio members of Senate. The new Senate is composed of the likes Timothy Thahane, the man widely tipped to become Lesotho's new Minister of Finance and of Development Planning. Political observers predicted recently that Thahane had to be nominated to Senate before the Prime Minister, Pakalitha Mosisili could take him aboard as his finance minister. Political observers indicated that Thahane's road to being the controller of the country's coffers was now smoother and straighter more than ever. Former Minister of Justice, Human Rights, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, Refiloe Maseme-ne has been retained as member of Senate. He is also believed will be re-appointed to his former portfolio in cabinet which is still vacant. Village chieftainess, 'Manapo Majara also retained her seat in the Upper House of Parliament. The rest of the membership are new. They include former military ruler, Major-General Phisoane Ramaema who handed over the instruments of democratic rule to the former ruling Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) of the late Ntsu Mokhehle in 1993. Dr. Rakoro Phororo, a former Minister of Agriculture in the military government of Major-General Metsing Lekha-nya has also been nominated to Senate. Ntsubise Sekhonyana, the wife of the late Leader of the opposition Basotho National Party (BNP), Retselisitsoe Sekho-nyana also took her seat in Senate, a move seen by some political observers as intended to pacify the disgruntled BNP after the 25 May 2002 general elections in which the party failed to win even a single constituency and entered the National Assembly through Proportional Representation. Other new members of Senate include Dr. Mam-phone Khaketla, an academic also tipped to take over as Minister of Communications, 'Mualle Moshoeshoe, the Chief of Likoeneng and Qajela Lebona, the Chief of Ha Tsepo. At the time of going to print only one seat - that of a nominee of Principal Chiefs - remained vacant. The seat was formerly occupied by the brother of the late King Moshoeshoe II, Chief Masupha Seeiso.
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