A national state of disaster has been declared in Lesotho, South Africa, due to the extremely high rate of youth unemployment. According to official figures, unemployment in the country stands at 30% but youth unemployment in the country stands at 50%.
Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara stated that the national state of disaster will remain in effect until 30 June 2027. The declaration allows the country to take all necessary measures to minimise the effects of disasters, among others.
According to an AFP report, Lesotho, battling youth unemployment, was hit with higher tariffs by the U.S president in April. It also suffered from the termination of U.S. Agency for International Development programs previously active in countries around the world.
The country is reportedly one of the biggest beneficiaries of the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act. AGOA facilitates trade access to some countries to promote the economic development of these countries.
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Lesotho warned that it may lose up to 40,000 jobs if AGOA is not renewed at the end of September. According to the country’s trade minister, U.S. buyers were not placing orders because they were uncertain about what might happen.
In 2024, the U.S. and Lesotho traded goods, particularly textiles and clothing worth $240 million, mostly exported from Lesotho.
However, that ceased when Trump imposed a 10% tax on Lesotho, along with other nations, earlier this year. According to Trump, the tariff announcement is to reduce his country’s trade deficit with the rest of the world.
Lesotho is among the countries that benefited from the U.S emergency plan for Aids relief, which was launched in 2003.
