Maseru – Yesterday’s (8th July) government declaration labeling youth unemployment and job losses as a “State of Disaster” has sparked fierce debate, with Basotho questioning its constitutionality and intent. The declaration, made under Legal Notice No. 102 of 2025, invokes the Disaster Management Act of 1997, granting the executive sweeping powers for two years to address the crisis.
The Advocates for the Supremacy of the Constitution, Lesotho’s prominent legal watchdog, have issued a scathing critique of the move. In a statement released yesterday, the group argued that the declaration is “legally untenable, politically expedient, and constitutionally precarious.”
According to Section 2 of the Disaster Management Act, a “disaster” refers to sudden or progressive events like floods, fires, or major accidents, incidents requiring immediate humanitarian intervention. The group contends that youth unemployment, while a pressing issue, is a chronic, structural problem resulting from systemic failures in policy and governance, not an abrupt calamity warranting emergency measures.
“By this logic, inflation, poverty, or even potholes could next be declared ‘disasters,’” the statement reads. “This sets a dangerous precedent for the misuse of emergency powers.”
Critics allege that the government is exploiting the Disaster Management Act to bypass standard legislative and administrative procedures. The declaration centralizes authority in the executive branch, raising alarms about the erosion of parliamentary oversight and judicial checks in a democracy already grappling with fragile accountability mechanisms.
“The youth of Lesotho deserve more than symbolic gestures wrapped in legal exceptionalism,” the statement asserts. “Unemployment is not a disaster; it is a failure of governance.”
The Advocates propose alternative solutions, urging the government to amend the Disaster Management Act through transparent parliamentary processes to clarify what constitutes a “disaster”; develop a dedicated legal framework for addressing long-term socio-economic crises; and ensure constitutional safeguards to prevent executive overreach, including judicial oversight and time-bound emergency measures.
