Browsing by Author "Ramaili, Lisema Gladys"
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- ItemImpact of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in poverty alleviation in Lesotho(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2006-04) Ramaili, Lisema Gladys; Cloete, Fanie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Poverty in Lesotho is more prevalent in the rural areas that depend on subsistence agriculture as the main source of livelihood, with a limited potential in natural resources. Poverty has social, economic and political connotations that necessitate a multidisciplinary approach in any approach towards its alleviation. This study set out to define poverty, establish a comprehensive way of alleviating poverty and examine whether the approach adopted by GOL through the LHDA and other sectors benefits the communities affected by the LHWP and brings about development in the long run. Therefore it was informed by a review of the documented literature, including policy documents, research reports, journal articles and books. This were supplemented by direct personal interviews with 35 respondents consisting of 25 household heads from both the resettled and host communities, and 10 other officers from the institutions that are affecting development in the Phase lB project area. The survey highlighted that the LHWP is characterised by a mixture of scenarios. However, the positive effects of the project far outweigh its negative implications. The affected communities have incurred loss of arable and grazing land, houses, graves, forests and fruit trees, medicinal and other indigenous plants, cultural roots, functions and values, and control of their natural resources to the project. This necessitated compensation in either cash and/or food over the project's lifetime period of 50 years, but the communities have not been fully satisfied with the compensation packages that they received and the manner in which these were distributed. A majority of them argued that their loss could never be made up for by the compensation that they received from the LHDA. The rural development projects that have been implemented in the project area under the umbrella of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) were perceived as long-term compensation for the disruption of people's livelihoods. These are categorised into three broad groups, including production, education and infrastructure development and are supervised by specialised extension workers. The study showed that these programmes have been widely accepted by their beneficiaries and it established that a majority of challenges that face the implementing agencies relate to the inability of the programme cooperatives to prove their financial stability and independence, as well as to a lack of commitment and laziness on the part of the beneficiaries of the programmes. This has created a condition of dependence on compensation and assistance from the LHDA. Therefore, the study questions the potential for the programmes' sustainability after they have been handed over to the Government with the winding down of the LHWP. The study confirmed that the GOL and the LHDA had adopted measures to restore the lives of the affected communities after the implementation of the LHWP, as stipulated by the LHWP Treaty. The involvement of other stakeholders has proved that successful poverty alleviation depends on cooperation between the different sectors of the economy. Therefore the study made recommendations that the capacity of the affected communities need further strengthening through a variety of training programmes to assist them to devise other survival strategies beyond subsistence agriculture, while equipping them with necessary skills to manage and sustain the rural development programmes and reduce dependence.