First, the social, cultural and economic impacts of the migrant labor system on the living conditions of rural households are investigated. The thesis examines both positive and negative socio-economic and cultural effects and impacts of the historical system of labor migration between Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa.
Table 5.1
168 Table 5.16 Differentiation of domestic animals 173 Table 5.17 Legal ownership of fields for cultivation 180 Table 5.18 Sizes of fields owned by households 183 Table 5.19 Household conditions of land use 187 Table 5.20 Access to agricultural technology14.
Figure 4.1
Aims and Objectives
The historical emphasis on the importance of industrialization in the development of the economies of Third World countries has virtually implied the complete neglect of the countryside (Forbes, 1984). This national bourgeoisie allied itself with the underdevelopment of rural areas to maintain a regular flow of cheap labor to spread capitalist aspirations either within Lesotho or across the border in South Africa.
Models of labour migration
The dependency school of thought views labor migration as a symptom of the underdevelopment, poverty and impoverishment of labor-sending countries. According to the latter models, emigration was understood as a consequence of the unequal penetration of capitalism into Third World countries.
The migrants-worker-peasant controversy
Migrant workers are people who leave their homes periodically for the purpose of looking for work, this movement can be either intra-national or international. The central focus of this chapter is to look at the origins and development of the oscillating migrant labor system that developed between South Africa and other countries in southern Africa, with particular emphasis on Lesotho as the case study nation.
Origins and organization of the migrant labour system in South Africa
Local recruitment of labor from South Africa and neighboring countries became imperative (Simons and Simons, 1969; Hepple, 1968). This factor has contributed greatly to the recruitment of foreign migrant mine workers in place of natives for the mining industry in South Africa (Crush, 1995; Guy and Thabane, 1993).
Labour migration in Lesotho: An historical perspective
Unfortunately, this possibility has contributed to the acceleration of the soil erosion and degradation problem facing the agricultural development of Lesotho as an agricultural economy (Mcleod, 1995); Murray, 1981). This awareness thus became a positive influence of the migrant labor system on the development of the villages from which the migrants came (Moodie and Ndatsane, 1994; Crush and James, 1995).
The retrenchment of Lesotho migrant workers
This chapter has examined the history of the migrant labor system in South Africa in relation to the reasons for labor recruitment, retrenchment and what is likely to prevail in the new post-apartheid dispensation with particular reference to the labor force of Lesotho. . The chapter begins by identifying the different topographical areas of the watershed and the distribution of households and villages. The seven villages that make up the rural area of the watershed are contained in Table 3.1 and are also shown in Figure 3.1.
As a result of the development of trade, people from outside the catchment come to do their shopping in Mapholaneng urban villages. As a result of these services, this urban area has historically been considered the commercial center of the watershed and other peripheral locations.
The selection of case study villages
From the list of urban areas shown in Table 3.1, Meketeng and Motete villages were selected to represent the urban catchment area. A proportional number of joint households in each rural and urban village was selected to ensure a balanced representation of the two areas. This was decided to avoid regional bias that could ultimately affect the interpretation of the study's findings.
To obtain a representative sample of the characteristic households in the selected case study villages, random sampling was used to select households to respond to the questionnaire survey. The division of the sample of households into migrant and non-migrant households is done to compare and contrast these household groups with respect to several criteria, including an analysis of the household's relationships with real estate and productive investments, in order to assess the demand to answer whether the migrant or the Non-migrant households have invested more productively in the watershed.
Questionnaire compilation and administration
It was from these clusters or household clusters that samples were drawn for detailed study. Interviewing and administering the questionnaire to the illiterate respondents was done by the researcher himself. This approach was mainly used in Khukhune, Makalieng and Tiping sub-villages where most of the people are illiterate.
Other informal interviews were conducted with the villagers such as headmen, headmen and some elderly members of the communities. In these cases, unstructured questions were asked and the answers recorded as part of the required information.
Participatory observation and Rural appraisal techniques
This procedure involved the researcher moving from one household to another and spending some time with the respondents to interpret question by question and complete the respondent's answers. In addition, frequent travel by the researcher over the past years between different sub-villages made it easier to compare and contrast similarities and differences in relation to some issues of this study, for example, the rate and extent of land degradation and the levels economic. infrastructure within the sub-villages.
