US DEPARTMENT OF STATE 
BACKGROUND NOTES:  LESOTHO

November 1990
OFFICIAL NAME:  KINGDOM OF LESOTHO

PROFILE 
Geography 
Area:  30,350 sq. km. (11,718 sq. mi.); about the size of Maryland.  
Cities:  Capital-Maseru (pop. 109,382).  Other cities-Teyateyaneng 
(14,251), Leribe (9,595), Mafeteng (12,667), Mohale's Hoek (8,526).  
Terrain:  High veld, plateau and mountains.  Climate:  Temperate; 
summers hot, winters cool to cold; humidity generally low and evenings 
cool year round.  Rainy season in summer, winters dry.

People 
Nationality:  Noun-Mosotho (sing.); Basotho (pl.) Adjective-Basotho.  
Population (1988):  1,666,000.  Annual growth rate (1987):  2.7%.  
Ethnic groups:  Basotho 99.7%; Europeans 1,700; Asians, 900.  Religions:  
Roman Catholic (majority), Lesotho Evangelical, Anglican, other 
denominations.  Languages:  English, Sesotho.  Education:  Years 
compulsory-None.  Literacy-59%.  Health:  Infant mortality rate (1988)-
83/1000.  Life expectancy-60 years.  Work force-650,000.  Farming-40%.  
Manufacturing and services-6%.  Government-4%.  Migrant workers-27%.  
Unemployed-23%.

Government 
Type:  Military regime and constitutional monarchy with king as head of 
state.  Constitution:  Suspended in 1970.  Independence:  October 4, 
1966.
Branches:  Executive-Military council/civilian cabinet.  Legislative-In 
early 1986, by decree of the ruling military council, legislative (and 
executive) power was concentrated in the person of the king, subject to 
the advice of the military council.  Judicial-Court of Appeals, High 
Court, Magistrate Courts, Customary Courts.
Administrative subdivisions:  10 districts.
Political parties:  By decree of the ruling military council in early 
1986, political activities, but not political parties, were banned 
indefinitely; Basotho National Party (BNP), Basutoland Congress Party 
(BCP), Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP), United Democratic Party (UDP).  
Suffrage:  Married men and women of all ages, singles over 21.  No 
national elections since 1970.
Central government budget (1988-89):  $226.8 million.
Public order, safety, and defense (1988-89):  18% of government budget.
Flag:  Diagonal fields of green and blue with a traditional Basotho 
shield on a diagonal field of white occupying remaining half of flag.

Economy 
GNP (1988):  $739 million.  Annual growth rate (1987-88):  8.5%.  Per 
capita GNP:  $446.  Avg. inflation rate (1988):  11.4%.
Natural resources:  Some diamonds and other minerals, water, 
agricultural and grazing land.
Agriculture (20% of GDP):  Products-corn, wheat sorghum, peas, beans, 
asparagus, meat, wool, mohair.  Arable land-13%.
Industry (14.6% of GDP):  Types-Processing of agricultural products, 
handicrafts, cottage industry weaving, apparel manufacture (clothing, 
shoes etc.), primarily for export.
Trade (1988):  Exports-$60 million:  wool, mohair, peas, beans, 
asparagus.  Major markets-South Africa (approximately 85%), Europe, US.  
Imports-$500 million:  agricultural commodities and products, 
manufactured goods of all types, machinery.  Major suppliers-South 
Africa (approximately 95%), Europe.
Fiscal year:  April 1-March 31.
Economic aid received (1987):  $74 million.  Primary donors-US, EEC, 
FRG, UK, World Bank, UNDP, Ireland.  US AID-$9.6 million.

Membership in International Organizations 

UN and some of its specialized and related agencies, including the World 
Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), General Agreement on Tariffs 
and Trade (GATT); Commonwealth, Nonaligned Movement, Organization of 
African Unity (OAU), the Group of 77.  Regional groups: Southern African 
Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), the Southern African 
Customs Union (SACU), the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) of East and 
Southern Africa States, and the Rand Monetary Area (RMA).

