In the six decades since the mid 20th century, the world has experienced phenomenal urban growth, especially in the developing world. This growth has been closely associated with increasing levels of poverty and deprivation characterized by lack of access to safe water supplies, proper sanitation and access to assets. Other features include slums, informal settlements and low employment. This demographic shift is taking place within a context of low rates of economic growth and political engagement between the state and civil society. Lesotho, while sharing these experiences, is also one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 158 out of 177 according to the UN Human Development Index. This has largely determined the nature of urbanization, with deepening economic problems in most of the country, rural and urban, resulting in poverty. Nevertheless, there has been a profound shift in location of that poverty. Whereas before it was overwhelmingly a rural phenomenon, now poverty is urbanized. In addition, due to the nature of urban development in the country, poverty is primarily concentrated in Maseru – the primary city of this small, land-locked country. While literature concentrates much on developing world cities, including those of Africa, it is silent on the impact of urbanization on poverty in Maseru. This thesis attempts to fill this gap and argues that rapid and differentiated forms of urbanization have increased poverty in Maseru. It studies how differentiated forms and patterns of urbanization have affected the manifestations of poverty in different parts of Maseru. It also analyses the different livelihood strategies employed by the poor residents of the three communities (Thibella, Sekamaneng and Motimposo) in Maseru as the increase in urbanization has unsettled conventional livelihood strategies, compelling them to employ different livelihood strategies to survive. Further, the study examines how the urban governance systems and people within them are coping with these pressures. The study concludes that the increased poverty in Maseru resulted from Lesotho and Maseru’s historic development trends, as the results confirm. However, urbanization significantly exacerbated this poverty. The varied processes of urban growth (inward migration and urban encroachment) have affected the manifestations of poverty and created different experiences of poverty in Maseru and, in turn, shaped the livelihood strategies of its inhabitants. The urban governance is failing to cope with the demands of this growth further increasing poverty.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / Some digitised pages may appear cut off due to the condition of the original hard copy. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study analyses poverty and deprivation in Lesotho on the basis of data from two comprehensive household surveys undertaken in 1993 and 1999. The aim of this study was to create a better understanding of poverty and deprivation in Lesotho. The analysis shows that the mountain areas of Lesotho suffer the worst levels of poverty and inequality both in terms of income/consumption and non-income measures compared to the other areas of the country. Poverty was found to be highest amongst households with older heads and higher mean numbers of members. The poor were found to suffer from lack of resources, access to education, basic services such as clean water, proper sanitation facilities and modem energy sources, and have little access to productive resources. The study uses an income-based definition of poverty for most of the analysis. In addition, it develops a broad-based index of deprivation including access to services, education, employment, income, and number of durable assets and traditional wealth. While on average the two indicators correspond fairly closely, the income poverty measure fails to capture those households that are deprived of many of the non-income measures of well-being. The broader deprivation measure provides a more comprehensive understanding of poverty. The conclusions arrived at when the two measures are used show that the concepts and indicators that one uses to measure poverty and deprivation matter a lot in identifying the poor since different conceptions of poverty/deprivation identify different groups with different characteristics as poor. The results also suggest the need for the use of different measures of poverty. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie analiseer armoede en deprivasie in Lesotho na aanleiding van twee omvattende huishoudingopnames van 1993 en 1999. Die doel hiermee was om 'n meer omvattende begrip van armoede en deprivasie in Lesotho te verkry. Die analise toon dat die bergstreke van Lesotho, vergeleke met die res van die land, die hoogste mate van armoede en ongelykheid het, soos gemeet deur beide inkomste/verbruik en nie-inkomste gebaseerde maatstawwe van armoede. Armoede blyk die grootste te wees in huishoudings met meerderjarige hoofde asook in huishoudings met gemiddeld meer lede. Daar is ook gevind dat arm huishoudings gekenmerk word deur 'n gebrek aan hulpbronne, toegang tot opvoeding en basiese dienste soos skoon water, genoegsame sanitasiefasiliteite en moderne energiebronne, asook 'n beperkte toegang tot produksiehulpbronne. Die studie maak grotendeels gebruik van 'n inkomstegebaseerde definisie van armoede. 'n Breër indeks van deprivasie word ook ontwikkel wat onder andere insluit: toegang tot dienste, opvoeding, werksgeleenthede, inkomste, hoeveelheid bestendige bates en tradisionele rykdom. Alhoewel die twee indikatore relatief goed ooreenstem, kon die inkomste-gebaseerde meting van armoede nie daarin slaag om die huishoudings te onderskep wat geklassifiseer word as gedepriveerd op verskeie nie-inkomste indikatore van welvaart nie. Die breër indeks van deprivasie verskaf 'n meer omvattende begrip van armoede. Die gevolgtrekking wat hieruit gemaak word, is dat die konsepte en indikatore wat gebruik word om armoede en deprivasie te meet, van belang is in die identifisering van behoeftiges. Die rede hiervoor is dat verskillende konsepsies van armoede/deprivasie verskillende groepe met verskillende eienskappe identifiseer as behoeftiges. Die resultate suggereer dus 'n behoefte vir die gebruik van verskillende maatstawwe van armoede.

