THE spike in human trafficking in Lesotho, instilling fear in the nation and courting the attention of not only development partners but the whole world, is a reality we cannot wish away.
And, at the heart of the human trafficking scourge in Lesotho, are two primary socio-economic factors: high unemployment especially among the youth and abject poverty from whose clutches, it would seem, Lesotho does not have a solid plan to extricate itself from.
Poverty is one of several factors that make individuals vulnerable to trafficking. While human trafficking victims come from a range of backgrounds, including even from economically privileged families, trafficking is generally inextricably linked to people with a lack of resources, notably job opportunities.
Poverty serves as the breeding ground for human trafficking in Lesotho. With over half the population living below the poverty line and an unemployment rate that hovers around 80% among the country’s youth population, individuals are desperate for economic opportunities.
Just over this past weekend, the police and family of 19-year-old Reitumetse Phiri were running helter-skelter, helpless as they searched for the young woman who had been kidnapped.
Her kidnapper was arrested and Reitumetse rescued on Sunday night at the Teele Border post, where he was attempting to illegally smuggle her into South Africa, possibly to pass her on to a human trafficking ring as a sex slave.
Reitumetse fell into the trap after she was offered a piece job by her would be captor. She had been promised M900 for a piece job doing laundry and spring cleaning at a house in Masowe. M900 for a job that could be done in a day or two was tempting for her. She cannot be blamed for succumbing to the temptation, if it meant that she could put food on her family’s table or attend to other urgent needs. That is what poverty does. It makes anyone believe in any fairy tale.
More young Basotho girls like Reitumetse fall prey to perpetrators of human trafficking every day.
Sadly, most of them are not as lucky as Reitumetse, whose captor lost concentration for a second, creating an opportunity for her to seek help. And fortunately for her, police patrolling the border were nearby to come to her rescue.
Hers is a classic case why the government of Lesotho must understand, that addressing poverty is crucial to breaking the vicious circle or cycle of human trafficking.
Initiatives that focus on education and creating employment opportunities can empower individuals, making them less susceptible to the allure of traffickers.
However, such economic opportunities remain elusive with no tangible plan in place to improve the lot of Basotho.
Like his predecessors, Prime Minister Sam Matekane, does not seem to have a plan to tackle the chronic abject poverty, by creating sustainable employment.
His coalition seems to be losing the battle for creating sustainable jobs, which would in turn decrease the nauseatingly high levels of poverty.
Previous Lesotho governments sang the same song that Premier Matekane sings today, that in line with the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) II and to satisfy the requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s, the country would have eradicated poverty everywhere and decreased unemployment by 2030.
But that is a very distant dream because, in the Lesotho on whose soil we stand today, there is no groundwork indicating that efforts are being made to create jobs and eradicate poverty. If anything, we are going nowhere as a country.
Lesotho is now known for all the wrong reasons; endemic crime, which is scaring off investors, entrenched corruption, poor service delivery, a state bureaucracy that hampers instead of facilitating private sector development.
Grand plans like the NSDP II are mostly statement of objectives whose implementation is always found wanting.
Mr Matekane’s government’s has spoken of the need for private sector led growth and job creation. Fair enough.
However, it is the responsibility of the government to foster an environment conducive to private sector investment. The government should itself also create jobs through infrastructure development and by consistently providing basic services to the public.
Still, the government’s primary role should be to create an enabling environment for the economy to grow. It is only in such an environment, that businesses can increase profits and create jobs. Unless government grows the economy, public sector jobs are unsustainable because tax revenue growth is stagnant.
Another glaring problem is Lesotho’s textile sector, the supposedly second biggest employer after government. The sector is shedding jobs at lightning speed and when one looks closely, government seems to be helpless. There are no solid measures it is employing to manage the problem.
Hence, the United State’s recently released report on human trafficking in Lesotho, aptly titled “2024 Trafficking in Persons Report: Lesotho”, states that female factory workers who have lost jobs in the textile industry, are more prone to human trafficking.
“Basotho traffickers target factory workers in Maseru, with offers of lucrative employment in South Africa, and force them to work in factories in Newcastle and Mandeni, South Africa,” notes the report.
The report also states that women are trafficked to disused gold mines in South Africa, where they are forced into sex slavery for the pleasure of zama-zamas, a colloquial term to describe illegal miners. Additionally, the report notes, young Basotho girls and women are also trafficked into South Africa, where they are turned slaves, working either as sex or domestic workers.
The question that remains now is, what will it take for Lesotho authorities to get the message, and wake up from the decades long slumber because Lesotho is drowning?
Why is it so easy for politicians to lure Basotho with promises to solve socio-economic problems crippling this nation, only to sit on their laurels once they assume office? Mr Matekane, please do not let Lesotho collapse under your guard. Your coalition must articulate a clear vision about how it intends to tackle the myriad crisis deterring investment and growth. Certainly, no investor will come to a country where they feel scared they will be murdered on arrival.