HISTORY 

Basutoland (now Lesotho-pronounced le-SOO-too) was sparsely populated by 
bushmen (Qhuaique) until the end of the 16th century.  Between the 16th 
and 19th centuries, refugees from surrounding areas gradually formed the 
Basotho ethnic group.

In 1818, Moshoeshoe (pronounced mo-SHWAY-shway) I, consolidated various 
Basotho groupings and became their king.  During his reign (1823-1870), 
a series of wars with South Africa (1856-68) resulted in the loss of 
extensive lands, now known as the "Lost Territory."  Moshoeshoe appealed 
to Queen Victoria for assistance, and in 1868, the country was placed 
under British protection.

In 1955, the Basutoland Council asked that it be empowered to legislate 
on internal affairs, and in 1959, a new constitution gave Basutoland its 
first elected legislature.  General elections with universal adult 
suffrage were held in April 1965.  The Basutoland National Party (BNP) 
won 31 of 60 seats in the legislature; the Basutoland Congress Party 
(BCP), 25 seats; and the Maramatlou Freedom Party (MFP), 4 seats.  On 
October 4, 1966, the new Kingdom of Lesotho attained full independence 
as a constitutional monarchy with an elected bicameral parliament 
consisting of a 60-seat National Assembly and a 33-seat Senate.

Early results of the January 27, 1970, election-the first held after 
independence-indicated that the ruling BNP might lose control.  Citing 
election irregularities, Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan nullified the 
elections, declared a national state of emergency, suspended the 
constitution, and dissolved the parliament.  An appointed interim 
national assembly was established in 1973.  With an overwhelming 
progovernment majority, it was largely the instrument of the BNP, led by 
Prime Minister Jonathan.  Opposition to the government produced violence 
and internal disorder which, in 1986, led to a military takeover.  In 
addition to the Jonathan regime's alienation of Basotho power brokers 
and the population, South Africa had virtually closed the land borders 
because of concerns over African National Congress (ANC) cross-border 
operations and was publicly threatening more direct action if the 
Jonathan government did not root out ANC presence in Lesotho.

Under a January 1986 Military Council decree, the state executive and 
legislative powers were given to the king.  He was to act on the advice 
of the Military Council, a self-appointed group of the leaders of the 
Royal Lesotho Defense Force (RLDF) who carried out the 1986 coup.  All 
political party activity was suspended.  A military government chaired 
by Justin Lekhanya ruled Lesotho in coordination with King Moshoeshoe II 
and a civilian cabinet appointed by the king.

In February 1990, King Moshoeshoe II was stripped of his executive and 
legislative powers and exiled by Lekhanya, and some members of the 
Military Council and the Council of Ministers were purged.  Lekhanya 
accused those involved of undermining discipline within the armed 
forces, subverting existing authority, and causing an impasse on foreign 
policy which had been damaging to Lesotho's image abroad.  Lekhanya 
announced the establishment of a National Constituent Assembly to 
formulate a new constitution for Lesotho with the aim of returning the 
country to democratic, civilian rule by June 1992.

After attempts at negotiating the king's return to Lesotho failed, 
Lekhanya announced in November 1990 that a new law would henceforth 
provide that the king shall be a constitutional monarch and head of 
state and that King Moshoeshoe had ceased being king and head of state.  
Later that month, Moshoeshoe's son was installed as King Letsie III.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS 

Lesotho is ruled by a military council and has a military/civilian 
cabinet.  The Military Council sets broad outlines of government policy 
and overseas policy implementation carried out by the cabinet (Council 
of Ministers).  Political party activity is still suspended, and there 
have been no national elections since 1970.  By the 1986 Military 
Council decree, legislative and executive power had been concentrated in 
the person of the king, but then-King Moshoeshoe II was stripped of his 
powers in February 1990.  The cabinet, consisting of civilians and 
several senior RLDF officers, had been appointed by the king.

