Young Basotho remain unconvinced by Prime Minister Sam Matekane and his cabinet of ministers’ latest pledges to tackle the country’s unemployment crisis through bold reforms and economic initiatives.
Matekane announced an ambitious plan to create no fewer than 70,000 job opportunities in several sectors for young people, starting next month.
Despite the government’s renewed commitment, opposition parties and youth leaders have raised alarms, warning that promises alone are insufficient. They are calling for transparency, accountability, and urgent action amid growing frustration across the nation.
In a televised address this week, Matekane acknowledged the gravity of Lesotho’s unemployment problem, particularly among the youth, nearly 49 percent of whom remain jobless.
He cited both internal structural issues and external pressures, such as shrinking international aid and unfavourable global trade conditions, as contributing factors.
“Although the government is addressing this situation, it has been worsened by rapid global changes. These include changes by the American government that restrict previous assistance, and new trade and business conditions that are disrupting job-creating industries,” Matekane said.
He announced a national employment strategy focused on labour-intensive development, youth skills training, and entrepreneurship. Key sectors targeted for job creation include public works, agriculture, energy, sanitation, and ICT, with tens of thousands of opportunities reportedly underway.
“Projects include road construction, rural electrification, irrigation, and environmental conservation,” he stated. “Additionally, targeted funding and support are being provided to youth and women-led businesses, including access to start-up capital and vocational training.”
Matekane also highlighted initiatives like SEBABATSO – a youth empowerment programme initiated by the Prime Minister’s office – which aims to promote innovation and self-employment among youth.
To stimulate further job creation, the government is also enhancing labour laws, encouraging private sector investment, and collaborating with international partners to secure employment opportunities abroad.
Early retirement policies are being considered to open up positions for younger workers, alongside reforms to public procurement that prioritise youth, women, and people with disabilities, he noted.
He added that a national youth summit on job creation is planned as part of efforts to ensure economic growth translates into tangible opportunities for young Basotho.
Matekane’s ambitious job creation plan comes against a backdrop of allegations of widespread corruption in the agriculture sector, with politicians having been fingered in the theft of government-procured fertilisers which ended up not reaching farmers. Lesotho’s rain-fed agriculture employs 29 percent of the country’s labour force.
It also comes amid largescale job losses in the country’s textile sector – the major export industry which currently employs 15,000 people; down from 40,000 at its peak some years ago.
However, the acting chairperson of youth group United Youth For Change, Tumelo Moteuli, dismissed Matekane’s grand plan as mere lip service to the youth unemployment crisis which he described as ‘worse than COVID-19 and a ticking time bomb’.
In an interview with theReporter, Moteuli expressed scepticism at the government’s real motives and timing, given that it only appears to be serious about addressing unemployment after the thousands of young people showed up for Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) recruitment interviews around the country.
“It is a shame that the LDF footage and images are what finally pushed the government to speak out,” he said.
He also poured scorn on the government for dangling the carrot by perpetually talking about its future plans, with nothing concrete to show on the ground.
“We take what the prime ministers said with a pinch of salt. It is unfortunate that the majority of cabinet members talk about what they plan to do rather than what they are already doing,” he pointed out.
Moteuli said the youth, who largely supported the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party in the last elections, are yet to see any meaningful change.
He argued that sustainable solutions are lacking and that the government has not demonstrated genuine commitment to solving the unemployment crisis.
The youth leader also decried what he regarded as lack of transparency, noting that despite being in power for over two years, the government has yet to release a comprehensive progress report on unemployment.
“Young people are turning to substance abuse as a coping mechanism due to limited opportunities. Out-of-the-box measures are required to fight youth unemployment.”
He added that corruption remains a major obstacle: “Funds that disappear without accountability could be redirected to create sustainable jobs.”
Democratic Congress leader, Mathibeli Mokhothu joined the growing chorus of criticism, insisting government should have instead reported on actual employment achievements rather than unveiling future plans. More so, given that the government had already tabled the 2025/26 National Budget on April 1.
“We are now in the third month since the budget was tabled. The government should have reported how many youths have been hired, not what they hope to do,” Mokhothu told the media on Wednesday.
He cited Central Bank of Lesotho data showing the national economy contracted by 5.3 percent in the first quarter of the year.
“Yet the government claims it will employ 70,000 youth. That is simply not true,” he concluded.
Another youth activist, Kananelo Boloetse, did not have kind words for Matekane.
“A press conference does not feed the hungry. It does not create jobs, or pay school fees. And lining up ministers to answer questions won’t reduce the unemployment rate by even a fraction. But still, we must recognise that standing before the nation, naming the problem for what it is, and opening his administration up to public scrutiny is not merely ceremonial. It is a necessary act of democratic responsibility, one we have not seen often enough.
“Acknowledgement, of course, is only the beginning. It is not a solution; it is a signal. And now that the Prime Minister has finally signalled that he sees what the people have long been living, the chronic, suffocating, and increasingly explosive crisis of unemployment, the burden shifts. From this point onward, we are not just entitled, but obligated, to interrogate his government’s response. We must ask whether the proposed interventions are rooted in evidence, driven by urgency, and scaled to the magnitude of the challenge before us,” he retorted.
