Lesotho

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Lesotho (pronounced [lɪˈsuːtu]), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a land-locked country, entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. Formerly Basutoland, it is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name Lesotho roughly translates into "the land of the people who speak Sotho."

Contents 1 History 2 Politics 3 Administrative divisions 4 Geography 4.1 Climate 5 Economy 6 HIV/AIDS 7 Taxation 8 Foreign relations 9 Culture 10 Human rights 11 People 11.1 Population 11.2 Ethnic groups and languages 11.3 Religion 11.4 Education and literacy 11.5 Health and welfare 11.6 Human development 12 See also 13 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of Lesotho

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu-speaking tribes during Bantu migrations.

The present Lesotho emerged as a single polity (state) under paramount chief Moshoeshoe I in 1822; it was recognized by Britain on 13 December 1843, and on 12 March 1868 became the High Commission Territories. On 30 April 1965 it was granted autonomy. Its name changed when Lesotho gained full independence from the United Kingdom on October 4, 1966.

In January 1970 the ruling Basotho National Party (BNP) lost the first post-independence general elections, with 23 seats to the Basutoland Congress Party's 36. Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan refused to cede power to the Basotho Congress Party (BCP), declared himself Tona Kholo (Sesotho translation of prime minister), and imprisoned the BCP leadership.

The BCP began a rebellion and then received training in Libya for its Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA) under the pretence of being Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) soldiers of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Deprived of arms and supplies by the Sibeko faction of the PAC in 1978, the 178-strong LLA was rescued from their Tanzanian base by the financial assistance of a Maoist PAC officer but launched the guerilla war with a handful of old weapons. The main force was defeated in northern Lesotho and later guerrillas launched sporadic but usually ineffectual attacks. The campaign was severely compromised when BCP's leader, Ntsu Mokhehle, went to Pretoria. In the early 1980s, several Basotho who sympathized with the exiled BCP were threatened with death and attacked by the government of Leabua Jonathan. In September 1981 Edgar Mahlomola Motuba was taken from his home and murdered. A few months later the family of Benjamin Masilo was attacked.

The BNP ruled by decree until January 1986 when a military coup forced it out of office. The Military Council that came to power granted executive powers to King Moshoeshoe II, who was until then a ceremonial monarch. But in 1987 the King was forced into exile after a falling out with the army. His son was installed as King Letsie III.

The chairman of the military junta, Major General Justin Metsing Lekhanya, was ousted in 1991 and replaced by Major General Elias Phisoana Ramaema, who handed over power to a democratically elected government of the BCP in 1993. Moshoeshoe II returned from exile in 1992 as an ordinary citizen. After the return to democratic government, King Letsie III tried unsuccessfully to persuade the BCP government to reinstate his father (Moshoeshoe II) as head of state.

In August 1994, Letsie III staged a coup which was backed by the military and deposed the BCP government. The new government did not receive full international recognition. Member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) engaged in negotiations to reinstate the BCP government. One of the conditions Letsie III put forward for this was that his father should be re-installed as head of state. After protracted negotiations, the BCP government was reinstated and Letsie III abdicated in favor of his father in 1995. But Moshoeshoe II died in a car accident in 1996 and was again succeeded by his son.

In 1997, the ruling BCP split over leadership disputes. Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle formed a new party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), and was followed by a majority of Members of Parliament, which enabled him to form a new government. Pakalitha Mosisili succeeded Mokhehle as party leader and the LCD won the general elections in 1998. Although the elections were pronounced free and fair by local and international observers and a subsequent special commission appointed by SADC, the opposition political parties rejected the results.

Opposition protests in the country intensified, culminating in a peaceful demonstration outside the royal palace in August 1998. Exact details of what followed are greatly disputed and it remain contented even within South Africa, but in September that year, a SADC task force operating on orders of unclear provenance entered the capital Maseru. While the Botswana Defence Force troops were welcomed, tensions with South African National Defence Force troops were high, resulting in fighting. Incidences of sporadic rioting intensified when South African troops hoisted a South African flag over the Royal Palace. By the time the SADC forces withdrew in May 1999, much of Maseru lay in ruins, and the southern provincial capital towns of Mafeteng and Mohale's Hoek had seen the loss of over a third of their commercial real estate. A number of South Africans and Sothos also died in the fighting.

