Overview

Lesotho, 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." The Kingdom of Lesotho is made up mostly of highlands where many of the villages can be reached only on horseback, by foot or light aircraft.

While much of the tiny country, with spectacular canyons and thatched huts, remains untouched by modern machines, developers have laid down roads to reach its mineral and water resources. Major construction work has been under way in recent years to create the Lesotho Highlands Water Project to supply South Africa with fresh water. Resources are scarce - a consequence of the harsh environment of the highland plateau and limited agricultural space in the lowlands. So, Lesotho has been heavily dependent on the country which completely surrounds it - South Africa.

Sourcess:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesotho
The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1063291.stm

Short History

The present Lesotho emerged as a single 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.

The Basotho National Party (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. 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 government to reinstate his father (Moshoeshoe II) as head of state. In 1997, 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, the opposition political parties rejected the results.

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. 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. Pakalitha Mosisili is the current Prime Minister.

Sources:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesotho
The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1063291.stm

Economy

The economy of Lesotho is based on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing, and the earnings of laborers employed in South Africa. 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 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 nearly two-thirds of the country's income coming from the agricultural sector.

Water is Lesotho's only significant natural resource. It is being exploited through the 30-year, multi-billion dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which was initiated in 1986. The LHWP is designed to capture, store, and transfer water from the Orange River system and send it to South Africa's Free State and greater Johannesburg area, which features a large concentration of South African industry, population and agriculture. At the completion of the project, Lesotho should be almost completely self-sufficient in the production of electricity and also gain income from the sale of electricity to South Africa. The World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and many other bilateral donors are financing the project.

Until the political insecurity in September 1998, Lesotho's economy had grown steadily since 1992. The riots, however, destroyed nearly 80% of commercial infrastructure in Maseru and two other major towns in the country, having a disastrous effect on the country's economy. Nonetheless, the country has completed several IMF Structural Adjustment Programs, and inflation declined substantially over the course of the 1990s. Lesotho's trade deficit, however, is quite large, with exports representing only a small fraction of imports.

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, which also include Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, and South Africa also form a common currency and exchange control area known as the Rand Monetary Area that uses the South African Rand as the common currency.

Sources:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesotho
The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1063291.stm

Culture

Most of Lesotho's people belong to the Sotho ethnic group. About one sixth of the population is Zulu, and there are small minorities of Asians, Europeans, and people of mixed ancestry. Sotho, a Bantu language, and English are the official languages. Christianity is the official religion, though a small fraction of the population follows traditional beliefs.

The contradictions created by Lesotho's political independence and economic dependence are reflected in the cultural life of the country. Despite the country's increasing urbanization and the growth of modern institutions and bureaucracy, the overall objective of the Sotho is to build the rural homestead and perpetuate traditional institutions. The people remain loyal to the system of chieftaincy, although this traditional level of leadership has been discredited by the international community. Institutions such as initiation schools, which perpetuate traditional values, are still significant but are changing in structure and declining in importance.

The historical traditions and legacy of Mshweshwe, founder of the nation, remain strong, and there is national pride in Lesotho's history of resistance, the role of the Sotho in building modern southern Africa, and the achievements of such writers as Thomas Mofolo and such composers as Joshua Pulumo Mohapeloa. The newspaper Leselinyana la Lesotho has been published for more than a century, and printing presses at mission stations, such as the Morija Press, have made a substantial contribution to the religious and educational literature of southern Africa.

Sporting activities are extremely popular, even given the low income level of the country. Football (soccer) is the most widely played sport in Lesotho, but because many of its best players go to South Africa for economic gain, Lesotho does not excel in international competition. Horse racing is an athletic competition important to rural social life.

Sources:
Travel Document System – http://www.traveldocs.com/ls/culture.htm
Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-203774

Tourism

Ringed by mountains, Lesotho’s rugged landscape is one of the most beautiful and austere on the African continent. The entire country is more than a thousand meters above sea level; it is fittingly known as the Kingdom of the Sky. Out on the highlands, the sky is enormous, and the air crisp and pure. Hiking and pony-trekking are the two best ways to see the country’s lovely scenery (which is almost entirely free of fences) and experience the friendliness of its inhabitants. Most of the Basotho still live traditional, simple lives in the foothills of their mountainous land. A journey and visit through Lesotho allows visitors to observe an African country that remains natural and uncontrived by tourism.

