Latest news with #Basotho
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Explore the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre: A gateway to South Africa's prehistoric heritage
Inside the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre at the Golden Gate Park. Image: Supplied In the scenic Golden Gate Highlands National Park, a groundbreaking initiative has brought to life the fascinating story of dinosaurs that once roamed the Free State. The Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre, recently launched by Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille, is a testament to the region's rich paleontological heritage and the Basotho people's connection to their land. The centre has evolved beyond merely being a tourist attraction; it has become a hub of scientific discovery and cultural significance. It features life-sized dinosaur sculptures, interactive exhibits, and educational displays that showcase the region's unique fossil findings. Visitors can explore the history of dinosaurs that lived in the area over 200 million years ago, including the Ledumahadi Mafube, a 12-ton, 12-meter-long South African dinosaur. The Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre is a celebration of the Basotho people's heritage and their connection to the land. The centre's name, "Kgodumodumo", is derived from the Sesotho word for "Great Giant", referring to a mythical monster said to have roamed the Maluti mountains that border Lesotho. The centre's launch marks a significant milestone in preserving the cultural and scientific heritage of the region. "We are proud to share this heritage with the world and inspire future generations to learn about and appreciate our ancient past," said De Lille during the launch ceremony. Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille and His Majesty Moremoholo Mopeli of the Bakoena Kingdom. Image: Supplied She added that the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre was a result of a collaborative effort between the Department of Tourism, SANParks, and the European Union. The centre's design and content were informed by scientific research and Basotho mythology, ensuring an oral, authentic, and engaging experience for visitors. "The centre's goal is to draw attention to the region's underappreciated but rich prehistoric history," said Professor Jonah Choiniere, a paleontologist from the University of the Witwatersrand. Added De Lille: "We want to tell this story to South Africans and international tourists while bringing elements of the Basotho culture into this." The Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth. In its opening, the centre has already employed 15 permanent staff members from the surrounding communities. It also claims to provide opportunities for local SMMEs to offer goods and services to visitors. "The centre will boost economic development, create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for surrounding communities, and further attract investment and development," De Lille said. The state-of-the-art centre is set to become a major tourist attraction in the province, drawing visitors from around the world. The building, if viewed from the top, is shaped like a dinosaur, and its unique blend of science, culture, and natural beauty makes it an exciting destination for anyone interested in learning about the region's fascinating past. "We envision that this tourism facility will ensure repeat visits, keep visitors longer, and more importantly, help them spend more money in our captivating destinations," De Lille said. The Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre building viewing for the top. Image: Supplied To promote the centre and encourage visitors, SANParks has announced free entry to the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre until September 30, 2025. 'This initiative will allow schools, tertiary students, and communities adjacent to the Golden Gate Highlands National Park to benefit from the centre's offerings,' SANParks' JP Louw said. As a hub of discovery and education, the centre will inspire future generations to learn about and appreciate the fascinating history of the Free State's dinosaurs, according to Louw.
IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Explore Africa's ancient history at the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre
The Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre was officially launch in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Free State, at the site of the world's oldest known dinosaur embryos. The Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre has officially opened, allowing visitors to explore the continent's ancient history where dinosaur embryos were discovered. Speaking at the opening at the weekend, Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille, said the centre, based at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, is not just a brick-and-mortar building, but a gateway into Africa's past and a dynamic future. "This is the heritage and identity of the Basotho people, and at least 50% of jobs created here must be for locals. This is part of the government's efforts to diversify tourism in the country. The Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre will act as a catalyst to further develop the district and the province,' she said. Free State Premier, MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae added that the province boasts great tourism attractions such as the Golden Gate, which provide us with endless opportunities to create jobs for our people.
The South African
6 days ago
- Business
- The South African
Is SA next? Elon Musk celebrates as Lesotho gets Starlink
Elon Musk has announced that Starlink is officially operating in Lesotho. Images via X Elon Musk has announced news that Starlink has finally launched in Lesotho, a landlocked country in South Africa. ADVERTISEMENT This comes as the world's richest man – born in Pretoria – called out 'racist laws' which he believes have halted the operating licence in his home country. In March, US President Donald Trump brazenly claimed that 'nobody has heard of' Lesotho. A month later, he imposed a 50% tariff on imports from the small region, the highest among all countries. ELON MUSK MARKS STARLINK'S OPERATION IN LESOTHO On his X account, Elon Musk marked another Starlink milestone – it was now operating in Lesotho. Shortly after President Trump imposed the high tariffs on the small country, Lesotho announced that it had granted Musk's parent company, SpaceX, a 10-year operating licence for Starlink. ADVERTISEMENT The move – which reportedly was under review – challenged the country's foreign investment policy. Like SA's Black Economic Empowerment laws, Lesotho's Section 2 body (similar to ICASA) called on SpaceX to make 30% of Starlink's equity in the country available to the Basotho people as a licensing condition. In April, the organisation said in a statement: 'While Section 2 recognises the potential benefits of expanded internet access, we respectfully oppose the issuance of this license to Starlink due to the complete absence of local ownership in the company.' On the X platform, some social media users claimed that the country had been 'pressured' into 'bending the rules' for Elon Musk. ADVERTISEMENT Others bemoaned the fact that other countries were launching Starlink, while South Africa seemingly lagged. WILL INTERNET SATELLITE SERVICE COME TO SOUTH AFRICA? According to recent reports, Elon Musk has been presented with the possibility that Starlink could be granted an operating licence in South Africa, by allegedly 'side-stepping' Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). Musk initially slammed the legislature that his company was required to adhere to a 30% local shareholding investment as a 'racist law', as he was 'not black'. Minister of Communications Solly Mahlatsi has fuelled rumours he is giving Elon Musk's Starlink the greenlight. Images via X: @starlink Last month, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi gazetted a policy direction for his department on 'alternatives' such as equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs). ADVERTISEMENT Without mentioning Starlink, the minister claimed that the policy would 'attract investment,' specifically in operating licensing. The minister revealed that a 30% local shareholding BEE requirement for foreign investments 'did not allow companies to contribute to transformation goals in ways other than traditional ownership'. As such, Malatsi revealed that the EEIP policy direction would allow qualifying multinationals to engage with the department through 'alternatives' to local ownership. This included investments in : ADVERTISEMENT Local suppliers Enterprise and skills development Job creation Infrastructure support Research and innovation, Digital inclusion initiatives, and funding for SMMEs. DO YOU THINK THAT ELON MUSK WILL BE GRANTED A LICENCE TO OPERATE STARLINK IN SOUTH AFRICA? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
DW
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- DW
Basotho blankets on the runway – DW – 05/20/2025
Sharon Farr 05/20/2025 May 20, 2025 South African designer Thabo Makhetha weaves her Basotho heritage into fashion, making global waves — but what happens when international brands such as Louis Vuitton feature the iconic blanket's motifs in their designs?
Daily Maverick
14-05-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
Golden Threads — clinging to traditional herding culture on Lesotho's scarred and shrinking land
When a culture, whose economy has long been built on each family having a small herd or flock, is crowded into shrinking areas of land, what is left of the commonage? Are the notoriously overgrazed Lesotho mountains a case of the tragedy of the commons, where too many people selfishly plunder the commonage, taking more than their fair share? Or is the tragedy in the capturing of the commons, where the powerful elite in a society are able to claim large parts of the commonage for themselves, pressing more and more commoners onto smaller parcels of land? The method of capture could be the notion of a title deed, defended with fences and brute force, or the construction of a nation state that throws a hard political border across grasslands where herders had long moved their animals between summer and winter pastures. When a culture, whose economy has long been built on each family having a small herd or flock, is crowded into shrinking areas of land, what is left of the commonage? How much can that shared grazing be expected to support all those families? What does this mean for a single community – like South Africa's apartheid-era tribal lands or Bantustans – or a nation state such as Lesotho which is now ring-fenced by a hard border and whose land practices are shaped by how the landlocked country has integrated into South Africa's stronger economy? It's hard to imagine that the villagers whose homes dot the Lesotho landscape amid neat rows of summer maize and sorghum can feed themselves from such excoriated land. An erosion gully near Quthing in Lesotho's southwestern lowlands is as deep as the mature trees growing inside it are old. Boom-and-bust cycles of droughts followed by ample rain spells leave the ground open to this kind of scarring. A farmer near Malealea village has words with a 'herd boy', local parlance for men of any age who mind small cattle herds or flocks of sheep and goats. It looks as though the cows have wandered into his maize fields and helped themselves to some corn on the cob. Lesotho's population is 2.3 million, and many in rural areas rely on some form of agriculture to feed themselves or earn a bit of an income. Cattle, sheep and goats are more than just a form of currency and savings. They have deep roots in marriage dowries and other customary practices. Wool was one of Lesotho's most bankable exports a century ago, when the looms of the European war machine couldn't weave fast enough to keep pace with the slaughter in the trenches. Once this traditional herding culture saw the benefit of running flocks of sheep for meat and wool, stock numbers shot up. This simple economics has driven extensive overgrazing that is decades-old and hard to repair. Another major export: muscle. Lesotho's men have long fed new blood into the conveyor belt of migrant miners in South Africa. Basotho men began investing their earnings in sheep, whose flocks they added to the longer tradition of cattle herding. Then came the mohair boom, which saw the country's stockmen add goat herds to the mix. With 60% of the country covered in rangelands, today more than half of rural families in the higher mountainous parts depend on wool and mohair for their income, writes soil and conservation specialist Mashekoe Likoti in a 2019 report for the Lesotho Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation. Rangelands experts were concerned about the state of the country's grazing as far back as the 1980s. Things continue to deteriorate because of 'weak institutional arrangements, poor grazing management practices, climatic conditions, overstocking, fire and brush invasion,' according to Lesotho's Department of Range Resources Management. Soil must be the country's biggest export today, though, but not in a way that tops up the national coffers. Every hour, Lesotho's rivers ship an estimated 4,500 tonnes of fertile topsoil – 'up to 300 lorry loads' – down to South Africa, according to 2016 figures from the European Union. This hefty delivery of an ancient growing medium doesn't benefit the croplands of farmers downstream. Rather, it fills up reservoirs like South Africa's hydroelectric mega-dam, the Gariep, a few hours' drive downriver. Cattle herding is one of the oldest forms of animal husbandry for indigenous communities in this part of the subcontinent. But the practice of leboella in Lesotho – the widely used system of rotating herds between summer and winter pastures so that the veld can rest and recover – is hard to do when the commonage has shrunk over generations and household numbers have grown. Moving herds in keeping with the needs of the veld is also difficult with the modern-day arrival of fences, notions of private land ownership, or, in this case, the nation state that puts a hard border across traditional herding routes. Many of the old customs that govern how people share grazing spaces have been lost. The Dutch named it the Orange River, as a tip of the hat to their monarchy, the House of Orange. The Basotho call it the Senqu. Today, 'white gold' is the new money spinner. Lesotho earns about 10% of its gross domestic product from water it ships off to its South African Development Community (SADC) neighbours: South Africa, Namibia and Botswana have thirsty economies and the cash to pay for Lesotho's water. From the headwaters the Orange-Senqu flows or floods along every twist and turn of an artery that runs just more than 2,4000km from Khubelu, and sponges in northeastern Lesotho, to Alexander Bay, where it spills into the Atlantic Ocean on the South African-Namibian border. Damaged wetlands and grasslands up here spell disaster locally and downriver: erosion, lost soil, silting of dams, higher risk of boom-bust water flows that cause flooding and damage infrastructure. Restoring the scar tissue of these heavily damaged grasslands is central to regional climate resilience. It will boost crop production and herd capacity in Lesotho. It'll mop carbon pollution from the atmosphere and contribute to longer-term climate stability. It'll better regulate the water cycle in the Orange-Senqu catchment. It'll also provide natural shock absorbers against extreme events such as droughts and flooding following severe storms. In his 2012 book, Orange-Senqu Artery of Life, journalist Thomas Kruchem captures the sentiment of an agricultural student who reflects on the lost bond between his people and nature. 'The times when our grandmothers taught the little ones how to live in harmony with nature have gone,' he told Kruchem. 'There is no longer a way to pass on traditional wisdom. People are chiefly interested in how they and their families are to survive.' An academic confirms this, saying that the customs that once 'safeguarded water, fields and pastures have been thrown out of the window, because they are no longer relevant in the economic situation that people find themselves in'. A farmer near Malealea village in the lowlands points to the Makhaleng River gorge, which may soon disappear under a rising waterline. Locals have long known that a dam was planned for this side, but now it looks as though construction may be imminent. Many families will be relocated, should this happen. The dam is part of a long-standing agreement between Lesotho and Botswana, which will move water through nearly 700km of pipes between the start and end of the scheme. Sterkspruit on the South African side of the Tele Bridge border crossing looks as heavily napalmed as the Lesotho lowland just uphill from here. The British set in motion a land grab with the 1913 Land Act which after 1948 the National Party stratified further, leaving most of the country's population crammed onto 13% of the land. DM
