Lesotho’s current production of raw wool is sold to global markets through South African wool merchants. Lesotho does not have any wool processing facilities and as such, the wool from Lesotho gets processed in South Africa or sold to international markets like China where it is processed. Since 2012, the government of Lesotho has publicly showed interest in developing a wool scouring plant that would process locally produced wool instead of selling it in its raw unprocessed form to international markets. The understanding by the Lesotho government was underpinned by perceived economic benefits that could be realised by the country and the wool industry of Lesotho, if the wool scouring plant was developed. The wool industry is important to the economy of Lesotho and as such, wool production in Lesotho contributes to the living standards in the rural areas as their lives are highly depended on the production of wool. A vibrant wool industry in Lesotho therefore has the potential to contribute to the growth of the economy, the manufacturing sector, employment at both the herder and the manufacturing levels, and the export sector. Wool scouring or wool washing is the early stage processing of greasy wool. The purpose of wool scouring is to extract grease, dirt, unpleasant smell and other foreign matter from the greasy wool. Raw wool fibers contain fat, suint (sheep sweat salts), plant material and minerals. It is therefore necessary to remove these from wool by scouring with a combination of detergents, wetting agents and emulsifiers before further processing. Wool can lose up to 30% of its original weight during this process. The Lesotho government feels that there is a need to develop a wool scouring plant in Lesotho because Lesotho does not benefit from the South African wool scouring processes and anything that happens post that process. Given that no viability studies had been conducted in Lesotho to motivate the government’s interest in developing a wool scouring plant, this study was conducted with the aim to investigate the benefits of developing a wool scouring plant in Lesotho. The research design employed in this study was a mixed method, which is a combination of positivism (quantitative) and interpretivism (qualitative) data collection and analysis in parallel form. In terms of the qualitative component of the study, structured interviews were conducted, governed by in-depth interview guidelines developed by the researcher. A questionnaire was used for the qualitative component of the study. Among some of its findings and recommendations the study recommends that there is insufficient wool produced in Lesotho to support a local wool scouring plant, the government of Lesotho should rather focus their effort on the improvement of the wool production value chain to assist farmers. The study finds no grounds for the justification of the development of a local scouring plant in Lesotho and recommends that for such propositions to be made publicly, at least proper groundwork should be undertaken to investigate the technical feasibility of developing the scouring plant.

Thesis (MTech(Human Resource Management))-- Cape Peninsula University Of Technology, 2012 / Presently, in Lesotho women form a larger percentage of the workforce as compared to the previous years. Even though, there seems to be several factors, which affect their progress up the corporate ladder, one of them being the glass ceiling. The purpose of this research was to examine factors that affect career advancement of women into senior positions in selected parastatals in Lesotho; to determine the cause of under-representation of women in top management positions and their reluctance to advance their careers once they make it to the top; to identify if what women feel would help to improve their career advancement from their perspective; to determine whether women who are mentored face the same challenges as those who are not mentored; to identify whether selected biographical characteristics such as age and marital status play a role in career advancement; to propose a career advancement strategy for women in Lesotho’s public service; and to determine what challenges women in senior positions face. To accomplish this aim, questionnaires were distributed to women in senior positions at selected parastatals in Lesotho. In addition, a method to conduct the research was carefully and logically planned and then implemented. A comprehensive literature study was undertaken in order to obtain views from different authors concerning the phenomenon. Once the questionnaires were collected and the data analysed, the researcher was able to draw conclusions and propose a range of recommendations based on the findings in order to assist women and organisations. The findings revealed that existing laws and legislation in Lesotho have contributed massively towards the promotion of women’s rights. Conversely, quite a number of women in their organisations still face significant challenges in terms of career advancement as a result of the existing glass ceiling phenomenon and other factors, which are discussed in this study.

