The impact of cross-border movement on South African towns on the Lesotho border

This article investigates the impact of cross-border movement from Lesotho to the eastern Free State towns of Ficksburg, Ladybrand and Wepener. The many Basotho who visit these towns have a tangible impact on economic activity and service provision. The findings include, among other things, the maj...

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Main Authors: Johan Viljoen, Marie Wentzel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2007-08-01
Series:Acta Academica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/1142
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author Johan Viljoen
Marie Wentzel
author_facet Johan Viljoen
Marie Wentzel
author_sort Johan Viljoen
collection DOAJ
description This article investigates the impact of cross-border movement from Lesotho to the eastern Free State towns of Ficksburg, Ladybrand and Wepener. The many Basotho who visit these towns have a tangible impact on economic activity and service provision. The findings include, among other things, the major economic benefits for the border towns and the impact on South Africa’s health and education services. Stakeholders attributed both the fast growth of informal settlements and the high rate of unemployment to the movement of Lesotho citizens, but this could not be verified. Policy recommendations include the need to facilitate the flow of people and to garner reliable information on which to base planning and decision-making.
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spelling doaj.art-bf7d2e32663f4de696aff743367b5f7c2024-03-07T11:12:46ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Academica0587-24052415-04792007-08-01392The impact of cross-border movement on South African towns on the Lesotho borderJohan Viljoen0Marie Wentzel1Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) This article investigates the impact of cross-border movement from Lesotho to the eastern Free State towns of Ficksburg, Ladybrand and Wepener. The many Basotho who visit these towns have a tangible impact on economic activity and service provision. The findings include, among other things, the major economic benefits for the border towns and the impact on South Africa’s health and education services. Stakeholders attributed both the fast growth of informal settlements and the high rate of unemployment to the movement of Lesotho citizens, but this could not be verified. Policy recommendations include the need to facilitate the flow of people and to garner reliable information on which to base planning and decision-making. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/1142
spellingShingle Johan Viljoen
Marie Wentzel
The impact of cross-border movement on South African towns on the Lesotho border
Acta Academica
title The impact of cross-border movement on South African towns on the Lesotho border
title_full The impact of cross-border movement on South African towns on the Lesotho border
title_fullStr The impact of cross-border movement on South African towns on the Lesotho border
title_full_unstemmed The impact of cross-border movement on South African towns on the Lesotho border
title_short The impact of cross-border movement on South African towns on the Lesotho border
title_sort impact of cross border movement on south african towns on the lesotho border
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/aa/article/view/1142
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