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LESOTHO
Officialname:‘MusooaLesotho(Sotho);KingdomofLesotho(English)
Formofgov’t:constitutionalmonarchywithtwolegislativehouses(Senate[33nonelectedseats];NationalAssembly[120])
HeadofstateKingLetsieIII Headofgov’t:PrimeMinisterThomasMotsoahaeThabane
Capital:Maseru Officiallanguages:Sotho,English
Officialreligion:Christianity
Monetaryunit:loti(pluralmaloti)
Population:1,913,000 Totalarea:(sqmi)11,720Urban-ruralpopulationUrban:26.8%Rural:73.2% Lifeexpectancy:Male:52.8yearsFemale:53years Literacy:Male:83.3%Female:95.6%GNIpercapita:(U.S.$)1,280
Introduction ThesmallsouthernAfricankingdomofLesothoiscompletelysurroundedbytheRepublicofSouthAfrica,thoughseparatedfromitbyformidablemountains.Formanyyearsaftergainingtheirindependencein1966,thepeopleofthisformerBritishprotectoratesufferedfrompoliticalturbulence,economiccrises,andagrowingincidenceofHIV/AIDS.Inthe1990s,however,thecountrybeganaseriesofdevelopmentprojectsthathelpedimprovetheinfrastructureandeconomy.AriseintourismandaninfluxofforeigncurrencyalsohelpedimproveconditionsinLesotho.LandandClimateTheMalotiandDrakensbergmountainranges,whichriseover11,000feet,coverabouttwothirdsofthecountry’stotalarea.SomostofthepeopleliveinthelowlandsalongLesotho’swesternside.Thehighestpeak,MountNtlenyana,is11,424feet(3,482metres)abovesealevel.AplateauformedbythemountainrangesintheeastisthesourceoftwoofSouthAfrica’slargestrivers—theTugelaandtheOrange.OtherimportantriversinLesothoincludetheSenqunyane,whichflowsthroughcentralLesotho;theKomotspruit,locatedinthesouthwest;andtheMatsoku,whichflowsthroughthenortheast.Thelowlandclimateistemperate,withcoolwintersandwarmsummers.Temperaturesrangefromalowofabout20° Finthewintertoahighof90° Finthesummer.MostprecipitationfallsbetweenOctoberandApril,withanannualaverageofroughly28inches.PeopleandCultureMostofLesotho’speoplebelongtotheSothoethnicgroup.AboutonesixthofthepopulationisZulu,andtherearesmallminoritiesofAsians,Europeans,andpeopleofmixedancestry.Sotho,aBantulanguage,andEnglisharetheofficiallanguages.Christianityistheofficialreligion,thoughasmallfractionofthepopulationfollowstraditionalbeliefs.
Morethanfourfifthsofthepopulationisrural.Mountainandruralpeopleliveinfamilycompoundsmadeupofonefamilyextendingoverseveralgenerations.Thevillagesareclustersofhutsmadeofearthandstonewiththatchedorcorrugatedironroofs.Incontrast,urbancentersofferablendoftraditionalandWesternculture.Maseruishometomarketsofferingtraditionalgoodsaswellasmodernhotelsandnightclubs.EducationisimportanttotheSotho,whohaveoneofthehighestliteracyratesinAfrica.Almostthreequartersoftheadultpopulationcanreadandwrite.Allprimaryeducationisfree,andmostschoolsarerunbyChristianchurches.TheNationalUniversityofLesothoinMaseruoffersopportunitiesforhighereducation. EconomyAgriculture,industry,andconstructionformthebasisofLesotho’seconomy.Though,inordertomakeabetterliving,muchofthelaborforcecrossesthebordertoworkinSouthAfrica.Moneybroughtinfromtheseworkerscontributedroughlytwo-thirdsofthegrossnationalproductintheearly1990s,butdecreasedemploymentopportunitiesinSouthAfricaledtoanotabledeclineinthismoney.Roughlytwothirdsofthelaborforceworksinagriculture,eventhoughonlyonetenthofthelandissuitableforcrop-growingbecauseofthemountainousterrain.Corn(maize),fruit,sorghum,androotsandtubersareraised.Abouttwothirdsofthelandisusedasmeadowsandpasturesforherdsofcattle,sheep,andgoats.Agriculturalgoodsexportedincludemohair,wool,andhides,butLesothomustimportmostoftheproductsthatareusedinthecountry.
