The expiry of the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA), which was introduced by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about 30 years ago, has hit not only Lesotho but the whole of the Southern African textile industry very hard.

According to official statistics, some 50,000 people depended on Lesotho's textile industry for their livelihood in 2004. Towards the end of last year however, six textile factories shut down - leaving 6,650 employees without work.

The six company owners who closed shop last year clearly believed that the low wages, economies of scale and efficient engineering of factories in China and India, now able to compete in the post-MFA era, would eventually crowd them out of the global market.

Across Lesotho's border with South Africa, the situation is scarcely better. Some 300,000 textile workers in South Africa have lost their jobs in the past two years - this due to the influx of Chinese goods.

Elsewhere in Africa, Mauritius, Uganda, Kenya and Madagascar are also bracing themselves to compete in an environment stripped of quota protections.

In a report entitled 'Rags to Riches to Rags', the United Kingdom-based Christian Aid quotes statistics indicating that 27 million workers around the world could lose their jobs as a result of the MFA's expiry.

Christian Aid says WTO intervention is needed to prevent the textile industries in several developing countries from being gutted.

25 January 2005