Call to revisit border policies

‘Why do we have a border gate to Lesotho, considering that the people of Lesotho are in SA? This also applies to Botswana and Swaziland.’ In a Daily Maverick analysis, Nthakoana Ngatane notes that this comment by EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu has added fuel to the already fierce debate about the independence of Lesotho – a country already in political and security intensive care. Ngatane says the question may have been rhetorical but it seems to have elicited many responses. ‘SA has introduced the Lesotho Special Permit, which allows Lesotho nationals to stay in the country for up to four years. Nearly 200 000 applications were received, of an estimated 400 000 Basotho in SA. These estimates are a quarter of the mountain kingdom’s population of two m i l l i o n. They include skilled professionals, unskilled labourers in construction and farms, and domestic workers. Many more are informal traders. They go home at least once a month, or during the holidays, and traffic testifies to this. Daily border crossers include learners, an indictment of the country’s education; patients who include Prime Ministers –an indication of the failing or non-existent health system – and traders who buy stock for retailers. Lesotho imports 90% of its consumption, mainly from SA. Another category is the elderly, who collect monthly pensions in South African border towns.’