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peace, order and good government of the country, exercisable by bills passed through both Houses and assented to by the King, acting on the advice of the Cabinet. Each Parliament lasts for 5 years (except in time of war, when there is provision for extension) unless dissolved earlier. The executive authority in Lesotho is vested in the King. The Cabinet consisting of the Prime Minister and not less than 7 other Ministers is known as the King's Government. The King appoints as Prime Minister the leader of the political party, or the coalition of parties, enjoying the support of the majority of the members of the National Assembly. The other Ministers are appointed by the King in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. Other specific provisions relate to: citizenship; land ownership; the judicature and the public service; the nature of the state of Lesotho; the office, functions, powers and prerogatives of the King and of his Privy Council; Human Rights and Freedom; the Chiefs and the College of Chiefs, and Land. The principal sections relating to the judicature are specially entrenched. Also entrenched are: provisions concerning the franchise and the constituencies; the establishment of Parliament and its duration, prorogation and dissolution; the composition, powers and procedure of both Houses of Parliament; the holding of general elections; and the provision governing the judicial and Public Service Commissions.

GOVERNMENT

HEAD OF STATE

His Majesty King Moshoeshoe II

MINISTRY

Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defence and Internal Security, Minister of Development and Planning: The Hon. Chief Leabua Jonathan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior:

The Hon. Chief N. S. 'Maseribane

Minister to the Prime Minister: The Hon. Chief P. 'Mota
Minister of Finance, Commerce and Industry: The Hon. P. N. P. Peete
Minister of Agriculture: The Hon. Chief P. M. Majara

Minister of Works and Communications: The Hon. Chief Selbourne R. Letsie
Minister of Education and Culture: The Hon. A. C. Manyeli
Minister of Health and Social Welfare: The Hon. M. B. Leseteli
Minister of State: The Hon. Chief Setho Letsie

ASSISTANT MINISTERS

Prime Minister's Portfolio: J. T. Mokotso
Ministry of Agriculture: M. T. Rateronko
Ministry of Education: J. Monaleli
Ministry of Finance: A. M. Api
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare: J. Rampeta
Ministry of Works and Communications: P. Manamolela
Ministry of the Interior: M. Lerotholi, MBE

LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Ntsu Mokhehle, Basotho Congress Party

SENATE

President of the Senate: The Hon. T. Mofolo

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Speaker: The Hon. W. P. Stanford, CBE, DFC

JUDICIARY

Chief Justice: The Hon. Mr Justice H. R. Jacobs

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Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service: J. T. Mapetla, MBE

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS Permanent Secretary: J. R. L. Kotsokoane

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Permanent Secretary: E. Waddington, OBE Accountant-General: D. K. Noto (acting)

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE Permanent Secretary: A. S. Ralebitso (acting) AUDIT DEPARTMENT

Director: D. E. Bragg

MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR Permanent Secretary: E. T. Monaheng

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

Permanent Secretary: D. P. Mokoae
Director of Veterinary Services: Dr N. N.
Raditapole, OBE

MINISTRY OF WORKS AND
COMMUNICATIONS

Permanent Secretary: H. Ntsaba

Director of Posts and Telecommunications: A. C. Heathcote, OBE

MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL
WELFARE

Permanent Secretary: Dr S. T. Makenete

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
Chairman: B. L. O'Leary, OBE

DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION

LESOTHO REPRESENTATIVES IN OTHER
COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES
High Commissioner in Canada: M. T.
Mashologu (resident in U.S.A.); High Com-
missioner in Ghana, Kenya, Sierre Leone and
Tanzania: A. S. Mohale (resident in Kenya);
High Commissioner in the United Kingdom:
C. M. Molapo.

COMMONWEALTH HIGH COMMISSIONERS
IN LESOTHO

Britain: I. B. Watt, CMG; Canada: C. J.
Wordsworth (resident in Republic of South
Africa).

LESOTHO REPRESENTATIVES IN NONCOMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES Austria, France, Germany, Vatican: C. M. Molapo (Ambassador) (resident in London); Cameroon, Ivory Coast: A. S. Mohale (Ambassador) (resident in Kenya); United

Nations: M. T. Mashologu (Permanent Representative); United States: M. T. Mashologu (Ambassador).

NON-COMMONWEALTH REPRESENTATION
IN LESOTHO

Belgium (Ambassador) (resident in South Africa); Federal Republic of Germany (Ambassador); France (Ambassador) (resident in South Africa); Israel (Ambassador) (resident in Malawi); Italy (Ambassador) (resident in South Africa); Japan (Cons General) (resident in South Africa); Netherlands (Ambassador) (resident in South Africa); Republic of China (Ambassador); South Korea (Ambassador) (resident in Kenya); Sweden (Ambassador) (resident in South Africa); Switzerland (Ambassador) (resident in South Africa); United States (Chargé d'Affaires); Vatican (Pro-Nuncio) (resident in South Africa).

