SOUTH Africa and Louis Vuitton 2013 Lesotho have agreed to create migration systems that make it easier for people and goods to move across their border, but researchers are concerned that adding to border-crossing requirements could make the process difficult and worsen corruption.
Large numbers of Basotho leave the kingdom for South Africa to find work in sectors such as mining and public transport. The Lesotho high commissioner in Pretoria, Lineo Ntoane, estimated last year that there were 44,000 Basotho miners working in South Africa, about 10% of South Africaâs total mining industry workforce.
She said four of the 34 miners killed by police during the deadly Marikana strikes were Basotho.
Job losses in the sector have seen the number of remittances to Lesotho dwindle, leading to concern over the socioeconomic effects of the malaise of South Africaâs mining industry.
Social workers in Lesothoâs poorest communities say remittances do not always reach migrantsâ families and some migrants have ended up staying permanently in South Africa.
South Africaâs Department of Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni earlier this year reassured Classic Hermes Zip Wallet Red Basotho with dual citizenship that the South African Citizenship Amendment Act 2010 would not compel them to relinquish their South African citizenship.
International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane last week hosted a general, joint bilateral commission with her Lesotho counterpart, Kenneth Tsekoa. "(The) focus was equally on increased bilateral trade and investment and what is needed to ease cross-border movement of goods and people.⌠Our two countries have been working together for some time now on assisting Lesotho to develop a national registrar of its citizenship and the securitisation of the documentation," Ms Mashabane said.
The minister said both countries looked forward to rolling out a system to record the details of Basotho living in South Africa.
But migration experts say the recently passed South African Citizenship Amendment Act and increased South African documentation requirements will undermine efforts to bring about Hermes Birkin Bag 35 Leather Sienna Gold simpler cross-border movement.
African Centre for Migration and Society director Loren Landau said introducing more checks and balances at the border would not only restrict ease of movement, but also could increase the risk of corruption by border officials.
"I think the two countries are economically inseparable. The more fluid movements are between the two countries the more both countries will benefit. South Africa benefits from Lesotho in terms of labour, whereas Lesotho would eventually be strangled if its borders were further restricted," Mr Landau said.
Mr Landau said South Africaâs government would need to find the right balance between restricting Longchamp sale border crossing and easing trade in goods and services where conflict between different departments arose.
"Home affairs is Louis vuitton pas cher under pressure to clamp down on movement, but trade and industry, for example, would like to see this ease up."
A migration expert said some Basotho had reported that border checks of those entering Lesotho could be much more thorough, while Basotho entering South Africa sometimes Longchamp sale felt victimised by overzealous officials.
Lesothoâs export goods include clothes. Its main resources are water and diamonds. Its main sources of revenue include remittances, provisions from the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu), local and domestic tax and donor funding.
