Yearbook 2011
Lesotho. During the year, the legal aftermath of the 2009 assassination attempt on Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili began. Seven suspected lego nectars from Mozambique and South Africa were released from South Africa in April, where they have been arrested since shortly after the fire attack on Mosisili’s home. According to Countryaah official site, together with two other men arrested in Lesotho after the attack, they were charged with a total of 31 points for murder, attempted murder, robbery and kidnapping. Their lawyers appealed against the charges on the grounds that the extradition procedure was not successful, but a judge found in October that there were no barriers to a trial. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of LSO that stands for the country of Lesotho.
Following mediation by church communities and the regional cooperation organization SADC, the government party and opposition in April agreed on a new electoral law that would eliminate the risk of conflicts of the kind that occurred after the 2007 parliamentary elections, when a number of parties’ technical election cooperation led to bitter disagreement over the distribution of seats. Now the parties are forbidden to enter into temporary alliances during the electoral movements.
Economic conditions
The Lesotho is in conditions of extreme backwardness and the possibilities of development are strongly compromised by the marked imbalance existing between the growth rates of the population and those of the productive apparatus. Furthermore, the fate of the country depends almost completely on the Republic of South Africa which, in addition to offering – as already mentioned – the possibility of work for many Lesothian immigrants (whose remittances contribute to form 45% of GDP), intervenes with substantial financial aid.. However, as a result of this link, the country was affected, during the 1980s, by the recession period that occurred across the border, as well as, more recently (1996), by the devaluation of the South African rand, to which the Lesotho ( the loti) is linked according to a relationship of parity. This condition of virtual dependence, on the other hand,
In an attempt to overcome the economic emergency in the country and despite internal political tensions, in 1988 the government authorities launched a series of economic measures, agreed with the IMF, to launch development programs, and already in the mid-1990s the national income recorded a moderate increase (113.6% in 1994, 112.6% in 1995). In 1996 the IMF granted the country an additional credit: on the structural level the counterpart of this new aid was the dismantling of agricultural regulations, the reform of the tax system, the control of public spending and the continuation of privatizations.
Corn, wheat and sorghum are the main agricultural crops, but their production is scarce and does not even allow to satisfy internal consumption. The livestock farm supplies the only products intended for export (wool, mohair, live cattle), but pastoral overload and agricultural exploitation produce serious phenomena of soil degradation, which progressively restrict the area destined for other uses and attempts are made to limit with a reforestation campaign. Small quantities of diamonds and other precious stones are mined underground, but the sector is in decline. Manufacturing activities are scarce and oriented towards the transformation of agricultural products.
The main development prospect of the country is based on its considerable water availability, which, thanks to the large hydraulic project called Lesotho highlands water scheme (whose overall implementation is scheduled for 2020), should favor agriculture, ensure energy self-sufficiency. and allow the sale of energy to South Africa. Currently, four of the different dams planned on the Orange River have been built, despite the lively opposition of local populations, scientists and environmental associations, who report the risks of an excessive depletion of the water resources of the Lesotho, to the exclusive advantage of the Republic of South Africa.