Lesotho: 4 ways to boost growth and stability

The briefing argues that Lesotho must diversify its economy beyond SACU revenue and textile exports to the US, improve human rights to maintain AGOA eligibility, and upskill its female workforce to mitigate the risks of automation and the 2025 expiration of preferential trade access.

• Lesotho's fiscal stability is threatened by a heavy reliance on the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which provides approximately 37% of its fiscal income, though these revenues have been in steady decline.
• To diversify exports, Lesotho should expand its Fresh Fruit and Vegetable (FFV) sector by organizing farmers and passing the long-delayed Standards Bill to establish a Bureau of Standards for product certification.
• The textile industry, which exported over US$330 million to the US in 2015 and employs roughly 44,000 people, is at risk because Lesotho's eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is under scrutiny due to human rights concerns following a 2014 attempted coup.
• With AGOA set to expire in 2025, there is an urgent need to upskill female textile workers from repetitive machinist roles into managerial and design positions to protect them from automation and the loss of preferential US market access.
• Lesotho faces significant revenue losses from illicit financial outflows and poor tax collection, estimated at approximately US$20 million or just under 1% of GDP in 2017.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2017). Lesotho: 4 ways to boost growth and stability. https://saiia.org.za/research/lesotho-4-ways-to-boost-growth-stability/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Lesotho: 4 ways to boost growth and stability. 2017. https://saiia.org.za/research/lesotho-4-ways-to-boost-growth-stability/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Lesotho: 4 ways to boost growth and stability |date=23 June 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/lesotho-4-ways-to-boost-growth-stability/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2017lesotho, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Lesotho: 4 ways to boost growth and stability}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/lesotho-4-ways-to-boost-growth-stability/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }