Youth unemployment continues to rise
As Minister of Finance laments economy that has failed them
MOSA MAOENG
MASERU – Advocates for the Supremacy of the Constitution have expressed concern over the alarming number of unemployed youth, a scenario painted by finance minister, Dr Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane, in her presentation of the 2025/2026 national budget estimates on Wednesday.
Matlanyane said that nearly 39 percent of young people actively looking for work are unable to secure a job, nearly a third of the country’s youth population that she noted has been abandoned by an economy that should be providing them with opportunities and a future.
She revealed that among 760 230 young Basotho aged 15 to 35, approximately 145 087 are currently unemployed. According to the UNFPA report on Lesotho’s Demographic Dividend – in the Context of Health and Other Development Challenges – there are 795 000 people aged 15 to 35 years in the country, constituting more than a third (40 percent) of the total population.
Matlanyane said this, as further amplified in the 2024 Labour Force Survey, was a troubling situation that calls for government’s prompt intervention and action. 226 857 of these young people, Matlanyane continued, have given up looking for employment altogether.
This percentage presents a tremendous potential for building a generation that contributes to national development through a skilled workforce, savings and investments, according to the UNFPA report.
The Advocates for the Supremacy of the Constitution, widely known as SECTION 2, say this rate of unemployment is not just an economic challenge but a national emergency.
“A country that does not create opportunities for its young people is a country without a future,” reads a SECTION 2 statement following Matlanyane’s presentation to parliament. The consequences of neglecting this crisis will be devastating – with increased poverty, crime, mental health struggles, social unrest, and the continued exodus of skilled Basotho to other countries, the statement adds.
“Without urgent intervention, we are not just looking at a lost generation. We are looking at a nation hurtling towards socio- economic collapse.”
While SECTION 2 acknowledges that government has recognised this issue, they state that mere recognition is not enough. They said the young people of Lesotho cannot eat statistics; they cannot build a future on empty speeches, they need action; sustained, innovative, and concrete action.
“It is becoming increasingly evident that the government is out of its depth. The high expectations placed on this administration have met the harsh reality of an economy in decline, institutions unable to deliver, and a leadership that has run out of ideas,” further reads the statement.
It also read that what keeps this government popular at the moment is not its competence, but rather the deep resentment that Basotho still hold against opposition parties, many of which are former ruling parties that previously failed them.
SECTION 2 has highlighted that the time for cosmetic policies and short-term fixes is over. They have called upon the government to take immediate action by implementing a National Employment Revolution that mobilises resources, compels government to take responsibility, allows for special emergency measures as a signal to international partners – inclusive of expropriation of idle land and resources.
SECTION 2 further calls for the implementation of a National Youth Fund run by the youth not politicians, a shift to skills-based education, a national basic income for the unemployed and a total ban on political appointments based on loyalty.
In her remarks to parliament Minister Matlanyane had indicated that the status quo represented more than just numbers, but a reflection of postponed aspirations, unfulfilled potential, and a future that remains uncertain for the country’s young people.
Matlanyane was worried that the situation is particularly concerning for young women, indicating that while the overall youth unemployment rate stands at 38.9 percent, young women faced an even steeper challenge with a 40.8 percent unemployment rate, compared to 37.1 percent for young men.
She said the gender disparity reflected deeper structural issues that the government must address. She noted that what is equally troubling is the low youth labour force participation rate.
The minister observed that the future of the nation depended on the productive engagement of the youth, reminding the legislators converged in the National Assembly that “we cannot afford to let another generation’s potential go to waste.”
