US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he will send a presidential delegation to the Kingdom of Lesotho to attend the Inauguration ceremony of Prime Minister-elect Samuel Matekane on Friday in Maseru. REUTERS/Mike Segar.
The millionaire businessman, turned politician will be sworn in as Lesotho’s next prime minister on Friday during a ceremony to be attended by leaders from across the continent at the Setsoto Stadium in Maseru.
A number of high-profile dignitaries and leaders from the SADC region are expected to be in attendance.
Biden said Alice P Albright, chief executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, will lead the delegation, according to a statement issued by the White House.
Members of the presidential delegation include: Maria Brewer, US ambassador to the Kingdom of Lesotho, Loyce Pace, Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs, US Department of Health and Human Services and Paula Garcia Tufro, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Development, Global Health, and Humanitarian Response, National Security Council.
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa will also attend the inauguration of Matekane of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the presidency said on Wednesday.
The presidency says Ramaphosa’s attendance of the inauguration in the Kingdom of Lesotho will provide Ramaphosa with the opportunity to congratulate the prime minister-elect on his electoral success and the people of the Kingdom for conducting successful elections, a spokesperson for the presidency said.
Matekane’s Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party, a party set up only six months ago, won 56 out of 120 seats in Lesotho’s Parliament in recent elections.
The Lesotho Times reported on Thursday that the prime minister will fund his own inauguration.
It is unclear as to what the actual cost of the event will be.