M

MALAWI

ALAWI is entirely land-locked and lies between 9° 25′ and 17° 07′ S. latitudes and between 33° 40′ and 35° 55′ E. longitudes. Malawi's neighbours are Tanzania on the north and east, Mozambique from the south-east to south-west and Zambia on the west. When the country became independent-at the last stroke of midnight on 5th/6th July 1964-it changed

its name from Nyasaland to Malawi. ‘Malawi' is the modern spelling of 'Maravi'. the name used in ancient times not only geographically to denote a large area in Central Africa, but also sociologically to describe the widespread groups of closely-associated Bantu peoples whose domain it was. This area included all of what used to be Nyasaland, together with much of present-day Zambia and Mozabique. Etymologically, the word 'Malawi' has associations with a general meaning of reflected light or bright haze, an appropriate name for a country containing African's third largest lake.

Malawi has an area of 45,411 square miles, of which one quarter is water. Lake Malawi formerly known as Lake Nyasa covers an area of 8,870 square miles and is 355 miles long; it varies in width from 10 to 50 miles and forms the southern end of the Great Rift Valley which runs through East Africa.

Internal traffic on Lake Malawi is moved by the Malawi Railways operating a fleet of tugs and barges, two 200-ton cargo vessels, M.V. Mpasa and Nkwazi, the small passenger and cargo M.V. Chauncy Maples and the larger Ilala II. The Chauncy Maples, a former missionary vessel. has recently been rebuilt to a new design and now has accommodation for 190 passengers and 10 tons of cargo. The Ilala II carries 80 tons of cargo and accommodates 12 first-class, 28 third-class and up to 460 fourth-class passengers. The Chauncy Maples maintains a regular service from Monkey Bay in the south to Nkhata Bay and the Ilala II from Monkey Bay to Kambwe (port for Karonga) in the north. The round trip for each vessel takes seven days.

Geographically the country may be divided into four main zones: (i) Lake Malawi and the Great Rift Valley-the surface of the lake is about 1,550 feet above sea level, and its depth is 2,300 feet at its northern end; (ii) the high table-land between Lake Malawi and the basin of the Luangwa River, ranging from 4,500 feet above sea level in the Central Plateau to 8,000 feet in the Nyika Plateau in the north; (iii) the southern or Shire Highlands Plateau, bounded on the west by the Shire River and on the south-east by the Ruo River, having a general elevation of 2,000-3,500 feet above sea level and rising to the mountain masses of Mlanje, 10,000 feet, and Zomba 7,000 feet; (iv) the lowlands of the Lower River Shire Basin in the extreme south. This area contains much marshland and is liable to extensive flooding.

The dry season lasts from May to October and the wet season from November to April. Rainfall has been very variable in past years, but usually ranges between 29 inches annually at Fort Johnston, and 102 inches at the Lujeri Tea Estate on the slopes of Mlanje mountain. The mean annual temperature ranges between 69.5°F at Cholo and 78.4°F at Nsanje formerly known as Port Herald. The final figure for de facto population following the 1966 Census was 4,039,583, comprising 4,020,724 Africans, 7,375 Europeans, 11,299 Asians and 165 other races. Approximately 92 per cent of the population live in villages while 52 per cent live in the Southern Region, 36 per cent in the Central Region and 12 per cent in the Northern Region. The main languages spoken are Chichewa, Yao and Tumbuka, and the official languages are Chichewa and English. The main religious groups are Protestant, Roman Catholic and Muslim. Primary education is a responsibility of local authorities in both rural and urban areas. In 1968 there were 333,876 pupils in 2,065 primary schools, representing 37.5 per cent of children of primary school age. So far as secondary education is concerned, 27,036 pupils competed for 3,412 places in the academic year 1968/69. There are 18 boarding schools, both Government operated and Government

assisted; 26 Government day schools and 4 unassisted schools. Three new junior home-craft boarding secondary schools are in operation at assisted Institutions. The University of Malawi came into being in 1965 and at present comprises four colleges in the Blantyre area and one in Lilongwe. However it is intended soon to move the University to Zomba and thus to concentrate most of the colleges on a central campus. Current expenditure on education in 1968 amounted to nearly £3.5 million 4.1 per cent of the monetary gross domestic product at market prices and 17.1 per cent of Government expenditure in the same period excluding development expenditure.

The Capital is Zomba (population in 1966, 19,666) but construction has commenced in preparation for the Government's plan to move the capital to a new site near Lilongwe (population in 1966, 19,425). The chief commercial centre is the city of Blantyre (population in 1966, 109,461) comprising the towns of Blantyre and Limbe.