An Interim Political Authority (IPA), charged with reviewing the electoral structure in the country, was created in December 1998. The IPA devised a proportional electoral system to ensure that the opposition would be represented in the National Assembly. The new system retained the existing 80 elected Assembly seats, but added 40 seats to be filled on a proportional basis. Elections were held under this new system in May 2002, and the LCD won again, gaining 54% of the vote. But for the first time, opposition political parties won significant numbers of seats, and despite some irregularities and threats of violence from Major General Lekhanya, Lesotho experienced its first peaceful election. Nine opposition parties now hold all 40 of the proportional seats, with the BNP having the largest share (21). The LCD has 79 of the 80 constituency-based seats. Although its elected members participate in the National Assembly, the BNP has launched several legal challenges to the elections, including a recount; none has been successful.

Pakalitha Mosisili is the current Prime Minister.

[edit] Politics

Main article: Politics of Lesotho

The Lesotho Government is a constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister, Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili, is head of government and has executive authority. The king serves a largely ceremonial function; he no longer possesses any executive authority and is proscribed from actively participating in political initiatives.

The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) controls a majority in the National Assembly (the lower house of parliament). The All Basotho Convention (ABC), a party formed shortly before the poll under the leadership of former foreign minister Tom Thabane, is the main opposition. The Basotho National Party (BNP), the Alliance of Congress Parties (ACP) and the newly-formed Basotho Batho Democratic Party (BBDP) and the Basotho Democratic National Party (BDNP) Lesotho are among the other five opposition parties represented.

The ABC has brought a dramatic change in the Lesotho's politics, due to it having won one third of the seats (27 out of 82 seats) a mere few months after it had been formed. The BNP is the only other political party that has had a small but significant level of representation; it won three seats in the 2007 election.

The upper house of parliament, called the Senate, is composed of twenty-two principal chiefs whose membership is hereditary, and eleven appointees of the king, acting on the advice of the prime minister.

The constitution provides for an independent judicial system, made up of the High Court, the Court of Appeal, Magistrate's Courts, and traditional courts that exist predominantly in rural areas. All but one of the Justices on the Court of Appeal are South African jurists. There is no trial by jury; rather, judges make rulings alone, or, in the case of criminal trials, with two other judges as observers.

The constitution also protects basic civil liberties, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of religion.

[edit] Administrative divisions

Main article: Districts of Lesotho

Administratively, Lesotho is divided into ten districts, each headed by a district administrator. Each district has a capital known as a camptown.

Berea Butha-Buthe Leribe Mafeteng Maseru

Mohale's Hoek Mokhotlong Qacha's Nek Quthing Thaba-Tseka

The districts are further subdivided into 24 wards, which are presided over by hereditary chiefs and administered by various local government structures whose nature depends on whether the ward is in an urban or rural area.

[edit] Geography

Main article: Geography of Lesotho

Lesotho covers 30,355 square kilometres (11,720 sq mi). The most notable geographic fact about Lesotho, apart from its status as an enclave, is that it is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) in elevation. Its lowest point is 1,400 metres (4,593 ft), and over 80% of the country lies above 1,800 metres (5,900 ft).

[edit] Climate

Due to its altitude, Lesotho remains cooler throughout the year than other regions at the same latitude. Most of the rain falls as summer thunderstorms. Maseru and surrounding lowlands often reach 30°C (86°F) in summer. Winters can be cold with the lowlands getting down to -7°C (19°F)and the highlands to -18°C (0°F) at times. Snow is common in the deserts and low valleys between May and September; the higher peaks can experience snowfalls year-round.

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Lesotho

See also: Demographics of Lesotho

Lesotho's economy is based on exports of water and electricity sold to South Africa, manufacturing, agriculture, livestock, and to some extent the earnings of laborers employed in South Africa. Lesotho also exports diamonds, wool, mohair, clothing, and footwear. One of Levi's jeans manufacturing facilities is located there. Lesotho is geographically surrounded by South Africa and economically integrated with it as well. The majority of households subsist on farming or migrant labor, primarily miners who remain in South Africa for 3 to 9 months. The western lowlands form the main agricultural zone. Almost 50% of the population earns some income through crop cultivation or animal husbandry, with over half the country's income coming from the agricultural sector.

