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Browsing Research Articles by Author "Mots'oene, K. A."
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Item Housing Implications on Sustainable Development in Maseru, Lesotho(Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 2014) Mots'oene, K. A.The main argument of this paper is that lack of housing threatens prospects for sustainable development in Maseru. With the increasing urbanization most of the population from other parts ofLesotho move to Maseru, the only city in the country where employment and education opportunities and basic services are concentrated.Housing as a requirement for sustainable development far lags behind this burgeoning population and instead there is increasing poverty in the city. This requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders including the government, the private sector and civil society to come up with policy to address housing problems in Maseru and lead to attainment of sustainable development. This paper serves as a basis for such policy debates and as a guide towards addressing the housing problems in promoting sustainable development in Maseru. The paper is presented in six sections: introduction, methodology, literature review, findings and discussions, conclusion and recommendations.Item The Informal Sector and Human Capacity Building for Sustainable Development(Scholarlink Resource Centre, 2014) Mots'oene, K. A.The paper argues that with the increasing urbanization and unemployment in Maseru, the proliferation of the informal sector is visible acrossthe city, but it only serves to mitigate the severity of poverty in poor households by enabling them to meet survival needs ratherthan inducing savings that canbe translated into human capacity building through education and skills. It is through savings that people can be able to finance their development in terms of acquiring knowledge and skills critical to their wherewithal in society. The paper analyses the intricate nexus between the informal sector and human capacity building and sustainable development in Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho. The paper addresses this missing link in the literature, at the same time showing how important the informal sector can be in improving people�s lives through capacity building and eventually lead to sustainable development. Communities of Thibella, Motimposo and Sekamaneng formed the sample in this study where 120 poor households which participated in the informal sector were interviewed.The paper therefore exposes the intrinsic problems of the informal sector in Maseru for failing to make realizable changes in the lives of the urban poor population which often participates in the sectorItem Lessons on Old Age Pensions as Welfare Investment for Sustainable Development(Scholarlink Resource Centre, 2014) Daemane, M. M. M.; Mots'oene, K. A.This article argues within the context of alternative pragmatic developmental perspective that while known for a fact that higher income reduces the number of the absolutely poor and raises living levels, self-esteem, freedom and non- dependence on aid, old age pension amount currently given in Lesotho is observably too low to effect realizable sustainable development. Equity in income distribution when looking at the inflation, other allowances to other sectors of the population especially the politicians in the institutions of ruling, is still a far fetched idea. Supplementary and complementary poverty-focused policies and strategies beside pension for the aged to acquire uplifted levels of living encompassing sufficient life sustaining goods, adequate health, quality education or advanced life-sustaining/productive skills and adequate access to social services are still needed in Lesotho. The low pension income (R450) must effectually be replaced by increased real income, that is, with real purchasing power and not only nominal value, as is now the case, in order to reduce poor health and low nutrition. Furthermore, induce saving, labour saving technology acquisition, high investment propensity, jobs creation, population or fertility control, thus low dependency ratio and increased freedom and ability in material gain, choice making, trading and non-dependence on aid.Item Urbanization and Aging : The Survival of the Aged in an Urbanizing City, Maseru, Lesotho(Scholarlink Resource Centre, 2014) Mots'oene, K. A.The paper analyzes the elderly survival strategies in an increasingly urbanizing city of Maseru in the period 2009-2012 using the household survey conducted on poor elderly in the three urban communities of Thibella, Sekamaneng and Motimposo. It seeks to understand the impact of rapid urban growth of Maseru on the elderly and the possible range of responses to this change and poverty The analysis shows that the elderly people living in poverty have devised means of survival while a few increasingly depend on social welfare grant provided by the government to cope with poverty. Despite this good effort, more than 50 percent of the population still lives in poverty. The burden of caring for orphans particularly in female elderly headed households exposes them to more poverty. Lifting the elderly group out of poverty will require a continued growth based policy and further expansion of social services. This paper serves as a basis for policy review so that the needs of the elderly are fully addressed. Furthermore, the paper seeks to fill the existing gap in the literature on the elderly survival in Lesotho as no studies have yet been done. The paper is composed of four sections. First, it introduces urban growth and features of poverty in the context of the developing world including Lesotho. Second, it deals with the general perspectives on urbanization and its impact on the elderly in Africa. Third, it discusses the observed repercussions of urbanization on the elderly living in Maseru and their coping strategies. The fourth section presents the conclusion and suggested ways of improving the lives of the elderly living in Maseru. The paper considers the elderly as people who are aged 60 and above.