The study investigates the nature and extent of erosion and deposition in the Maqalika catchment, Maseru. Components of the study include (i) the re-construction of erosion and land use history in the catchment from 1961 to 1985, (li) determination of dominant factors or combinations of factors responsible for the observed erosion distribution at each date, (iii) the identification and evaluation of erosion and deposition features, and their spatial and temporal variations, and (iv) identification of socia-economic problems associated with observed erosion and deposition. Methods employed for the re-construction of erosion and land use history include the use of sequential aerial photography of 1961, 1979 and 1985, orthophoto maps and review of literature from past studies. It has been possible to map erosion and land use for the three time periods pinpointing areas of major change. Results are presented in map form showing the spatial distribution of each erosion class and each land use category. It was however not possible to derive any meaningful relationship between erosion distribution and land use, on the aforementioned maps. The only observation made from the comparison of the maps is that erosion degree and distribution sometimes changes with land use, while land use sometimes changes in response to erosion. Major land use changes are the conversion of agricultural land to urban land use, and grazing land. Due to the mnlti-dimensional nature of soil erosion, hand 'actor analysis was employed to determine which factors or combinations of factors were dominant at each date. Despite the extensive research on the various factors affecting erosion such as those used for the USLE and SLEMSA there is a growing uncertainty as to which factors are more important to erosion. Soil erodibility has been found to be a component of the major controlling factor combinations in all three periods under study. At each date erodibility combined with a number of other factors determined the observed erosion distribution. As suggested by Mosley (1980), Cambell (1985) and Coleman and Scatena (1986) sediment from a catchment is derived principally from spatially limited portions of the catchment. Likewise eroded sediment becomes deposited in spatially limited areas with special characteristics which encourage deposition. Aerial photographic survey aided by ground survey and oblique photographs were employed to identify sediment sources and sinks within the catchment. Some sediment sources are fIxed such as gully floors and sides, while some change location from time to time such as construction sites. An evaluation of portions of the catchment for their ability to supply and deliver sediment has shown that the most eroded areas are not the most active sediment sources. Sediment yield is limited by either supply or transport. Sediment yield was estimated using reservoir survey data which indicate that there is a high rate of soil loss from the catchment. One flaw of this method as a measure of soil loss is that it treats the measured sediment yield as if it were contributed uniformly from the basin. This method however affords the researcher to estimate minimum erosion rates, taking into account that large amounts of sediment are stored at various places within the catchment. The possible socio-economic consequences of erosion and deposition have been identified. These include loss of cropland, destruction of roads and building sites which require methods of reclamation, sedimentation of small reservoirs and ponds, and the formation of gully bottom fills which are potential sediment sources. Conservation measures presently applied in the catchment are assessed and found to be irrelavant to the present erosion problem. Data from the reservoir survey revealed that the estimated rate of soil loss is more important to on-site erosion damage than to off-site damage in the form of the sedimentation of Maqalika reservoir. Appropriate conservation measures such as those suggested by Amimoto (1981) would be relevant to the study area, however the main constraint in their implementation would be lack of legislation and the absence of a sound land use policy. It is therefore concluded that the present land use situation which does not take into consideration the physical constraints of the catchment is partly responsible for accelarated erosion in the catchment.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

M.Sc. (Zoology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Applied Science in Food and Nutrition, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Rational and Objectives The objective of this study was to determine socio-demographic, socio-economic, health status, dietary diversity, nutrition adequacy, food consumption patterns, coping strategies, and agricultural practices in relation to food insecurity and nutritional status of elderly population in Mpharane. Methodology The sample size was n=260 participants with 75 men and 185 women. A variety of variables were used to measure the objectives and different types of questionnaires were used as measuring instruments for all the variables of the study. Socio-demographic questionnaires determined household indicators like age, employment status, and number of dependents, living conditions and assets. Anthropometrics measurements that were conducted included height, weight and blood pressure. Health status questionnaires included indictors such as consumption of alcohol, smoking, food allergies and affected parts of the body. Food frequency score, dietary intake and nutrition adequacy were established. Coping strategies in the household were determined for the period of food insecurity. Agricultural practices questionnaires were to determined household indictors like land, types of crops and livestock. The completed Socio-demographic Questionnaires, Health Questionnaires, Food Frequency Questionnaires, Anthropometric Measurements Forms, Coping Strategies Questionnaires and the Agricultural Practices Questionnaire were captured on a Microsoft Excel® Spreadsheet by the researcher and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 21.0, with the assistance of a statistician. Results Results indicated that all participants resided with grandchildren. Majority of grandmothers headed the households. All participants were unemployed and 61.20% often had shortage of money to buy food. Nutrient analysis from 24-Hour Food Recall indicated deficient intake in energy, calcium and vitamin A. There were high levels of food insecurity among the participants since all the participants used all 15 coping strategies. The Body Mass Index (BMI) results indicated 65.50% of participants were overweight, 60.70% obese and 13.60% were underweight. Majority of participants had access to land for plantation. All Participants suffered from various health aliments. The history of health associated with diseases indicating that 24.60% (n=64) of the participants had reported skin diseases, 71.20% (n=185) of the participants suffered from diseases of skeleton or joints and 81.90% (n=213) of the participants indicated affected eyes, ears, nose and teeth. Diseases of the chest or respiratory system were experienced by 50.80% (n=132) of the participants. The total fat intake of all the groups was slightly below the recommended goal by the World Health Organization WHO (15-30%), with men obtaining 13.33% and women 12.55% of energy from fat. Carbohydrates contributed 75.12% for men and 75.41% for women of the daily energy needs in the groups, slightly above the levels recommended by the WHO (55-75%). The contribution of protein to total daily energy intake for all the groups was within the recommendation of 10-15%, men (11.56%) and women (12.07%). As a result this proves that the average participant consumed a balanced diet in terms of the macronutrient intake. Carbohydrates were the main source of food consumption. The highest number of individual foods consumed by the majority of the participants was between 6-10 individual foods (53.46%, n=139) followed by 11-15 individual foods (39.23%, n=102). The mean Food Variety Score (FVS) (±SD) for all the foods consumed from the food groups during seven days was 10.06 (±6.726), which indicated a low food variety score. The food group with the most variety was the cereal group. Seven different cereals were consumed by (1.53%, n=4) participants, a large number of the participants (31.15%, n=81) only consumed 3 different cereals within seven day period and (23.46%, n=61) of the participants consumed 4 different cereals. Conclusion The grandparents were the principle providers for the grandchildren and the demographic pressures, unemployment and old age increased the financial strains which contributed to high levels of poverty resulting in food and nutrition insecurity and poor nutritional status of the elderly people. / M

