Breaking the Silence: Gender-Based Challenges in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project ll

MASERU, Lesotho, Apr 3 2024 (IPS) – In the journey towards gender equality and justice, recent decades have seen strides made, yet the road ahead remains treacherous. In the race to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, attention is turning to the role that over five hundred public development banks worldwide could play.

Public development banks are increasingly exploring how to promote financial inclusion more effectively, as an important vehicle for women’s economic empowerment. Financial inclusion transcends mere access to capital; it is a radical shift of social norms, addressing social issues that hinder women’s advancement.

However, in many projects funded by PDBs, women are not only excluded and left behind, but are put in a position of harm. One such case is the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) where there is growing evidence of a wide range of negative gender impacts within the affected communities.

The objective of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is to provide water to the Gauteng region of South Africa and to generate hydroelectricity for Lesotho by harnessing the waters of the Senqu/Orange River in the Lesotho highlands through the construction of a series of dams.

Hailed as a remarkable engineering feat with anticipated economic benefits, it has instead garnered international notoriety for its severe socioeconomic and environmental repercussions on communities. Phase I of the project led to the displacement of thousands without fair compensation, submerging arable and grazing land, exacerbating erosion, creating impoverishment, “social disintegration”, and limiting access to water resources.

Despite long-standing concerns and documented impacts on communities, including increased HIV/AIDS risk, the project proceeds with Phase II without adequately addressing residual issues.

The project’s impacts disproportionately affect women, exacerbating vulnerabilities through increased risks of displacement, lack of access to water and healthcare, and heightened instances of sexual exploitation, contributing to a cycle of socio-economic marginalization and health disparities.

Gender inequality in Lesotho remains a problem despite progressive legal strides in recent years. Implementation and enforcement of laws, especially in rural communities, continues to be a problem. Outdated cultural practices and stereotypes continue to create barriers to ownership of land, denying women the resources needed to secure livelihoods and increasing their economic vulnerability and susceptibility to gender-based violence.

Seinoli Legal Centre (Seinoli) is a Lesotho based public interest law centre that has been working directly with the affected communities in the Mokhotlong district where LHWP Phase II is being implemented, since the signing of the Agreement on Phase II in 2011.

Increased incidents of gender-based violations have been reported within the project affected communities which should come as no surprise; projects of this nature and scale, including the resultant forced displacement often amplify the risks of gender-based violence.

Furthermore, there are thousands of migrant workers from Lesotho itself and South Africa, who have come to work on LHWP. Migrant workers should be accommodated in designated camps, in healthy accommodations and living conditions in accordance with best practices. The situation on the ground stands in complete contrast to this; there are contractors living and renting accommodation within the communities of Masakong, Ha Ramonakalali, and Tloha-re-Bue. In the case of Ha Ramonakalali, there is also a temporary camp belonging to one of the private companies contracted to work on LHWP which is located within the communities – having profound impacts.

Cases of transactional sex between migrant workers and young women and girls have increased, including cases of abortion and concealment of birth, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and high school drop-outs.

Seinoli was recently alerted to the predicament of the fifteen-year-old Lineo (name changed to protect the victim and her family) and her parents. This young girl was impregnated by one of the migrant laborers working for an LHWP contractor. Lineo decided to have an illegal abortion – as abortion is prohibited in the country -in fear of her parents. The abortion led to health complications, which necessitated informing her parents about the events. Lineo’s parents made a complaint to the police. Seinoli received a report that the police were not able to make charges against the perpetrator as they could not locate him after he was moved to another camp by his employers. Consequently, the young girl has been left with the scourge and stigma of having had an abortion and lives in shame within her community. She has also been forced to drop out of school, which will have severe repercussions on her future and ability to earn an income.

The LHWP receives substantial funds from PDBs such as the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the New Development Bank (NDB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). While these banks do indicate concern for gender equality, more needs to be done for the development and strengthening of their gender strategies to ensure that the projects they fund do not violate women’s safety or security.

Currently, the Lesotho Highlands Development (LHDA), the project’s implementing authority, does not have a safeguarding policy to protect communities against sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment risk to ensure accountability.

Communities need to be better informed about their rights and have access to reporting mechanisms which can lead to expedited support for victims whilst holding the perpetrator and their employers accountable.

It has been five years since LHWP Phase II commenced, with advanced infrastructure works since January 2019. However, there has not been any shift towards protecting the rights of vulnerable women and girls since the project begun.

The role of international financial institutions and PDBs in fostering gender equality has been discussed extensively in many quarters, including the academic and research communities. However, many questions remain on the commitment of PDBs to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In practice, concerning some of the public financiers of the LHWP, the NDB still does not have a gender strategy or policy in place despite having been fully operational for close to 10 years. The DBSA and the AfDB represent financiers of the LHWP with a gender policy or strategy, however, the effectiveness of their gender frameworks is questionable considering the challenges that women are now being exposed to in projects such as the LHWP Phase II.

