Geography
Lesotho
is a small country lying towards the Southern tip of Africa. At
30 355 kmsq in area, Lesotho is one of the smallest countries within the African
Continent. She has an arable land slightly less than 9%. It is situated
between 28 degrees and 31 degrees South and between 27 degrees and 30 degrees
East. This geographical setting puts Lesotho right within the
Republic of South Africa, where to the North and West shares its boundary with
the predominantly Sesotho and Afrikaans speaking Free State Province, to the South
is the predominantly Xhosa speaking Eastern Cape, and in the East is the
Zulu speaking province of Kwazulu-Natal. Over 75% of the country is
highland country, and the highest peak in Southern Africa, which is found in
Lesotho is Thabana-Ntlenyana and it is 3 482 meters high. The average
altitude of lowlands is between 1 000 and 1 800 meters, and this is where the
capital town Maseru lies, and where the majority of the population lives.
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The People
The emergence of Basotho as a nation
occurred around
1818 when King Moshoeshoe founder of the Basotho nation (1786-1870) formed
alliances with an amalgam of clans and chiefdoms of southern Sotho people who
occupied the area which is presently the Northern and Eastern Free State. Moshoeshoe was a pragmatic leader, who was able to forge unity among his people
and defeated his enemies through diplomacy, and military conquest, whenever
there was a need. He was also able to defeat the British and the Boers on
the battle field, but was later forced to seek British protection at a time when
the Boers were poised to take over Basotho land by force, and hence Lesotho was
declared a British protectorate on 18 March 1868.
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The Government
The Government is made up of the Executive,
the Legislature and the Judiciary. These three arms of government are
independent of one another, that is to say, they adhere to the doctrine of
separation of powers.
The organization of the executive can be broadly put into three distinct
categories: (a) the Monarchy (b) Elected and nominated members of
Parliament. The bi-cameral Parliament consists of elected MPs in the Lower
House and hereditary chiefs and nominated Senators in the Upper House (c) Appointed Officials.
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Economy
Lesotho's
major natural resource is water, often referred to as 'white gold' by
the Basotho people. During 1995 and 1997, wit intense construction
activities involving the multi-million Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Lesotho
registered an impressive economic performance - the real GDP growth rate made
Lesotho one of the top ten performers in Africa at this time. Completion
of a major dam and hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to
South Africa, generating royalties that will be important source of income for
Lesotho. The lessening economic contribution of the project as it nears completion will be more than offset by royalty payments from South Africa. For
the first time Lesotho now consumes her own electricity. The economy of Lesotho is based on subsistence farming and animal husbandry, as
well as small, medium to large-scale industries that include clothing, footwear and
textiles, electronic assembly.
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Tourism
Popular
descriptions of this rugged country, with its
majestic beauty and serene simplicity, are 'Mountain Kingdom' AND 'Kingdom in
the Sky'. Lesotho offers a very different toursim experience, with the
potential of the tourism sector lying in its natural beauty, rich flora and
fauna, and absorbing prehistoric and cultural heritage. The appeal of this
extraordinary country in rarely found in more commercialised destinations.
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