Last week, a major fight broke out in the Lesotho Parliament over regulations that would require wool and mohair sellers to use a local broker.
According to Africa News:
Historically, Lesotho’s farmers sold their wool and mohair to a broker in next door South Africa but the government ordered a local brokerer for the purpose which led to protests.
A court subsequently ruled that the new rules were illegal following which the opposition MPs demanded a repeal of the law. They run out of patience following which the two sides of the chamber engaged in the violent exchanges.1
Protesters against the regulations claim that it does not allow them to get a fair price for wool and mohair, an agricultural product that many farmers in Lesotho depend upon, and that they have been left destitute as a result.
The World Trade Organisation reports that in 2012, “wool, not carded or combed” was the second highest agricultural export from Lesotho, with an export value of US $36 million.2
The fight involved punches and tables being thrown and left fitting strewn around the chamber:
Image by hbieser from Pixabay.