Basotho women faced similar difficulties during the first phase of the LHWP when women, including female-headed households were excluded from families who received some limited minimal compensation for resettlement. Women were extremely vulnerable to gender-based violence, not only physical but also economic violence. During that time, the World Bank was a major financier involved in the construction of the Katse Dam.

The World Bank gender framework has evolved, providing finance to the LHWP Phase I. The World Bank has now integrated safeguard policies against sexual exploitation and abuse in its Environmental and Social Framework as well as Procurement Framework.

These frameworks ensure that development projects take measures to reduce the risk of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment, especially within communities. After civil society groups raised complaints about gender-based violence associated with a World Bank-financed road project in Uganda, the World Bank took several measures to address this issue.

In 2020, the World Bank introduced a mechanism that can disqualify contractors for failing to comply with obligations related to the prevention of gender-based violence. The World Bank will also soon launch their World Bank Gender Strategy 2024 – 2030: Accelerate Gender Equality for a Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive Future, which recognizes gender equality as central to sustainable development. The strategy emphasizes gender outcomes in project implementation, including eradication of gender-based violence.

All PDBs should ensure that such measures (policies and practice) are put in place to avoid the ongoing violations against women that put young girls such as Lineo at high risk.

There is a growing dialogue among PDBs and United Nations Agencies such as UN Women, including those engaging in the Finance in Common movement, on the importance of financial inclusion, which places emphasis on improving women’s access to finance. PDBs must take stronger leadership in ensuring that financial inclusion addresses social issues that are an obstacle to women’s advancement. This includes removing outdated cultural practices and stereotypes that continue to create barriers to land ownership. Women in as much as half the countries of the world are unable to assert equal land and property rights despite legal protections.

PDBs often provide substantial funds to mega-infrastructure projects such as the LHWP II in which communities are often exposed to high levels of vulnerability, including worsening levels of poverty, inequality and GBV. One way that PDBs can contribute to making real progress on the Agenda 2030, is through addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality and integrating SDG 5, “achieving gender equality” a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. There has been progress over the last decades, but the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.

In doing so, PDBs (national, regional and international) must have robust gender policies and practice in place that support projects centred on gender equality, justice and women’s empowerment.

All PDB funded projects should have gender equality imperatives at the onset of the project cycle through rigorous impact assessment processes that involve women and their communities.

The human rights costs are high in second phase of the LHWP with hundreds of families at risk of involuntarily resettlement and displacement from their homes and lands. Achieving the SDGs will require transformative action that can deliver real impact and change for women and young girls such as in Lesotho. The DBSA, AfDB, NDB and other PDBs involved in LHWP II can play an important role in ensuring that the second phase does not repeat the same mistakes made in LHWP I and in so many other development projects.

This article has been written as part of the Forus March With Us campaign for gender justice – a full month dedicated to the stories of activists and civil society organisations at the forefront of gender equality and justice.

Marianne Buenaventura Goldman is co-Chair, Civil Society Forum of the NDB (Africa) & Project Coordinator for Financing for Sustainable Development, Forus
Reitumetse Nkoti Mabula is Executive Director, Seinoli Legal Centre

IPS UN Bureau

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Villagers Demand Answers Over Botswana Water Transfer Scheme

Residents of Tsinyane, which is a village tucked away on the outskirts of Malealea, Matelile, fear that if the Lesotho-Botswana Water Transfer Project begins it is going to mean they lose their ancestral homes as well as their livelihoods.

While residents have been paid M380 for the use of their land for feasibility works, they say they are in the dark about what will happen to them if the dam that is planned for the area does go ahead and flood the area.

So far there has been no community consultation as the environmental impact assessment process, which would require consultation, has, according to the company preparing the site for dam construction, been delayed because of a lack of funding.

Pre-feasibility studies that have been completed have recommended constructing a multi-purpose dam on the Makhaleng River, which would include a hydropower generation plant in Lesotho and a water transport system to Botswana through South Africa.

After the project is finished, it is expected to transfer 150 million cubic metres of water per year to Botswana, while supplying various users in Lesotho’s southern western parts and South Africa, with 50 million cubic meters including supplying Bloemfontein and enabling irrigation in Lesotho.

Tsinyane residents who spoke to MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism said they have learned “through the grapevine” that their ancestral homes which are built on the edges of Makhaleng River would be flooded when the Makhaleng Dam is constructed as part of the project.

“It’s essential to clarify that this stage [feasibility] is ongoing, and no conclusive results have been reached as yet,” Elita Banda who speaks on behalf of the company implementing the project, the Orange–Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) warned in her response to MNN questions.

Tsinyane, like most Basotho rural communities, is characterised by rugged terrain, a lack of access roads and basic amenities.

The Malealea area, which includes Tsinyane only got electricity at the end of 2023. During MNN’s visit in December 2023, men employed by the Lesotho Electricity Company were pulling electricity cables and fixing them onto poles to connect the remote villages of Malealea to the country’s electricity grid.