In February 1990, the military government established a task force to 
work out the details of democratizing the country.  The task force 
recommended the establishment of a 109-member National Constituent 
Assembly representing a broad range of social and political opinion.  
Development of a new national constitution acceptable to the majority of 
the Basotho people is the major task of the assembly, but it was also 
charged with reviewing the position and powers of the king, the status 
of the traditional chieftainships, and the role of the army and 
political parties under a new constitution.  The National Constituent 
Assembly convened in June 1990.

For administrative purposes, Lesotho is divided into 10 districts, each 
headed by a district secretary and a district military officer appointed 
by the central government and the RLDF, respectively.

Lesotho's highest court is the Court of Appeals, which exercises limited 
appellate jurisdiction.  The High Court has unlimited original 
jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters.  Subordinate courts 
administer statute law, and paramount chiefs administer customary tribal 
laws.
Principal Government Officials Head of State-King Letsie III Head of 
Government and Chairman of the Military Council and Council of 
Ministers-Maj. Gen. Justin M. Lekhanya Military Council Members-Brig. 
Benedict M. Lerotholi, Col. Jacob M. Jane, Col. Elias P. Ramaema, Lt. 
Col. Ernest M. Mokete, Col. Michael N. Ts'otetsi Ambassador to the 
United States-William Thabo Van Tonder Permanent Representative and 
Ambassador to the United Nations-M.P. Phoofolo

Lesotho maintains an embassy in the United States at 2511 Massachusetts 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (Tel. 202-797-5533).  Lesotho's mission to 
the United Nations is at 204 East 39th Street, NY, NY 10016 (Tel. 212-
661-1690).

DEFENSE 

The Royal Lesotho Defense Force (RLDF) is the primary armed service in 
the country.  Made up of about 2,000 officers and enlisted men and 
women, the RLDF is administratively based in the capital city Maseru 
with smaller tactical bases scattered throughout the country.  The RLDF 
has six separate light infantry companies and a small composite air 
squadron.  The RLDF's principal mission includes defense of Lesotho's 
borders and antiterrorist activities.  It also has responsibility for 
crime prevention (along with the nearly 2,000 members of the Royal 
Lesotho Mounted Police Force) and civic action programs.

The United States has an active International Military Education and 
Training (IMET) program with the government of Lesotho.  The IMET 
program sends three or four RLDF officers each year to the United States 
in various military specialties.  A three-man British army training team 
is assigned to Lesotho and provides a range of in-country training.

ECONOMY 

Lesotho's economy is based on agriculture, livestock, manufacturing, and 
earnings of laborers employed in South Africa.  The people of Lesotho 
live primarily in the western lowlands, the main agricultural zone.  
Much of the work force is employed from 3 to 9 months a year in South 
Africa in mining, farming, or industry.  At any given time, an estimated 
200,000 workers are absent from Lesotho.  Remittances from workers in 
South Africa totaled about $235 million in 1988.

About 360,000 hectares (900,000 acres-13%) of the country are arable.  
Grazing rights are communal, but arable land is allocated to individuals 
and families by village and district chiefs.  Traditionally, most land 
was held in trust for the Basotho by the king and could not be given 
away.  Under the 1979 Land Tenure Act, however, the king could grant 99-
year leases.  Almost all agricultural produce is consumed domestically, 
and substantial amounts of food are imported from South Africa.

The Lesotho National Development Corporation encourages foreign 
investment.  The corporation has been successful in stimulating the 
establishment of light industries and in attracting investment in 
tourist facilities, including building a $12 million hotel.  Tourism is 
an attractive development option because of the country's scenery and 
healthful, pleasant climate.

The three-phase Highlands Water Project agreement signed in late 1986 
between the governments of South Africa and Lesotho represents one of 
the greatest investment and development opportunities for Lesotho in the 
near future.  Royalties, beginning in 1995 at about $12 million and 
tripling in the third phase, could be directed toward substantially 
raising the per capita GDP.  The project is a 30-year, $2 billion plan 
to divert water from the headwaters of several major river systems in 
Lesotho to the Witswatersrand region of South Africa.  Spin-off 
activities in road building, rural agriculture, electricity generation, 
fishing, and tourism will also be made possible.  The project will be 
financed by international lenders, including the World Bank, as well as 
by South African and Lesotho capital.