This is a dissertation on the socio-economic impact of poverty reduction in Lesotho. The major thrust of the study was to address the problem of low community participation inherent in development activities. This was triggered off by the high incidence of poverty in Lesotho. The researcher had prior belief that this was a result of low levels of community participation. The study was meant to contribute to knowledge and test research hypotheses and theories. It was proposed that various programmes or initiatives can improve the socio-economic condition of the rural poor through enhanced community participation. Interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to elicit data from the respondents. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed in the collection and analysis of data. The research focused on three villages in rural Lesotho. These are Liphiring, Majapereng and Qhalasi, all found at Taung in the Mohale's Hoek district. Also, development professionals in government and voluntary agencies were consulted for information. The total sample of 158 respondents was used for the study. The results of the study indicate very low levels of socio-economic development in the three villages. Unemployment was found to be at the head of all malaises. It is strongly demonstrated that government programmes have failed to ameliorate the situation. The failures of subsistence agriculture and limited non-farm activities have led to greater dependence of the villagers on government aid. The study has noted poor organizational capacity resulting in political conflicts in the villages. In addition, the study unearthed poor co-ordination and lack of collaboration between government and other development agents in the anti-poverty project. Finally, the study uncovered that programmes respond poorly to villagers' needs. The majority of households are of one mind that government programmes need to be restructured in order to better serve their needs. In the main, the study has noted very little achievement in poverty reduction. This research has shown that this resulted from low levels of community participation and poor implementation of policies by the government. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2004.

Lesotho has a land area of about 30.340 square kilometers and is completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. Much of the country is mountainous. Its agricultural sector is characterized by low productivity due to erratic climatic conditions, limited arable land and fragile soils with a low water holding capacity. These conditions have proved very detrimental to crop production, rendering agriculture a risky economic activity. Numerous efforts have been made over the years to address the technical constraints confronting the sector, but nothing seems to be changing. The implication is that the technical/climatic factors mentioned above may be only part of the problem. The current situation whereby Lesotho imports nearly 95% of its domestic food requirements is unsustainable, but this desperate picture looks set to worsen with the continuing threats of contracting farm sizes and further declines in farmer participation rates. But this sector has continued to be an important source of household survival and existence. A study was designed and conducted during 2008 and 2009 to identify the institutional constraints to horticulture production in Lesotho, looking specifically at the obstacles to effective production and marketing of horticultural products. A total of 100 farming households were enumerated in four districts of the country, namely Butha Buthe, Berea, Mafeteng, and Thaba-Tseka. A range of institutional and non-price factors in the farming and marketing environment were incorporated in a binary choice model to investigate the degree of satisfaction of the farming households with their previous year’s farming results. To avoid selection bias in the sample, a probit model was chosen, and the Stata-10 software was used to estimate probit coefficients. The results provide indications that property rights, the agricultural extension service, the condition of the physical infrastructure, and distance to markets may be crucial elements threatening the existence of this sector in Lesotho. The difficulties in accessing markets and land remain important institutional constraints to horticulture production and marketing in Lesotho. Recommendations made on these issues include providing more policy support to homestead gardening and for these issues to be incorporated into the Vision 2020 process. Also to be included is the issue of addressing the growing national food insecurity and enhancing Basotho livelihoods in general.