As a mountain kingdom, Lesotho’s sparse biomes support far fewer species of animals than the grasslands of eastern Africa. However, for the true nature lover it will be no small compensation that Lesotho’s animal species are very specialized to their mountain environment. Rhebok and Mountain Reedbuck frequent the Lesotho mountain ranges, while Eland can be spotted in the Drakensberg. Baboons and jackals can be seen on treks around the landscapes, but smaller animals – rock hyraxes, mongooses, and meerkats – are more numerous and diverse, and probably the most interesting animals to study in Lesotho. Lesotho’s birdlife attracts more nature lovers to the country than its wildlife. Although less than 300 bird species occur in Lesotho, many of these are mountain rarities: the sentinel rock-thrush, the orange-breasted rockjumper and the Drakensberg siskin, to name a few. Birds that are not rarities in Lesotho are often spectacularly featured; the bearded vulture and the black eagle among them

Lesotho has only one major national park – the Sehlabathebe National Park. It has little wildlife, but its scenery is stunningly beautiful and its atmosphere tranquil and serene. In 2001, Sehlabathebe was linked with South Africa's Natal Drakensberg park to create the Maluti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area. This peace park is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique habitats and high degrees of endemism, as well as the greatest gallery of rock art in the world.

Tourist accommodation is being continually developed. Maseru has a number of international hotels and a variety of restaurants, while other areas offer smaller hotel and alpine lodge accommodation. For the growing backpacker demand, there are inns and youth hostels as well as traditional Basotho-thatched rondavels.

Go to Africa: http://www.go2africa.com/lesotho/activities.asp

HIV/AIDS

With a shortage of trained personnel and medical supplies, Lesotho is severely afflicted by HIV/AIDS. Approximately one in five adults is infected with HIV. HIV prevalence among urban adults aged 15-49 years is 29% in comparison to 22% in rural areas. Approximately 13 780 women and 12 480 men were newly infected during 2005. Overall, trends indicate that adult prevalence is stabilizing and not declining. The epidemic has a mature pattern, with a high case-fatality ratio, many orphans and vulnerable children, increasing mother-to-child transmission, decreasing life expectancy, declining productivity affecting the national economy and very demands on the healthcare system.

As many as 40 per cent of women aged 20 to 39 have HIV in Lesotho. The situation in Lesotho, the world's fourth highest H.I.V. infection rate, mirrors the catastrophe barreling through sub-Saharan Africa. A confluence of factors -- including culture and the destitution that turns sex into currency -- has transformed AIDS here from an indiscriminate killer into a plague against women.

The Prime Minister and his government have demonstrated strong political leadership through the establishment of the National AIDS Commission by parliamentary legislation in August 2005. Programs for the distribution of anti-retrovirals have been initiated. However, such programs remain limited in resources and have relatively few participants. One of the key social mobilization events of the year was the launch of the Operational Plan of the "Know Your Status" campaign by His Majesty King Letsie III on World AIDS Day which further expresses the government's desire to accelerate and scale up the national response. A series of catalytic activities to address the challenges faced by women in the context of AIDS were undertaken under the leadership of the Ministry of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation.

Lesotho is the recipient of US$ 29 million for HIV and AIDS over a five year period and a World Bank Grant worth US$ 5 million for a HIV capacity-building and technical assistance project. In addition to these contributions, Lesotho is receiving support for HIV and AIDS initiatives from the UN system, Clinton Foundation and renowned institutions such as Bristol-Myers Squibb. Significant amounts of funds are available for HIV and more opportunities for funding exist than in previous years due to the sharing of Lesotho's peculiar challenges by the international community (the UN system) and other development partners. As a result, there is a need to urgently step up the pace implementing the Global Fund grant, increase the absorption capacity of the funds and ensure that any resources for HIV and AIDS are used efficiently.

Severe attrition of key staff specifically in the health sector poses a threat to scaling up responses to prevention, treatment, care and support. The country continues to lose its professionals seeking better service conditions at an alarmingly high rate. A more effective and comprehensive involvement of civil society and the private sector is required if Lesotho is to make universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support a reality.

Sources:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesotho
UNAIDS: http://www.unaids.org/en/Regions_Countries/Countries/lesotho.asp
The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/
World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/hiv/HIVCP_LSO.pdf