Pretoria - President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current African Union (AU) chairman, has congratulated Moeketsi Majoro on his appointment as the new prime minister of Lesotho, the Presidency said on Saturday.
The appointment of Majoro followed the retirement of former prime minister Tom Thabane, who vacated office before the end of his term in 2022, the Presidency said in a statement.
Thabane tendered his resignation in a public announcement on May 18, 2020. Lesotho King Letsie III "took the advice of the Council of State's decision" to appoint Majoro as the prime minister-designate.
To this effect, Majoro was sworn-in as the new prime minister of Lesotho at the Royal Palace on Wednesday May 20, the Presidency said.
Ramaphosa, in his capacity as Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitator to Lesotho, reiterated his commitment to continue working with the government and people of Lesotho to ensure successful implementation of the comprehensive reforms as enumerated in the Reforms Authority Bill.
Ramaphosa also wished former prime minister Thabane well during his retirement and commended him for the collaborative work during the facilitation process that had placed Lesotho on the cusp of realising the proposed reforms.
Furthermore, the president assured the new prime minister of his personal dedication to further strengthen and consolidate bilateral relations between South Africa and Lesotho as well as enhanced cooperation on regional, continental, and global issues of mutual interest, the Presidency said.