Economy of Lesotho Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which was initiated in 1986. The LHWP is designed to capture, store, and transfer water from the Orange River system and send it to South Africa's Free State and greater Johannesburg area, which features a large concentration of South African industry, population and agriculture. At the completion of the project, Lesotho should be almost completely self-sufficient in the production of electricity and also gain income from the sale of electricity to South Africa. The World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and many other bilateral donors are financing the project. Diamonds are produced in
Lesotho choices for beverages. Significant levels of child labour exist in Lesotho, and the country is in the process of formulating an Action Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (APEC). According to the UN, Lesotho has the highest rape rate of any country (91.6 per 100,000 people rate for reported rape in 2008). Treatment of people with disabilities is another major issue facing the country. According to the Lesotho Census 2006 around four percent of the population is thought to have some sort of disability. However, there are concerns regarding the reliability of the methodologies used and the real figure