There is a growing popular movement in Lesotho pleading South Africa to take over the small mountain-kingdom:
“Ten days ago, several hundred people marched through the capital Maseru and delivered a petition to parliament and the South African High Commission requesting that their country be integrated into its giant neighbour, which completely surrounds it. “We have 30,000 signatures. Lesotho is not just landlocked – it is South Africa-locked. We were a labour reserve for apartheid South Africa. There is no reason for us to exist any longer as a nation with its own currency and army,” said Vuyani Tyhali, a trade unionist and initiator of the Lesotho People’s Charter Movement.”
Lesotho, one of Africa’s poorest nations, is surrounded by the much more affluent South Africa. The contrast between the countries is stark. In 2009, South Africa and Lesotho’s GDP per capita (PPP) was $10,100 and $1,700 respectively. I could go on, but needless to say, on every measure of well-being South Africa scores vastly higher.
While the country faces a myriad of problems, from a crippled economy to a paralyzed government, there is widespread belief that HIV/AIDS is the source problem. They are likely not far from the truth, almost a quarter of Basotho adults (between 15 and 49) are infected with HIV. The negative impact of lost human capital from illness and death is a massive drain on both public and private coffers. Combined with its isolated geographic location, the time it will likely take to see significant improvements in the kingdom cannot be measured in years, but generations.
If Lesotho is annexed by South Africa, it will be the first modern nation-state destroyed not by invasion or revolution, but by infectious disease.
Hat tip to my great wife for pointing out the story.
Photo credit: Jeremy
Christopher R. Albon is a political science Ph.D. specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy.
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A completely tangential question: is it common for border crossings to have corporate sponsors? I’ve only crossed 7 or 8 borders and never seen anything like it.
I think not, but if the price is right I guess anything is possible.
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