The Causes and Implications of Youth Unemployment in Lesotho: Time to Make Section 29 of the Constitution Justiciable and to Enact Other Laws to Solve the Problem.

Abstract

Youth employment is very important in eradicating the bitter and harmful effects of the sociopolitical and economic risks that Lesotho faces. However, enforcement of chapter three of Lesotho’s constitution, level of education, the collapse of local industries, climate change, and neglect of agricultural sector, so is the high rate of diseases like HIV/AIDS tuberculosis and very high corruption rate in the government play a very serious uphill battle to overcome the very threatening unemployment rate among youth because the country has low financial resources. Consequently low standard of living and high crime rate are the direct result of youth unemployment. Lesotho is regarded as one of the poorest countries both the African region and in the world. In trying to solve the problem of high youth unemployment rate the country Incorporated policies advocated internationally especially those of ILO into its constitution since 1966 with a view to strengthen their campaign to reduce the unemployment rate. The justifiability of policies on opportunity to work as enshrined in chapter three of the 1993 Constitution of Lesotho form the fulcrum upon which the discussion in this paper is based. It concludes by recommending that the constitution must be amended or be reformed to make section 29 to be justifiable. Equally important creation of new laws and diversification of the economy (improvement of private sector) is very important so is the revitalization of collapsed local industries to absorb growing number of unemployed youths.