Exchange Control Regulations in the CMA Is Lesotho Lagging Behind

THE LIBERALIZATION of exchange control regulations by the Common Monetary Area (CMA) countries and Lesotho in particular, is a commendable milestone though there is still a long way towards full liberalization. As indicated in the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) for 2012/13-2016/17, it is part of the Government of Lesotho’s (GoL’s) strategy to encourage cross border trade and for the country to operate as a liberal open economy. In a nutshell, the study reveals that the CMA countries are at par in terms of exchange control liberalization on a number of transactions. However, South Africa (SA) is the most liberalized within the region and this is mainly attributable to the fact that it is more developed and, also has more developed capital and financial market compared to the rest of the CMA member countries. In a number of transactions, Lesotho is more or less liberalized than Namibia and Swaziland, however, in such instances – the gap is narrow.