July 24, 2022in Our Stories

A different dimension of the food security issue

A different dimension of the food security issue is addressed by the story of Malehloa Sefao of Ha Rafanyane. Sefao narrated that compensation was calculated and delivered by the LHDA, ultimately cheated them as affected households. The bags of maize that they were offered by LHDA at the beginning of the construction of the dam were far bigger than what they are now being offered. The size of the bag of food supplies they were given has reduced. The bags are far smaller than they used to as illustrated in the picture below. The villagers were first given 50kg bag of maize and now it has been reduced to 25 kg.

Sefao then further noted that three women from the village by the names of Mateboho Motsamai, Mathabiso Mohobane and Manyatso Seafo used to run a gardening project but their garden was swallowed by the dam. These women supplied freshly grown vegetables from their garden which villagers now have to travel longer distance to purchase.

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July 21, 2022in Our Blog

Untold stories of the Katse dam

From a distance, the Katse dam is a spectacle of engineering. It has been constructed to the highest engineering standards in the world and various parts of the project have won international recognised awards.

The dam has nonetheless caused untold suffering amongst the 20, 000 people whose livelihoods have been affected by construction of the dam.
The communities living around the Katse dam have suffered numerous setbacks as a result of the dam. One of the most critical setbacks has been the decline in food security as their arable lands were inundated. LHDA put in place a compensation plan for the lost fields but the compensation has fallen far short of the expectations of local communities as they say they are receiving paltry payments which have condemned the villagers to poverty and starvation.

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