In 2009, Lesotho had a population of around 2 million people, the majority of whom were ethnically Basotho. The economy was largely based on agriculture and mining while foreign investment also contributed to economic development. In terms of foreign relations, Lesotho maintained strong ties with its African neighbors while it also had close diplomatic ties with South Africa and other countries in the region. Lesotho was a member of several international organisations such as the United Nations, African Union and the Southern African Development Community. Politically, Lesotho was led by Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili at the time who was democratically elected in 2007. See internetsailors for Lesotho in the year of 2011.
Yearbook 2009
Lesotho. According to countryaah, Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili was subjected to an attempted murder in April when a group of men opened fire on his home early one morning. Mosisili escaped unharmed, but four of the attackers were shot dead in a firefight with the prime minister’s security force. The motive for the murder attempt was not clarified, but Lesotho has for several years been troubled by strong domestic political contradictions. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for abbreviation LS which stands for the nation of Lesotho.
In July, the opposition parties demanded a judicial review of the disputed parliamentary elections in 2007, when, according to the opposition, the electoral commission had given the government side 21 seats on the wrong ground. The government rejected all thoughts of resuming the scrutiny of the election results and Botswana’s former President Ketumile Masire, who for two years tried to mediate the conflict at the government’s invitation, left his assignment citing the government’s lack of cooperation. In a short final report he indicated that he supported the opposition’s view that the distribution of seats was not correct.
In August, a newspaper revealed that a Taiwanese-owned company that makes jeans for major US brands dumped chemical waste on municipal dumps and into a river. The American jeans companies pledged to investigate the scandal, saying that the local company had been ordered to improve their routines quickly.
Economic conditions
Lesotho is in backward conditions and the possibilities for development are 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 heavily on the Republic of South Africa which, in addition to offering job opportunities to many Lesothian immigrants (whose remittances contribute significantly to the formation of GDP), intervenes with financial aid. The currency of Lesotho is also linked according to a parity ratio to the South African rand. The main development perspective of Lesotho is based on its considerable water availability: the large artificial basin of Muela, active since 1998, supplies water for agricultural use to the Republic of South Africa and ensures energy self-sufficiency for Lesotho the work is the first of Lesotho highlands water project, which has established the construction of other dams and power plants by 2017.
Agricultural production (maize, wheat, sorghum and potatoes) has low yields and does not allow domestic consumption to be satisfied. Breeding is widespread (sheep and goats), which mainly supplies mohair wool for export. The manufacturing activities in the textile sector, which have developed in particular since the beginning of the 21st century, offer employment to over 50,000 workers. Diamonds are extracted from underground, which is another item of exports. The road network extends for about 5900 km (of which only a thousand are asphalted), while the only railway section connects the capital to the South African lines. The main airport is Maseru.