Figure 1.--Livestock husbandry is a mainstay of Lesotho's economy. This 1970 photograph shows Lesotho shepard boys having a "sword" fight with sticks. They used one stick as a shield and the other to actually fight. |
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Lesotho is a land-locked, mountaneous kingdom completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa.
The country's name means the "land of the people who speak Sotho".
The population is mostly Sotho-speaking Basuto. Bauto is the principal tribal group. The country became a British protecorate (1868). The British called it Basutoland. The country became independent as a constitutional monarcy (1966). The country's name was changed to Lesotho. King Moshoeshoe reigned as the Basuto National Party dominated elections and governed for the first two decades of independence. The military seized power (1986). The military government exiled King Moshoeshoe (1990), but he returned (1992). He was reinstated as monarch in 1995. Constitutional government was restored (1993). The country remained unstable politcally. Contested eklectins resilted in proteas amnd a military mutiny (1988). The Southern African Development Community oversaw a South African and Botswana military intervention. Lesotho is a poor country. The economy is based on farming and livestock. Lesotho hecily relied on remittances from miners employed in South Africa.There was what was called the Great Basuto Migration each year when the men went to South Africa to work in the mines. The number of these mineworkers has declined steadily in recent years. Customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union (a artifact of British rule) provided most of government revenue. The Government in recent years .has moved to strengthened its tax system so as not to be so dependent on customs duties. Lesotho completed a major hydropower facility (January 1998). This has made possible the sale of water to South Africa and generated royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho now produces about 90 percent of its electrical power needs. Small-scale manufacturing based on farm products is developing and supports the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. There is also a growing apparel-assembly industry. This has benefitted from trade benefits through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. Despite the diversification in recent yeas, Lesotho's economy is still centered on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock. Drought has adversely affected the agricultural sector. The ecomomy continues to be aflicted by a concentration of wealth and
inequality in the distribution of income. . Sotho is used in Lesotho primary schools, but English is used in the secondary schools. The country has one of the world's highest rates of AIDs infections.
Lesotho is a land-locked, mountaneous kingdom completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa.
The country's name means the "land of the people who speak Sotho". The population is mostly Sotho-speaking Basuto. Bauto is the principal tribal group.
The country became a British protecorate (1868). The British called it Basutoland. The country became independent as a constitutional monarcy (1966). The country's name was changed to Lesotho. King Moshoeshoe reigned as the Basuto National Party dominated elections and governed for the first two decades of independence. The military seized power (1986). The military government exiled King Moshoeshoe (1990), but he returned (1992). He was reinstated as monarch in 1995. Constitutional government was restored (1993). The country remained unstable politcally. Contested eklectins resilted in proteas amnd a military mutiny (1988). The Southern African Development Community oversaw a South African and Botswana military intervention. Lesotho is a poor country.
The economy is based on farming and livestock. Lesotho hevily relied on remittances from miners employed in South Africa.There was what was called the Great Basuto Migration each year when the men went to South Africa to work in the mines. The number of these mineworkers has declined steadily in recent years. Customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union (a artifact of British rule) provided most of government revenue. The Government in recent years .has moved to strengthened its tax system so as not to be so dependent on customs duties. Lesotho completed a major hydropower facility (January 1998). This has made possible the sale of water to South Africa and generated royalties for Lesotho. Lesotho now produces about 90 percent of its electrical power needs. Small-scale manufacturing based on farm products is developing and supports the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. There is also a growing apparel-assembly industry. This has benefitted from trade benefits through the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. Despite the diversification in recent yeas, Lesotho's economy is still centered on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock. Drought has adversely affected the agricultural sector. The ecomomy continues to be aflicted by a concentration of wealth and inequality in the distribution of income.
Sotho is used in Lesotho primary schools, but English is used in the secondary schools.
The country has one of the world's highest rates of AIDs infections. The reason for this as in much of African is resistance to the use of condunms.
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