Naturalresourcesarelimited,anddiamondsaretheonlymineralproduced.BecauseofthelackofresourcesLesothoisoneoftheworld’spoorestcountries.ItreliesonforeignaidandisheavilydependentonSouthAfricaforfoodandmostconsumergoods.Lesothoisfurtherburdenedbya
growingincidenceofHIV/AIDS.AlmostonethirdofthetotalpopulationwaslivingwithHIVbytheendof2001.GovernmentThe1993constitutionestablishedLesothoasaparliamentaryconstitutionalmonarchy–oneofonlythreekingdomsleftinAfrica.Ahereditarymonarchservesaschiefofstate.However,thispositionismostlyasymbolicone.Thegovernmentisheadedbyaprimeministerandacabinet.Theparliamentisabicameral,ortwo-chambered,legislaturecomposedofa120-memberNationalAssemblyanda33-memberSenate.Representativestotheassemblyareelectedtoservefive-yearterms;senatorsareappointedbythemajoritypartyintheassembly.TheHighCourtservesasthecountry’shighestcourt.ThereisalsoaCourtofAppeal,aswellasnumerouslowercourts.HistoryTheBasothonationwasformedintheearly1800sunderKingMoshoeshoeIwhenseveralAfricangroups,whoweredisplacedbytheZulunation,soughtrefugeintheMalotimountains.Later,duetoconflictswithBoers,orDutch-speakingwhitesettlers,MoshoeshoeaskedforandreceivedtheprotectionoftheBritishCrownin1868.ThelandultimatelycameunderdirectBritishcontrol.In1960theBasutolandCouncilwasformed.In1965ChiefLeabuaJonathanwaschosenprimeminister.Thefollowingyear,thecountrygainedindependence,withKingMoshoeshoeIIasheadofstate.Thoughafteritsfirstpost-independenceelections,Lesothowasrockedby
corruptionandmilitarytakeovers(includingsevenyearsofmilitaryrule)andtheexileofKingMoshoeshoeII.Constitutionalgovernmentwasfinallyrestoredin1993after23yearsofauthoritarianrule.TheheadoftheBasotholandCongresspartybecameprimeminister.KingMoshoeshoeIIwasrestoredtothethronebutdiedtwoyearslaterlater,replacedbyLetsieIII.In1998BathuelPakalithaMosisili,leaderoftheLesothoCongressforDemocracyparty,becameprimeministerfollowinghisparty’svictoryinparliamentaryelections.Oppositionpartiesquestionedtheresultsoftheelection,however,andwidespreadriotingoccurred.TroopsfromSouthAfricaandBotswanaeventuallyhelpedrestoreorder.Asaresultoftheunrest,anInterimPoliticalAuthoritywasestablishedtoreviewthevotingprocedures.Underanewsystemdevelopedbytheauthority,Mosisiliwaselectedin2002toasecondfive-yearterm.Andin2005localgovernmentelectionswereheldforthefirsttimesinceindependence.FUNFACTS
• Itisoneofonlythreecountriesintheworldthatareenclavedwithinanothercountry;theothertwoareSanMarinoandVaticanCity,bothlocatedwithinItaly.
• ThelowestpointabovesealevelinLesothois1500metres,makingitthecountrywiththehighestlowpointintheworld.
• TheKatseDamisthehighestdaminAfrica(thesurfacereaches2050metreswhenat100%full)andwith185metresisthesecondlargestdamwallinAfrica.
• TraditionaldressincludesthetheBasothoBlanket.ThiscolorfulblanketisnotonlyusedtoprotecttheBasothoagainstthecold,butisalsowornasastatussymbolandculturalidentification.
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