IMPLEMENTING THE APRM VIEWS FROM CIVIL SOCIETY LESOTHO REPOR T

The report finds that while Lesotho has established necessary legal and policy frameworks, actual implementation of APRM recommendations is weak and lacks direct linkage to the APRM process. The country received an overall 'orange minus' rating, indicating some progress but significant gaps in execution and 'branding' of initiatives as APRM-related.

• The APRM has a low profile in Lesotho among both government and civil society, with a lack of direct 'branding' for policy initiatives, which has weakened the monitoring and evaluation of progress.
• Lesotho's overall progress is rated 'orange minus', meaning some progress has been made through legal and institutional frameworks, but implementation remains weak and activities are not publicly linked to the APRM.
• Poor and vulnerable men are largely ignored in vulnerability discussions, which typically focus on women; this vulnerability is driven by the decline in South African migrant labour and patriarchal social expectations.
• The elderly face economic and social vulnerability, including abuse and the burden of caring for orphans; while a government-sponsored old age pension of LSL 300 per month exists, other targeted interventions are lacking.
• Herders and herdboys (balisana) are a marginalized group with limited access to education and employment, often living in harsh conditions without targeted government policies.
• The Land Act of 2010 introduced a leasehold system to encourage investment and commoditize land, but this is fiercely contested by those who fear it will lead to landlessness and undermine Basotho tradition.
• Poverty is widespread, with over half the population living below the poverty line, exacerbated by political instability and a heavy budget dependency on foreign aid and Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenues.
• Lesotho produces only about 30% of its annual food needs and lacks an integrated national food security policy to address declining productivity and shrinking arable land.
• Corruption is perceived as rife in both public and private sectors, entrenched by a lack of accountability and the ineffective functioning of anti-corruption agencies due to resource and mandate constraints.
• While the mixed member proportional (MMP) electoral system has brought relative stability since 2001, it remains open to manipulation and is often associated with pre- and post-election conflict.
• Lesotho has one of the world's highest HIV/Aids prevalence rates (23%), which threatens the country's survival and undermines the skilled workforce, despite commendable policies like wide antiretroviral therapy distribution.
• Education has seen progress in adult literacy (82%) and free primary education, but higher education faces challenges regarding quality, relevance, and funding.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2011). IMPLEMENTING THE APRM VIEWS FROM CIVIL SOCIETY LESOTHO REPOR T. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Implementing-APRM-Views-from-Civil-Society-Lesotho-Report.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. IMPLEMENTING THE APRM VIEWS FROM CIVIL SOCIETY LESOTHO REPOR T. 2011. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Implementing-APRM-Views-from-Civil-Society-Lesotho-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=IMPLEMENTING THE APRM VIEWS FROM CIVIL SOCIETY LESOTHO REPOR T |date=September 2011 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Implementing-APRM-Views-from-Civil-Society-Lesotho-Report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2011implementing, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{IMPLEMENTING THE APRM VIEWS FROM CIVIL SOCIETY LESOTHO REPOR T}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2011}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Implementing-APRM-Views-from-Civil-Society-Lesotho-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }