Three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3. The colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively. Centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people. The flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence.

Flag courtesy of the CIA World Factbook

Map courtesy of the CIA World Factbook

Google Earth

Lesotho mountain village

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Government

According to Britannica, a constitution was written when Lesotho became independent in 1966, but it was suspended in 1970 by Chief Leabua Jonathan, then prime minister, when it appeared that the opposition party would prevail in the country’s first post independence elections. A new constitution, approved by a constituent assembly in July 1991, was not promulgated until the March 1993 general elections. Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy, with the king as the head of state. The prime minister serves as the head of government and head of the armed forces. The bicameral parliament consists of an elected National Assembly and an appointed Senate. The 120 members of the National Assembly are elected to five-year terms, 80 directly, 40 proportionally, while the Senate consists of 22 traditional chiefs and 11 members chosen by the king. The king himself does not hold executive authority and is instead a national symbol; executive power rests with the cabinet, which is led by the prime minister. Political parties were dissolved in 1986 but reauthorized in 1991.

Lesotho is divided into 10 administrative districts, each of which is under the direction of a district council, headed by an administrator. The subdistrict tier of local government is administered through community and municipal councils. District council members are indirectly elected by the community and municipal councils within the district, while community and municipal council members are directly elected by their constituents. Traditional chiefs are also included in district, community, and municipal councils.

The legal system is based on Roman-Dutch law, with elements of British and customary law also playing a role. There are local and central courts, judicial commissioners’ courts, subordinate courts, and a court of appeal, with the High Court as the superior court of record. Magistrates’ courts exist in the districts. Lesotho maintains only a small defense force and relies on South Africa for its external security.

Under customary law, women cannot inherit land. When a family does not have a son to inherit the land, it reverts back to the chief. This practice was amended by the 1979 Land Act to allow women the right to remain on the property should their husbands die before them. Because of the nature of the migratory work patterns of men, women are increasingly becoming the heads of households, but the law has been slow to acknowledge this fact. Women have been elected to the National Assembly, but they constitute only a small minority of the membership, despite effort to increase the participation of women in politics. However, in the country’s first local government elections, held in 2005, slightly more than half of the councillors elected were women.

Civil / National Aviation Authority (CAA/NAA)

The mission of the department of Civil Aviation (CAA) is “to provide for the control, regulation and development of aviation in Lesotho and for other matters incidental thereto and to give effect to the Chicago Convention and the Transit Agreement” (Aviation Act, 1975. ACT NO. 32 OF 1975 p.86).

Airspace

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ICAO countries publish an Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP). This document is divided into three parts: General (GEN), En Route (ENR) and Aerodromes (AD). ENR 1.4 details the types of airspace classes they chose to adopt from classes A through G. Lesotho AIP

Drone Regulations

Currently, there is no legal framework for the use of drones.

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

Short Essay Questions