Eighteen rural settlements in the Mountain Kingdom have lodged a grievance with the African Development Bank over its financial backing of a multibillion-pound hydraulic scheme whose development phase they allege has damaged fields, polluted water sources and damaged houses.
Requests for Transparency and Payment
Approximately 1,600 people living in the villages in the Mokhotlong region in north-east Lesotho are demanding clarity over proposed evictions and reparations they state they have not been consulted on.
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is scheduled for finalization by 2029, a decade later than originally scheduled. It will deliver water from landlocked Lesotho to a area containing South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, at an estimated cost of 54bn rand (2.28 billion pounds).
Formal Complaint Filed
Recently, the Lesotho communities, assisted by the local Seinoli Legal Centre and the American nonprofit Accountability Counsel, submitted a formal appeal with the bank’s IRM. They asked the IRM to recommend that the bank’s leadership halt the project until their concerns are resolved.
The document stated that explosive excavation had caused cracks in house walls, while landslides and flooding had obstructed access to some fields. It alleged that particulate matter and debris had tainted water sources.
“They take our fields [and] they didn’t pay in a good way,” said a community representative, requesting privacy due to concerns of backlash from authorities.
Official Responses
Representatives for the African Development Bank, which provided 1.3bn rand to the project in 2021, indicated they would respond to emailed questions, but had not responded by the time of publication.
The Lesotho Highland Development Authority, which runs the project, said: “No household has been, or will be, displaced without advance and comprehensive consultation … Our commitment is to transparency, availability, and prompt communication across all levels of interaction.”
It added: “As of now, no dwellings have been reported as uninhabitable due to blasting. However, where residences have suffered damage such as fractures or other structural issues, contractors are obligated to perform fixes to the satisfaction of the affected family, or compensation is provided in accordance to regulation.”
It said that rockfall issues had been rectified, claims of field access being impeded had not been verified and “overall water condition stays within acceptable standards for its designated purposes”.
Claims of Police Abuse
The residents also asserted they had suffered unjustified detentions, detention and mistreatment by state forces and police for demonstrating calmly.
A police representative, a spokesperson for the LMPS, commented: “Police operated within the rule of law … Demonstrations are controlled, therefore illegal assembly cannot be peaceful. We are guided by tenets of civil liberties as embedded in the Lesotho Constitution Act of 1993.”
A spokesperson for the country’s defense force did not reply to a request for statement.
Additional Backers
The project’s funders also comprise the Brics bloc’s NDB and the DBSA, both of whom responded to inquiries for input.