There are 289 miles of railway line and in 1967 the railways carried 1,028,900 tons of freight and 665,000 passengers. Construction began in 1968 of a link joining the Malawi Railway system to the line in Mozambique from Nova Freixo to Nacala; it will give Malawi access to another port in addition to Beira. The main airport is Chileka, 11 miles from Blantyre, with a runway 8,294 feet long and 100 feet wide. It is fully operational for night-flying. A further international airport will eventually be built at Lilongwe. The national airline is Air Malawi Ltd. The total road mileage in Malawi is over 6,500 of which more than 300 miles are tarred. The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation provides country-wide coverage in all the main languages.

The economy of Malawi is largely agricultural, the main crops being tea, tobacco, cotton, maize and groundnuts. There are a number of projects aimed at substantially increasing agricultural production, particularly of cotton. There is extensive fishing in Lake Malawi and the country is almost self-sufficient in sugar and high grade building timber. A number of secondary industries have been established in recent years, mainly of an import-saving nature, including textiles, beer, holloware and agricultural hand tools and implements.

Exports for 1968 including re-exports were estimated to be worth £28.5 million, and imports £21 million. The Gross Domestic Product in 1968 was estimated at £85.4 million. The Government revenue was estimated at £19-8 million including a grant-in-aid of £3.3 million from the British Government, while Government expenditure was £20.2 million, excluding development expenditure of approximately £7.1 million. Public sector development expenditure in 1969 was about £14.3 million.

The National Day of Malawi is 6th July, which commemorates the attainment of independence on 6th July 1964 and Republican status on the same day in 1966.

HISTORY

The latest archaeological evidence available indicates occupation by people of succeeding Stone Age cultures from about 50,000 B.C. in the northern part of Malawi, and from considerably later in the rest of the country. The earliest settlement by Bantu-speaking peoples appears to have been about the first century A.D., and there was a further influx of these peoples in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Apart from the odd mention of the region in early Arab writing the first written records of Malawi come from Portuguese journals of

the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is also indicated on several early maps.

The modern history of Malawi may be said to have begun with the visit of David Livingstone to Lake Nyasa in 1859. British interest in the area was sustained by the missionary work of the Universities Mission to Central Africa (Anglican) from 1861, the Free Church of Scotland from 1875, and the established Church of Scotland from 1876. The country during these years was disturbed by warlike invaders, and Arab and Portuguese slave dealers took advantage of the confusion to involve the warring parties in the slave trade. The missionary pioneers were followed by traders, hunters and planters, and the steadilygrowing British interests began to demand some sort of support from the home Government.

The first step was taken in 1883 when a British Consul was established at Blantyre, accredited to the 'Kings and Chiefs of Central Africa'. With the growing tide of the "scramble for Africa" it became clear to the British Government that British interests were in danger and in 1889 H. H. Johnston was entrusted with the task of making treaties with the Chiefs of the Shire river and Lake Nyasa regions. With the help of Sharpe and others he was successfully carrying out his task when events were forced by a clash between one of the treaty chiefs and a Portuguese expedition in the Lower Shire valley. The then Acting Consul proclaimed a British Protectorate over the southern part of what is now Malawi, on 21st September 1889. An Anglo-Portuguese convention subsequently defined the spheres of the two countries and on 15th May 1891, a British Protectorate was declared over the "Nyasaland districts", that is, present-day Malawi. Johnston was appointed as Her Majesty's Commissioner and Consul General for the new territory, which in 1893 was renamed the British Central Africa Protectorate, and he proceeded to set up an administration and pacify those areas still affected by wars and slave-trading. He was knighted for his services in 1896. By the Nyasaland Order in Council dated 6th July 1907 the name of the territory was again changed, this time to Nyasaland Protectorate, and Legislative and Executive Councils were set up and a Governor appointed in place of the Commissioner. The first Governor was Sir Alfred Sharpe, who had succeeded Sir Harry Johnston as Commissioner in 1897.

CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The first Legislative Council met on 4th September 1907 and an Executive Council of senior officials was established at the same time.

The possibility of associating Nyasaland with one or more of its neighbours had been considered at various times between the two World Wars. In 1951, 1952 and 1953 a series of conferences worked out the implications and detailed organisation of a federal form of government for Nyasaland, Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia. By the Constitution Order in Council of 1953 (S.I. 1953 No. 1100) the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland came into existence on 3rd September 1953. As a result audit, civil aviation, customs, immigration, income tax, posts and telecommunications, prisons, public health and certain categories of education were transferred to the control of the Federal Government.

Further constitutional advance in the territorial sphere followed in 1955 when the Legislative Council was reconstructed to comprise the Governor as President, four ex-officio members, seven official members, six non-Atrican

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