Universal Old Age Pension and Spatial Aspects of Its Impacts on Sustainable Livelihoods in Lesotho

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to assess the spatial impacts of universal old age pension on sustainable livelihoods of the elderly in Lesotho. It uses sustainable livelihoods framework to analyse primary data collected from field work done in an urban and a rural community to assess the differential spatial impacts of the universal old age pension on sustainable livelihoods in Lesotho. The working hypothesis of the research was that the universal old age pension provides the elderly with access to some income to use for access to basic needs for livelihoods but that this impact varies in space between rural and urban communities. The results indicate that the impacts are viewed as positive by interviewees, but slightly differ in urban and community settings. The paper concludes that in general the universal old age pension promotes equal access to income for all people above 70 years. Although the impacts of this income differ between rural and urban communities, they ensured that the elderly people were not left behind in access to livelihoods and therefore promoted inclusive development. However, there were also some challenges that need policy attention for the pension to contribute more sustainable impacts in both rural and urban areas of Lesotho. The overall conclusion was that, spatially, the impacts of the universal old age pension were felt more in the rural than urban area of the study.