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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/4257 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Mokhatla, David Morapeli. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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