Discuss making Lesotho part of SA - NUM

Johannesburg - Serious discussions should take place about Lesotho becoming a part of South Africa, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday.

"The developments in Lesotho are of concern," general secretary Frans Baleni told reporters following a meeting of the union's national office bearers in Johannesburg.

He said a number of NUM members who are also citizens of Lesotho had urged the union to appeal to the authorities to bring about stability there.

In 1991, the NUM took a resolution that South Africa and Lesotho should seriously consider Lesotho being incorporated into South Africa, which completely surrounds it.

"That was 1991. That dialogue is still taking place and we are still promoting that there must be dialogue," Baleni said.

"Basothos must decide their future and South Africa obviously must decide how to take [this] process forward."

For now, it was important that stability return to Lesotho and that it revert to a democracy.

"We cannot allow a situation where the army wants to run politics [in Lesotho]," Baleni said.

Earlier on Wednesday, SABC News reported that South Africa's President Jacob Zuma had given Lesotho coalition leaders two days to agree on a date to open parliament.

After meeting with coalition leaders on Tuesday, Zuma reportedly told the broadcaster talks had gone well.

He said leaders had reached a point where they would now "have to do further consultations" on their own over the next few days.

"There would be further consultations among parties," he said, after which an announcement would be made.

Zuma arrived in Lesotho on Tuesday to facilitate peace talks after Lesotho prime minister Tom Thabane was forced to flee to South Africa last month during an attempted coup by its military.

Thabane returned to Lesotho days later. Zuma and representatives from the Southern African Development Community brought together leaders from Lesotho's coalition parties to resolve the differences.

Thabane said they were committed to re-opening Parliament, but gave no date.