MASERU – The government of Lesotho has declared a state of disaster over the country’s soaring unemployment rate, which now stands at 30%, according to the latest Labour Force Survey released last week.
The disaster declaration was gazetted on Monday and will remain in effect for two years, amid growing frustration over joblessness, particularly among youth. The survey shows that 39% of people aged 15 to 35 are unemployed. This marks a steep rise from the 22.5% recorded in 2019.
The crisis came into sharp focus last month when crowds of young jobseekers were seen lining up outside Lesotho Defence Force recruitment centres in a desperate bid for employment — a scene that quickly spread across social media platforms.
The government has responded with a promise to create 62,000 jobs and roll out a M400-million initiative aimed at supporting youth-led enterprises. Under the new plan, young Basotho will be able to register businesses for free, and fees for government tender documents — previously costing between M500 and M3,000 — have been slashed.
A new procurement policy now mandates that 40% of public contracts be reserved for youth, women, and persons with disabilities. Existing programmes such as the Sebabatso mentorship initiative and Weekend Flea Markets will also be scaled up to boost youth entrepreneurship.
But the decision has drawn criticism from civil society and academia. Kananelo Boloetse of the group Section Two told GroundUp that declaring unemployment a disaster may not pass constitutional scrutiny. He said the Disaster Management Act was not designed to deal with economic hardship.
Dr Tlohang Letsie, who heads the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the National University of Lesotho, warned that the move is unlikely to bring lasting relief. He described it as a short-term fix meant to calm public outrage, but lacking the depth to reverse decades of structural unemployment.
“There’s a risk of the funds being misused, and many of the jobs created may be short-lived,” he said.
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