Mail & Guardian Online - February 16, 2007
Thabo Thakalekoal

During the entire 90-day election campaign period, the HIV/Aids crisis, job creation, poverty and education have emerged as burning issues.

It is now more than 20 years since the first HIV/Aids case was diagnosed in the tiny Southern African country. This year, the rate of infection stands at 23,3% of the estimated 2,2million population. The infection rate continues to rise, and most of those who are infected are young people.

Under Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, the government launched the "Know Your Status" campaign, which was intended to encourage people from the age of 12 upwards to test for HIV/Aids. However, some opposition parties feel that the HIV/Aids situation in the tiny kingdom is far from under control as many people still do not know their status. They also say that the campaign has serious financial problems because of a lack of donor funding.

The challenge facing the new government will be to determine how many people are in need of treatment, to increase the testing rate and to halt the escalating infection rate. So far, few political parties have been convincing on this matter.

The provision of healthcare is another item on the agenda during this election campaign. The ruling party has, on numerous occasions, told its supporters that the government has embarked on a large-scale initiative to improve health services in the country. It claims to be improving the working conditions and terms of service of health professionals, and seeking the services of medical doctors from Cuba and China. But opposition parties say the health sector is in a shambles and has totally collapsed.

They complain of poor service provision and an insufficient number of trained staff and equipment in most of the government-controlled health facilities around the country. This has led to professional health personnel, especially doctors and nurses, leaving the country for South Africa and elsewhere.

Unemployment is also seen as a major challenge that needs to be tackled urgently.

The rate of unemployment in Lesotho has risen to more than 45% in the past eight years, despite the country receiving R20million a month from the sale of water to South Africa as part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.

The poverty reduction strategy implemented by the government in the past few years has failed to eradicate or reduce poverty in the country, especially in the rural areas, where people live below the poverty line on less than $1 a day.

Opposition political parties are saying they will deal with the issue of poverty if elected to power, but there are no clear poverty reduction strategies in their manifestos.

The ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy, led by Mosisili, and the All Basotho Convention, led by Tom Thabane, appear to be the main contestants in this election. Other parties that are set to figure prominently are the Basotho National Party, the Alliance of Congress Parties and the Popular Front for Democracy.

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