Lesotho has received economic assistance from a number of sources since 
independence, including the United States, the World Bank, the United 
Kingdom, the European Economic Community, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, 
Ireland, the Federal Republic of Germany, and South Africa.  Several UN 
specialized agencies and programs are active in Lesotho, including the 
UN Development Program, the World Health Organization, the Food and 
Agriculture Organization, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Lesotho has about 4,000 kilometers (2,400 mi) of paved, gravel, and 
earth roads and vehicle tracks.  A 92-kilometer (57-mi.) road along 
Lesotho's southern border was built with the help of the US Agency for 
International Development (AID).  Lesotho has an extensive network of 
horse trails for areas inaccessible to motor vehicles.

The country is linked with South Africa by a short rail line from Maseru 
to Marseilles on the Bloemfontein-Bethlehem line.  Elsewhere, the 
railway runs close to the territorial boundary, and goods can be 
transported by road to and from the nearest station in the Orange Free 
State.  Lesotho's traditional trade routes were complicated by the 
October 1976 South Africa-sponsored "independence" of the Transkei, 
which neither Lesotho nor any other UN member recognizes and whose 
territory Lesotho does not wish to transit.

Lesotho depends heavily on South Africa for trade as well as employment.  
Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, and South Africa belong to a 
customs union.  No tariffs exist on most goods moving among them.  South 
Africa levies and collects most of the customs, sales, and excise duties 
for the four countries, and it pays a share determined by a formula of 
total customs collections to the other three countries.  Imports from 
outside the customs union, regardless of ultimate destination, are 
subject to the same tariff rates.

The customs agreement was renegotiated in 1969, and Botswana, Lesotho, 
and Swaziland have substantially increased their share of the customs 
revenues.  In 1987-88, Lesotho received approximately 54% of its total 
government receipts as tariff revenues from the customs union.

Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, and South Africa also form a common 
currency and exchange control area known as the Rand Monetary Area which 
used the South African rand as common currency.  Lesotho introduced its 
own currency in 1980; on a par with the South African rand is the loti 
(plural: maloti), and 100 lisente equal one loti.

FOREIGN RELATIONS 

Lesotho's geographic location and economic dependence on South Africa 
make it very vulnerable to political and economic developments there.  
Following Lesotho's January 1986 coup, the new government indicated its 
willingness to be more sensitive to South African security concerns and 
has actively sought UN High Commissioner for Refugees and third-country 
assistance in providing resettlement for South African refugees.  
Although sharply critical of apartheid, the government of Lesotho cannot 
avoid vital economic and commercial ties with its neighbor and depends 
on it for transit, employment opportunities, and development 
cooperation.

The current regime has sought a more cooperative relationship with 
Pretoria.  One result of this improved bilateral atmosphere was the 
establishment of trade missions in the two countries.  Another result 
was the signature of an agreement in 1986 to proceed with the long-
planned Highlands Water Project.

Lesotho maintains very close relations with the United States, the 
United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, and other Western 
countries.  It also has excellent ties with a number of African states 
and is particularly close to Nigeria.  In 1983, Lesotho began to 
diversify its international contacts.  Following former Prime Minister 
Jonathan's May 1983 visit to Eastern Europe and Asia, the Soviet Union, 
the People's Republic of China (PRC), and North Korea were permitted to 
open embassies in Maseru.  Formal diplomatic relations with most East 
European countries have since been established, although only the Soviet 
Union has opened a resident diplomatic mission in Lesotho.

Following the 1986 coup, the North Korean embassy was closed, and 
regular diplomatic contact was suspended.  In 1990, Lesotho broke 
relations with the PRC and reestablished relations with Taiwan.  Other 
recent foreign policy initiatives have included recognition of Palestine 
as a state, the establishment of relations with Western Sahara and 
Namibia, and strong public support for negotiations in South Africa 
aimed at creating a new, post-apartheid society.