Water is Lesotho's only significant natural resource. It is exploited through the 21-year, multi-billion-dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which began in 1986. The LHWP is designed to capture, store, and transfer water from the Orange River system to South Africa's Free State and greater Johannesburg area, which features a large concentration of South African industry, population, and agriculture. Completion of the first phase of the project has made Lesotho almost completely self-sufficient in the production of electricity and generated approximately $24 million annually from the sale of electricity and water to South Africa. The World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and many other bilateral donors financed the project. Lesotho has taken advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to become the largest exporter of garments to the US from sub-Saharan Africa. Exports totaled over $320 million in 2002. Employment reached over 50,000, marking the first time that manufacturing sector workers outnumbered government employees. Asian investors own most factories.

Lesotho has nearly 6,000 kilometers of unpaved and modern all-weather roads. There is a short freight rail line linking Lesotho with South Africa that is owned and operated by South Africa.

The official currency is the loti (plural: maloti), but can be used interchangeably with the South African rand. Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, and South Africa also form a common currency and exchange control area known as the Common Monetary Area (CMA). The loti is at par with the rand, while one hundred lisente equal one loti.

Lesotho is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), in which tariffs have been eliminated on the trade of goods between other member countries Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland.

Lesotho has received economic aid from a variety of sources, including the United States, the World Bank, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Germany.

Tourism is a slowly growing industry. A ski resort recently opened in the high Maluti mountains is drawing tourists from South Africa.

Significant levels of child labour exist in Lesotho, and the country is in the process of formulating an Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (APEC). This is expected to be adopted in the period 2006-2007 (see Child labour in Lesotho).

[edit] HIV/AIDS

With a shortage of trained personnel and medical supplies, Lesotho is severely afflicted by HIV/AIDS. According to recent estimates, the prevalence is about 29%, one of the highest in the world. The United Nations projects that this will rise to 36% within fifteen years, resulting in a sharp drop in life expectancy. According to the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics, in 2001 life expectancy was estimated at forty-eight years for men and fifty-six for women. Recent statistics estimate about thirty-seven years. Many children have lost parents. Traditionally lavish funerals leave survivors with another burden.

The government of Lesotho was initially slow to recognize the scale of the crisis, and its efforts to date in combating the spread of the disease have had limited success. In 1999, the government finalized its Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS, a diagram for addressing the education, prevention, counseling, and treatment needs of the populace. In late 2003, the government announced that it was forming a new National AIDS Commission to coordinate society-wide anti-AIDS activities. Also in 2003 the government hosted a SADC Extraordinary Summit on HIV/AIDS.

In 2005, programs for the distribution of anti-retrovirals were initiated. One such program is in Hlotse, Leribe at Tsepong Clinic which is part of Motebang Hospital. However, such programs remain limited in resources and have relatively few participants.

The government has also started a proactive program called "Know your status" to test for HIV everyone in the country who wants to be tested. The program is funded by the Clinton Foundation and started in June of 2006. Bill Clinton and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates visited Lesotho in July 2006 to assess its fight against AIDS. Dubbed "the two Bills" by the media, the two men visited the Mafeteng Hospital which is about 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of the capital, Maseru, to assess progress in public health endeavours funded by their respective foundations.

[edit] Taxation

The corporate income, capital gains, and branch tax rates are each 35 percent. Those dividends paid to non-residents and interest are subject to a 25 percent withholding tax. Resident companies that pay dividends must make an advance income tax payment of 53.8 percent, unless the dividends are paid out of manufacturing income or out of dividends paid by another resident company. Manufacturing companies pay no tax on dividends and enjoy a special income tax rate of 25 percent. Repatriated income is subject to a 25 percent tax.

[edit] Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Lesotho

Lesotho's geographic location makes it extremely vulnerable to political and economic developments in South Africa. It is a member of many regional economic organizations including the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). It is also active in the United Nations (UN), the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth, and many other international organizations.

South Africa, the United States, Libya, Ireland, China, Botswana and the European Union all currently retain resident diplomatic missions in Lesotho. The British High Commission closed in 2005 and the UK is now represented in Lesotho by its High Commissioner resident in South Africa. The UN is represented by a resident mission as well, including UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, FAO, WFP, and UNAIDS.

