Economic partnership agreement and it’s effect on Lesotho’s economy
Economic partnership agreement and it’s effect on Lesotho’s economy
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Date
2010-12-31
Authors
Lehloenya, Thato
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Malta; DiploFoundation
Abstract
There is a dire situation of poverty in Lesotho. This is attributable to several factors such as: poor climatic conditions, HIV and AIDS pandemic and poor Government policies. In an effort to reduce poverty and increase economic growth, the Government of Lesotho initialled and signed an Interim Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union. This study is meant to access the effect of Economic Partnership Agreement on Lesotho’s economy and to establish whether or not the Agreement would contribute towards alleviating poverty in Lesotho. The methodology adopted in this study was documentary review. Data was analysed from available literature in the form of reports, publications, policy papers and through surfing the net. Interviews were also conducted in order to incorporate the views of focus groups. The findings of the study reveal that Economic Partnership Agreement can be beneficial to Lesotho in the long run, as Lesotho exporters are likely to have preferential market access to the biggest market in the world. However, there are some gaps that hinder progress towards reducing poverty. These include: poor and inadequate infrastructure, and poor government policies.