Lesotho remains active in the United Nations, Organization of African 
Unity, the Nonaligned Movement, and other international organizations.  
It also belongs to the Southern African Development Coordination 
Conference, whose purpose is to lessen the dependence of its members on 
neighboring South Africa, and to the Preferential Trade Area, an 
association of East and southern African states.

US-LESOTHO RELATIONS 

The United States has friendly relations with Lesotho and encourages the 
country's political, economic, and social development as a nonracial, 
democratic, independent nation.  Estimated US assistance to Lesotho for 
fiscal year 1989 was:  AID, $9.6 million; PL 480 (Food For Peace), $5.2 
million; and Peace Corps, 100 volunteers.

AID programs in Lesotho have focused principally on agriculture, primary 
education, child survival, family planning and private sector 
development.  Peace Corps volunteers work in secondary school education-
especially in mathematics and science curriculum development-vocational 
training, teacher training, horticulture, animal husbandry, health 
education, community and rural development, and employment generation 
projects.

Principal US Officials 
Ambassador-Vacant 
Deputy Chief of Mission-Steven Wagenseil 
Administrative Officer-Mike St. Clair
 Consular Officer-Alan Hutchings 
Public Affairs Office (USIS)-Douglas Ebner (Tel: 312335) 
Director, AID-Furman Towery (Tel: 313954)
Director, Peace Corps-Kim Ward (Tel: 313871)

The mailing address of the US Embassy is PO Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho 
(Tel: 312666, Fax: 266-310-116, Telex: 4506 USAID LO). 

TRAVEL NOTES: 

Climate and clothing:  Light summer wear is suitable from October to 
May.  Winter clothing is needed from June to September.

Entry requirements:  Americans traveling to Lesotho can obtain visas on 
arrival.  However, all routes to Lesotho pass through South Africa, and 
travelers without a South African multiple entry visitor's visa are not 
permitted to leave the international area while transiting 
Johannesburg's Jan Smuts Airport.  A transit visa is not acceptable for 
entry into South Africa.  The airport has inexpensive, poor-quality 
hotel rooms to accommodate those who remain overnight to make onward 
connections.

Tourist attractions:  These include pony trekking, horseback riding, 
hiking, and trout fishing.  Skiing in winter months is sometimes 
possible.  The mountain scenery is striking, and lodge facilities are 
available in most mountain tourist areas.

Health:  Tapwater is generally safe in the Maseru area, but it is 
recommended that water be boiled and filtered.  Medical facilities in 
Maseru are adequate for emergency treatment; more extensive facilities 
are in Bloemfontein, South Africa, 140 km. (81 mi.) away.  South 
Africa's more cosmopolitan areas, such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, and 
Durban, have nonracial medical facilities.

Telecommunications:  Telephone and telegraphic service is available in 
and between the more populated areas of Lesotho, but much of the 
interior can only be reached by radio.  Lesotho is six standard time 
zones ahead of eastern standard time.  The country does not observe 
daylight-saving time.

Transportation:  Maseru is a short flight from Johannesburg.  Lesotho 
Airways operates daily commercial flights to and from Johannesburg and 
weekly to Botswana.  Royal Swazi Airways flies to and from Maputo, 
Mozambique, by way of Manzini, Swaziland.  A new international airport 
is located 12 miles outside of Maseru.  Airstrips are located at 
Mokhotlong, Leribe, Mohale's Hoek, Thaba Tseka, and Qacha's Nek.  There 
are 28 other secondary landing fields suitable only for light aircraft.  
Maseru has few taxis.  Traffic moves on the left.  Car rental agencies 
are available.

Published by the United States Department of State --  Bureau of Public 
Affairs  --  Office of  Public Communication  --  Washington, DC.   
November 1990  --  Editor:  Marilyn J. Bremner 

Department of State Publication 8091 -- Background Notes Series  -- This 
material is in the public domain and may  be reprinted without 
permission; citation of this source is appreciated. For sale by the 
Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington, 
DC  20402.
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