Photograph interpretation
Introduction to Lesotho's physical relief
It is relatively well developed and consists of the major cities, including the capital Maseru. The Mapholaneng Catchment is found in the northwestern part of Mokhotlong District in the eastern Maluti Mountains. The small rural village of Mapholaneng is located in the northwestern part of Mokhotlong District in eastern Lesotho.
The landscape in Mapholaneng is a part of the eastern region that is of volcanic origin and consists of basaltic surfaces. 79 The microclimatic conditions of Mapholaneng are more or less the same extremes as in the mountainous region of the country.
Natural resources of land .1 Flora and Fauna
- Sweet veld grassland (seboku)
- Woodland vegetation
This is a fairly mixed combination of mountain grass and shrubs historically found in high mountains above 2400 meters elevation. However, current observations in most parts of the country indicate the current non-existence of most of these historical vegetation varieties, therefore, an urgent need for the rehabilitation of Lesotho's physical landscape is a must. In terms of Lesotho's landscape, wetlands occur in waterlogged mountainous areas or along streams and rivers.
This grass has been of great importance to rural communities because its growth and availability are culturally intertwined with some of the main cultural functions such as traditional thatch for the purpose of covering houses, ropes for gathering firewood, but mainly for use in culture. evaluated lebollo initiating institution. Lesotho no longer has any variety of wildlife except for the few that are being bred in the recently established (1980) wildlife conservation center in Sehlaba-Thebe National Park in the Eastern Region in Qachas'neck District.
The socio-economic rural structure of agriculture .1 Introduction to the issue of land tenure
- Crop-cultivation
In Lesotho, headship is one of the main historic rural superstructures for village local government. The law was originally intended to regulate the distribution of land in urban areas of the country. Although the physical environment of the watershed was more suitable for animal husbandry, honey.
In fact, stock theft has currently become one of the major rural problems faced by livestock owners in the watershed and surrounding villages. For example, the village of Makalieng is located where it is due to the accessibility of a perennial natural spring in the middle of the village.
Trends of urbanization
Most of the households are located along both sides of the recently constructed (1993-1997) tarred road that runs through the watershed. These services, plus tar road access have attracted immigration from outlying villages to Mapholaneng. Most of the immigrants came in search of job opportunities, especially during the tar road construction phase between 1993 and 1997.
Related new changes that came with the construction of the road include the development of houses for rent to meet the increased demands of job seekers and the road construction employees. These animals were needed for slaughter to provide meat for the food suppliers who provide for the employees of the road construction work.
The problem of labour migration in Mapholaneng Catchment
In fact, agriculture has been considered the backbone of the country's economy for the past 100 years. Agriculture has continued to feed most of the Basotho population and has also been a major contributor to Lesotho's gross domestic product (GDP). Additionally, Lesotho government records in 1985 showed that agriculture alone contributed 26% or M142.4 million to GDP as a result of the increase in production of staple food grains of maize wheat and sorghum (Kingdom of Lesotho, 1987).
The topography of Lesotho is mostly suitable for livestock farming, but documentation and real-life experiences in the country reveal that the physical number of livestock owned by farmers has been twice the carrying capacity of the grasslands. However, the employment of the former migrants will depend on the relevance of their skills and experience to the requirements of diamond mining in Lesotho, which is different from coal and gold mining.
ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY DATA 1 Introduction
- Catchment implications for rural development
- Age, gender and rural production
- Ages of Maturity and productivity (31-50 yrs )
- Age ranges and educational levels attained
- Migrant and Non-Migrant household's education attainments
- Impacts of migrancy on the household labour force
- Loss of family members through abandonment of home
- Disablement of migrant-labourers
- The scourge of retrenchment in Mapholaneng
Furthermore, the proportion of females in all age groups appears to be relatively higher than that of males in most villages in the catchment. The results of the household questionnaire survey in Mapholaneng show the following general conclusions about education. The traditional agricultural activities of rural families, such as animal husbandry and assisting in household farming practices, have greatly hindered educational development in the catchment.
As a result, most girls in the catchment area had to give up schooling to get involved in marriage for the benefit of the parents involved. This was the result of the then relative increases in migrant labor wages from the mines in South Africa and which were used in the related purchases of livestock by the migrant workers. In the case of the majority of relatively poorer households, purposeful cultivation of fodder for livestock is therefore not known.
The remote location of the village in the rugged mountain landscape away from services and infrastructure is evident.