The overwhelming prevalence of child labour globally continues to be a matter of concern. Millions of children below the age of eighteen years are found engaging in exploitative and life-threatening economic activities, leaving them susceptible to human rights violations and ultimately death. The African continent accounts for a greater number of child labourers, calling therefore for an immediate action against child labour, particularly the worst forms of child labour. As a result of harsh and appalling social, economic, political and cultural realities evident within the continent, child labour remains inevitable for many African countries including the Kingdom of Lesotho. In an attempt to help their economically ailing families, children engage in labour activities as either sole providers or contributors to the little household income. Resultantly, a vast majority of children are found working within hazardous and unregulated informal sectors; comprising of street vendors, domestic workers, working on farms and caring for livestock to state but the least. Due to lack of official regulation of the informal sector, children are then exposed to abuse, exploitation and violation with little to no protection. In response to the incidences of child labour, several treaties and conventions aimed at protecting the rights of children and ultimately eradicating child labour have been adopted by both international and regional communities. These include the Convention on the Rights of the Child, International Labour Organisation Conventions on child labour, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target 8.7, which prohibits and seek to eliminate child labour by 2025, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights as well as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child among others. The endorsement and domestication of these treaties have been evident in many African countries including the Kingdom of Lesotho through the enactment of laws and adoption of policies aimed at promoting the rights of children and protecting children against harmful practices such as child labour. While there have been evident and positive progress in terms of the ratification of treaties and conventions that address the issues of child labour globally, the Kingdom of Lesotho included, child labour practices continues to be a challenge for Lesotho. The study identified that these could be attributed to the lack of implementation and enforcement of both adopted international conventions and enacted domestic laws in Lesotho, therefore a matter of concern. Moreover, failure to conform to international human rights treaties aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of children by the Kingdom of Lesotho has resulted in failure to protect children, particularly those involved in child labour. Furthermore, the evident inconsistencies and ambiguities in the definition of child labour, conception of work, childhood and adulthood, posed a major challenge in understanding the severity of the practice of child labour and its effects on children. Child labour should also be considered a security issue, calling therefore for an immediate action. It is however crucial to note that, while the Kingdom of Lesotho continues to grapple with the plight of child labour, a number of African countries have made great progress in responding to child labour and bringing about a reduction in its prevalence. This includes the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Tanzania and the Kingdom of Morocco among others. Cognisant of these advancements, the study critically evaluated practices of child labour in these countries and the responses thereto as means to identify good practices to be emulated by the Kingdom of Lesotho. These good practices will help provide strategies that will ensure better protection for children involved in child labour and ultimately end the practice of child labour in the near future. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Mercantile Law / DPhil / Unrestricted

Includes bibliography. / This thesis undertakes to investigate the nature and function of theatre-for-development. The objectives are to place theatre-for-development in the context of development communication theory, and to examine how theatre functions as communication. In the process of this examination a new model of theatrical communication in theatre-for-development, and a new paradigm of intervention, are evolved. The thesis begins by exploring the reasons for the failure of existing media systems to serve the needs of development in Africa. The failures are mostly due to the fact that the majority of the people have minimal or no participation in information generation and dissemination. Theatre is identified as one medium that could be utilized towards the realization of democratizing communication systems, and of giving the periphery access to the production and distribution of messages. The thesis then proceeds to review crucial literature in theatre-for-development and on development communication. The literature that has been selected has particular relevance in that while it treats current perspectives in these disciplines, it gives an historical account of theatre in Africa, and an account of the various perspectives and orthodoxies in the history of mass communication in general, and development communication in particular. The major case study of the thesis is a theatre-for-development cooperative society in Lesotho called Marotholi Travelling Theatre. The thesis therefore discusses the problems of underdevelopment in Lesotho. Since this study deals with-development communication, and attempts a structural examination of the context of theatre-for-development, the reader is introduced to the conditions that engender the theatre that is analyzed in the study. An account of the communication environment is also given. Because the communication environment of the rural areas in Lesotho is characterized by the predominant use of oral and traditional methods, popular and traditional media in Lesotho are also examined. After setting a theoretical framework by examining theatrical communication in theatre-for-development, and the rules underlying it, the thesis proceeds to analyze five plays created by Marotholi Travelling Theatre. First, a brief history of each play is given, and this is followed by an analysis of how the play functions as a vehicle for conscientization, and as communication. The plays are discussed in the context of five different methodologies of theatre-for-development: agitprop, participatory agitprop, simultaneous dramaturgy, forum theatre, and comgen theatre. It is in the process of this analysis that a new model of theatrical communication in theatre-for-development is evolved. The new paradigm of intervention that is posited also emanates from the analysis of the plays. It illustrates the extent to which the various methodologies of theatre-for-development can be utilized either for development (and, therefore, liberation), or for dissemination. The thesis concludes by focussing on the salient points that have emerged in the analysis. Crucial points are summarized, and recommendations for an effective utilization of theatre as a medium for development communication are posited.

