Lesotho The operating environment for the media In practice, citizens of Lesotho enjoy their rights to freedom of the media to a large degree, but there are some exceptions. In an Afrimap survey it states: “‘prior to, during and post elections you expect conflicts and often you find journalists getting caught in these conflicts and then suffer[ing] the wrath of the government. The government uses the Internal Security Act, 1984, where journalists are accused of being seditious.’ The attempted military coup on August 30, by Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli to oust Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, not only created political instability, but also impacted greatly on freedom of expression and of the media way into 2015. The government uses the media it has influence over to project its propaganda and positions, and it is not impartial. Government officials and ruling-party officials also have preferential access to the state media. The state media comprise the Lesotho Today/Lentsoe la Basotho newspaper, the Lesotho News Agency, Lesotho Television, Radio Lesotho and Ultimate FM. The privately owned media used to be impartial to an extent. Since the ongoing political turmoil there has been a noticeable change as some of the media have taken a partisan position. Since the state media collectively enjoy much wider coverage than all non-state media combined, the private media therefore try to provide a platform for opposition parties, but they do try to balance it by also providing the government space for their views. Economic Impact on Media There is a great deal of effort made by the media to thrive in an economy that is interdependent on South Africa - with 35% of the male population travelling across the border to work in the mining sector. While Lesotho’s primary resource – water – provides a lifeline to South Africa, the country depends on its neighbour for most of its food and other goods. With precious alternative resources, a large chunk of the Basotho population, are reliant on subsistence farming. With a low per capita income – newspapers, televisions and internet are seen as unaffordable luxuries. Radio is still the cheapest and most broadly accessed medium across Africa and Lesotho is no exception. So the shoestring budgets, prohibitive printing costs, poor technology and unavailability of newsprint make it difficult for Lesotho’s small publications to grow. The only sector that has reported any growth is the broadcasting sector with the establishment of 12 new radio stations – 11 commercial and 1 community based. So This is Democracy? 2015 29