martysmith.org » Lesotho

GREETINGS FROM LESOTHO!! | A Mother For Lesotho

marty — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:49:13 +0000

The people of Lesotho have many resources but don’t seem to know how to put them to work. They have fertile land, cattle, water, diamond mines, etc., but they don’t have the mentality of making life better for themselves.

via GREETINGS FROM LESOTHO!! | A Mother For Lesotho.

Seriously? I encourage you to leave her some constuctive criticism.

Afrobarometer

marty — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:33:06 +0000

So I found out about Afrobarometer because it was referenced in this Public Eye article about how the Basotho are divided about dual citizenship with South Africa. I assume that means they have released some new findings, however all I could find at the moment on their site about Lesotho were the findings from round 3 (out of 4) from 2005. You can find the full PDF here.

Anyway this is what Afrobarmoter is:

A comparative series of national public attitude surveys on democracy, markets, and civil society in Africa.

And out of this (in the above linked PDF) come a few interesting nuggets from Lesotho circa 2005:

And everyone’s favorite:

SADC Univisa

marty — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:51:48 +0000

One visa nine countries? Sure. Full details here.

The nine member states, which had signed the protocol on the free movement of citizens were Botswana, the DRC, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

marty — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:32:10 +0000

Aides admitted Harry was “bitterly disappointed” by the charity’s performance and said he desperately wants the money to help orphans he met in the southern African country of Lesotho.

Story here.

Marketplace Machina

marty — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:02:50 +0000

NPR Marketplace segment about Chinese businesses in Lesotho and that whole ball of wax. Audio here.

Lesotho Promise

marty — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:23:48 +0000

A photo of the diamond “Lesotho Promise.” From the BBC’s week in pictures, here, photo 6. The diamond in the photo is the largest of 26 diamonds cut out of “Lesotho Promise”, which are all together worth $50 million! Full story here.

Once a month, whether….

marty — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:52:17 +0000

SA Miners are protesting today. Full story here.

South Africa’s mining sector accounts for some 16% of the country’s GDP.

It would appear that the strike extends to Lesotho as well, Public Eye story here.
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The Berea Plateau has a new HIV/AIDs clinic: here.
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Lesotho will adhere to the “One China” policy as long as China ~~makes them~~, ~~pays for them to do so~~, asks them to? Story here. Here is the wikipedia entry on the “one China policy” The US’s policy is: “the United States acknowledges that Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States does not challenge that position.”
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“Thinking the Unthinkable”, a good primer on what a “Lesotho as part of South Africa” scenario might entail and what people think about it.

Lesotho makes 'em proud

marty — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:16:05 +0000

SADC is just so happy with the way that Lesotho has handled things politically. Everyone is still hopeful that things will be resolved peacefully. Apparently the complete lack of political action on everything sets a shining example for Africa, here. This all stems from a 3-day meeting that just finished up in Maseru which was organized to help bring the political mess/crisis?/standstill to a close/resolution/something. However there is no word on whether anything was actually accomplished. “Full” story here.

Lesotho Photos 67-69

marty — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 04:38:00 +0000

Some fun old school photos of Lesotho set to a little Miriam. Enjoy.

State of Emergency

marty — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:37:54 +0000

Lesotho has declared a state of emergency due to massive food shortages. Full announcement here.
From the SABC story:

The government of Lesotho declared a state of emergency on Monday and appealed for international assistance. Mojaki says an estimated 500 000 people are in need of aid.