Historically, Lesotho has maintained generally close ties with the United Kingdom (Wales in particular), Germany, the United States and other Western states. Although in 1990 it broke relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and re-established relations with Taiwan, it later restored ties with the PRC.

Lesotho also recognises the State of Palestine.^{[citation needed]} In the past, it was a strong public supporter of the end of apartheid in South Africa and granted a number of South African refugees political asylum during the apartheid era.

[edit] Culture

Traditional musical instruments include lekolulo, a kind of flute used by herding boys, setolo-tolo, played by men using their mouth, and the women's stringed thomo.

The national anthem of Lesotho is "Lesotho Fatše La Bo-ntata Rona," which literally translates into "Lesotho, Land Of Our Fathers."

The Morija Arts & Cultural Festival is a prominent Sotho music festival. It is held annually in the historical town of Morija, where the first missionaries arrived in 1833.

See also: Music of Lesotho and List of writers from Lesotho

[edit] Human rights

Lesotho is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. King Letsie III is the chief of state but has no executive authority. In 2002, Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili was reelected in what were judged to be free and fair elections. The government works to respect the civil and human rights of its citizens; however some serious abuses were reported in the past year. Police and security forces have been known to use excessive force and torture against detainees, often with impunity. The judiciary is subject to external influences and due process cannot be guaranteed. Lengthy pretrial detention and long delays in trial are problems. Child labor and discrimination against persons with disabilities and HIV/AIDS are other known abuses committed in the region.

[edit] People

[edit] Population

Lesotho's population totals close to 2.3 million, according to recent estimates. The population distribution of Lesotho is 19 percent urban and 81 percent rural. Population density is lower in the highlands than in the western lowlands. Although the majority of the population -- 57.6 percent -- is between 15 and 64 years of age, Lesotho has a substantial youth population numbering around 37 percent.

[edit] Ethnic groups and languages

Lesotho's ethno-linguistic structure consists almost entirely of the Sotho, a Bantu-speaking people. The Kwena are the largest subgroup of the Sotho; other Sotho subgroups include the Natal (North) Nguni, the Mahlape, and the Cape (South) Nguni (Thembu). The Southern Sotho (Sesotho) and English languages are both official. Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa and French are also spoken.

[edit] Religion

Roman Catholics, the largest religious group, make up more than two-fifths of the population; smaller groups include the Lesotho Evangelical Church which comprises more than one-fourth of the population; Anglican, one-ninth; and other Christian and tribal religions.

[edit] Education and literacy

An estimated 85 percent of the population age 15 and over was literate, according the recent estimates. As such, Lesotho boasts one of the higher literacy rates in Africa. Although education is not compulsory, the Government of Lesotho is incrementally implementing a program for free primary education. It was expected that the program would be fully in place by 2006.

[edit] Health and welfare

In terms of health and welfare, life expectancy at birth in Lesotho it 34.47 years of age and the infant mortality rate is 84.23 deaths per 1,000 live births. Population growth is 0.08 percent. Lesotho is also home to one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates of over 30 percent. Significant mortality due to AIDS can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.

[edit] Human development

One notable indicator used to measure a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 177 countries and territories, the HDI places Lesotho in the low human development category, at 149th place. NOTE: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.

[edit] See also

• Communications in Lesotho
• List of Basotho companies
• List of Lesotho-related topics
• Military of Lesotho
• National University of Lesotho
• National University of Lesotho International School
• Transportation in Lesotho
• Lesotho Scouts Association

[edit] External links

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Government

• Lesotho Government Online official government site

Kingdomgateway

• Gateway to Lesotho Gateway to the Mountain Kingdom

News

• allAfrica - Lesotho news headline links
• Quarterly Summary of Events in Lesotho compiled from newspapers and radio stations

Overviews

• Rural poverty in Lesotho (IFAD)
• BBC News - Country Profile: Lesotho
• CIA World Factbook - Lesotho
• Open Directory Project - Lesotho directory category
• US State Department - Lesotho includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
• Transformation Resource Centre - Human rights NGO in Lesotho with extensive

Tourism

• Lesotho travel guide from Wikitravel

Geographic locale

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