Includes bibliographical references / Given the low levels of educational standards in the developing world, the World Education Forum adopted the Dakar Framework for Action (DFA) in 2000, calling for quality 'Education for All' children of school-going age. Heeding to this call, many sub-Saharan African countries instituted Free Primary Education (FPE) policies. Lesotho instituted the FPE programme in 2000 on a grade-by-grade basis; first abolishing school fees in grade one, and then in successive higher grades each following year. This thesis consists of a short introductory chapter, three self-contained analytical chapters which empirically evaluate the importance of the FPE policy and family factors on education in Lesotho, and the summary chapter. It first examines the effect of the FPE policy on primary school enrolment in Chapter 2 using household level data for before and after the policy. A difference-in-differences strategy is employed to tease out the FPE effect. This exploits the variations in enrolment rates over time and across grade-groups (i.e. grades covered versus those not-yet covered) created by the implementation strategy of the programme. The findings demonstrate that the policy significantly increased enrolment of primary school-age children by at least 9.3 percentage points (or 13.2 percent). There is also evidence that this policy disproportionately raised enrolment levels of children from poor households and that of boys (the historically disadvantaged group), thereby bridging the gender- and wealth-related educational (enrolment) inequalities. In Chapter 3, the thesis draws on grade six pupils' standardised maths and (English) reading test scores from 2000 and 2007 to analyse changes in educational achievement and educational inequality, and the determinants of such changes. The analysis of the data shows that educational achievement increased significantly for both low- and high-ability pupils over the period of analysis. Nonetheless, this increase in achievement was accompanied by a significant rise in educational inequality, especially in reading test scores. The analysis further shows that these changes are statistically related to policy measures taken under the FPE programme. In particular, the results show that pupil-teacher ratio is negatively correlated with changes in reading performance of low-ability pupils, while teacher effort (i.e. subject-testing frequency and teaching hours per week) and grade repetition have a positive influence on changes in educational achievement. These results suggest that the fall in pupil teacher ratio between 2000 and 2007 has helped increase educational achievement. The analysis, however, reveals that much of the increase in educational achievement and educational inequality is unexplained by both school and pupils' family characteristics, which suggests that there could be other unobserved family and school factors that influence achievement and inequality. Therefore, in Chapter 4 of the thesis I shift focus from FPE policy effects and look at the impact of family factors on human capital accumulation. Specifically, Chapter 4 examines the effect of a child's order of birth on human capital development (i.e. enrolment, educational attainment, and schooling progression) using family-fixed effects models. Birth order has received much attention in the economics and psychology literature. Contrary to much of the evidence from developing countries, I find that birth order has a strong negative effect on human capital development. These birth order effects are pronounced in large families, and families with first-born girls, thereby revealing the strong girls' education preferences in Lesotho. Turning to potential pathways of these effects, I find that birth order effects are not propagated through family wealth, but mainly though birth- (or child-) spacing. These results suggest that there are some intra-household inefficiencies that could explain the changes in educational achievement and inequality.

Bibliography: leaves 145-149. / In this dissertation we examine variation, in both speech and writing, in the South Sotho spoken in Lesotho. We indicate that the South Sotho used by a majority of speakers today shows a shift from both earlier and prescribed varieties. Open-ended questionnaires and informal conversations were used to study aspects of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and the lexicon of South Sotho. Samples were collected from speakers with ages ranging from twelve to over eighty. The dissertation shows that the age, social status, sex and locality of speakers are contributing factors in their language repertoire. We argue that South Sotho lacks the homogeneity that is claimed by language purists in Lesotho, and therefore has non-standard varieties, namely, dialects and sociolects. Although the structure of standard South Sotho sentences is relatively stable, the phonology, lexicon and semantics are indicative of major endogenous and exogenous changes. On the other hand, Sotho morphology shows endogenous changes only. The influence of English on South Sotho is increasing at the expense of Afrikaans influence.