Sometimes I think this country has become too comfortable with calling itself “full of potential.” We say it everywhere. At conferences, in glossy investment decks, even during those awkward television interviews where officials promise miracles with a straight face. The phrase has almost become something we use to reassure ourselves when things are clearly going wrong, like when the power cuts hit again or when a flagship project collapses before it even starts.
And while we keep repeating the same comforting line, the rest of the world is moving. Fast. The momentum around clean energy, sustainable tourism and climate related investment has shifted in a way that should worry anyone who still believes Lesotho can catch up by doing nothing. This was clear during the recent G20 gathering in South Africa where global leaders talked climate finance and renewable investment as if it were the centre of the economy, not a side conversation. It should have been our moment too, in some way. But we were nowhere near the picture.
I sometimes wonder if our leaders fully grasp how big this transition is. The world is turning toward renewables with a speed that feels, honestly, a little intimidating. Investors want solar, wind, green hydrogen, pumped storage and stable grids. They want regulation that is predictable. They want countries that show they understand where the future is leaning. Lesotho could fit in that category. We have the altitude, the hydrology, the wind corridors, the sunlight. The tourism appeal too. Even international agencies point out that our renewable potential is exceptional and that electrifying the whole country sustainably is quite possible if leadership actually commits.
But that last part is always the problem. Leadership. We enjoy making big announcements. Targets like one hundred percent electrification. Exporting green power. Becoming a renewable hub. The list stretches on. And yet the basic groundwork is never done. The political class seems more comfortable with the performance of vision than the discipline of execution. And it shows in the simplest ways. Slow institutions. Confusing regulations. Appointments that reward loyalty rather than competence. Infrastructural neglect that undermines tourism long before tourists arrive. When ministries struggle with basic tasks, the world will not take the country seriously on the bigger ones.
This isn’t some abstract complaint. It affects real people. If we miss the energy transition, we remain stuck with power imports and unpredictable supply. If we mismanage tourism, we create jobs for neighbouring countries instead of our own youth. If we keep ignoring renewable investment, capital will continue flowing to places where leaders actually know what they are doing. And those countries will grow while we stand still, telling ourselves again how much potential we have.
What frustrates me most is that the opportunity is actually there. It is not imagined. Studies have highlighted our hydropower potential over and over. We have the geography for wind. There is interest from investors. The King has even pitched projects abroad. We now have a national fund for the just energy transition. Yet somehow everything slows down once it reaches the hands of politicians. Approvals take forever. Decisions are postponed. Professionals are sidelined. It feels like development is treated as a side project rather than a national priority.
Tourism and renewables could complement each other in ways that transform communities. Picture off grid eco lodges powered by solar. Hiking trails supported by clean micro grids. Local cooperatives running small energy projects. Jobs in hospitality growing alongside jobs in energy construction and maintenance. It is not unrealistic. Other countries have done it. Yet our government appears more obsessed with internal fights, two day summits and donor funded reports than real work. There is a strange belief that progress will somehow arrive by itself.
The truth, uncomfortable as it is, is that nothing improves without a different kind of leadership. We need people who understand climate finance, who appreciate what investor confidence truly means, who recognise that development is built through small, consistent decisions. Leadership that is willing to act boldly even at political cost. Leadership that values transparency because it knows investors read signals carefully. Leadership that understands tourism is not just about one event or some monument, but about a national reputation built over years.
Right now we have the opposite. Leaders who attend international conferences then return home to do nothing. Leaders who complain about marginalisation after ignoring every chance to lead. Leaders who speak about renewable energy the way people use fashionable words they don’t fully understand. Leaders who cannot stabilise failing institutions but still talk about exporting power. It becomes tiring to listen.
Lesotho has resources, geography and people who can carry the country forward. What it does not have is a leadership class that treats the future with seriousness. If we keep going like this, the world will transition without us. Neighbouring countries will rise through tourism and renewables while we continue recycling the same promises. And the worst part is that we will act surprised when it happens.
The time for believing that potential is enough has passed.