Now that they have electricity, Tsinyane people want to continue living in the areas and want to be informed about and prepared for changes that the project will bring to their lives.

But ORASECOM does not seem ready to provide the answers the community is looking for at this stage. Banda told MNN that they “are unable to provide information on questions 1-13, as the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the project has not yet commenced and is only expected to begin in the latter half of 2024”.

MNN’s Questions 1-13 were aimed at establishing what public consultations had been held on this project as part of the required environmental and social impact assessment and community resettlement action plan. MNN has established that the public consultation will only be required once the EISA is being done. The EISA process has been delayed by a lack of funding.

This was confirmed during a press briefing held by the ORASECOM’s project office on March 7. Project coordinator Thabo Hloele told media that lack of adequate financial resources has delayed the project from carrying out the ESIA and other related works.

He said while there were funds earmarked for other studies, the bids received at the tendering stage for the Makhaleng dam ESIA, feasibility studies for the water conveyance system to Botswana and other related studies required more financial resources than anticipated.

“We are currently raising funds for the other delayed studies to be carried out,” said Hloele.

ORASECOM was established in November 2000 by the governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa to promote equitable and sustainable development of the resources of the Orange–Senqu River.

Communities shut out

One Tsinyane villager, Matšepiso Ralitša told MNN that Hloele had visited the area in 2022.

“He said he was inspecting the location conduciveness for dam construction. We showed him the location he asked for, but he has never given us the feedback”, said Ralitša who also explained that the community had met Hloele for a second time when he visited the area in 2023 at the start of feasibility studies. Some villagers were hired as security guards.

“We only learned from these guards that the studies were successful, and the dam construction shall take place in our village of Tsinyane. We have also learned that we shall be relocated.

“But shockingly when I inquired if they would relocate us or not, as they were talking about possibilities of a dam being erected in our area, Ntate Hloele responded that they cannot be the ones to decide and that is the duty of the government,” said Ralitša.

A community leader and Seinoli Legal Centre’s Human Rights Defender based in Malealea, Thabo Khosi, told MNN that ORASECOM had not approached communities in Malealea to sensitize and engage them about the dam openly.

“To my knowledge, ORASECOM officials came here just once. They told the people that government has intention to build a dam here in Malealea,” said Khosi, adding that in the second visit, officials were just addressing compensation issues for villagers whose fields, some cultivated, were trampled upon by tracked excavator machinery used in the feasibility studies.

“It can’t be that you [ORASECOM] keep silent when you know that these people are going to lose their communal grazing land, their agricultural land, and all other properties and ensure that they fully understand the benefits of these project and prepare them mentally.  But that those things have not been done, even though soon as the project starts the people will be removed from their ancestral lands,” said Khosi.

However, Banda said their office has not received any queries from the local authorities or community members to date. She encouraged community members to reach out to local councillors and chiefs, “who are equipped to provide accurate information”.

She claimed the project is actively collaborating with local authorities in relevant areas promising that further engagement activities would be undertaken with communities as the project continues.

Pitiful Compensation

Chief Qaba Mahao of Malealea told MNN that the project affected some of his community members fields as tracked excavators and vehicles ran over the fields as they passed through to project site. Although Qaba said that the impact was minimal, his affected subjects were each compensated M380 so that they could plant their fields.

“We looked into the cost of planting when using cattle and /or when using a tractor. We considered what it would cost to plough an acre. Those who knew price said an acre cost M380 if I recall. Hence the M380 were paid per acre affected”.

While Qaba was satisfied with the compensation, affected fields owners shared their worries about the value of this compensation with MNN.

“We were paid paltry compensation and wonder what will happen when an actual dam is constructed with all our land taken away from us. We are worried because we learned the dam is coming here from rumours and there is no official communication on our fate,” said ’Matšepiso Ralitša a resident of Tsinyane.

Mots’oanakaba Nketjoane, another villager whose field was run over by Geomechanics machinery © Billy Ntaote

Another villager, Motsoanakaba Nketjoane, said what irked them most was that Geomechanics, contractor engaged to undertake feasibility studies by ORASECOM, did not bother to seek their consent before running machinery over their fields.

“I have two fields that are adversely affected, and I was shocked to receive a mere M380. I have just ploughed the place that they compacted with their machinery, it was very hard and cost more than their M380 compensation,” said Nketjoane.

“When I tried to plough the area, it was difficult to convince tractor owners to provide me the services, so I ploughed with an ox-drawn plough and the surface was very hard due to compaction and the soil is not loose for agriculture anymore,” said Nketjoane.

Nketjoane was corroborated by Ralitša who said: “Incidents of ploughs being broken were not considered and we suspect that even tractor owners would not be willing to plough the area that is in question for just M380 we were given as compensation”.

But Banda argues that “given the project [feasibility] stage, compensation issues have not been dealt with. They will be dealt with based on the outcome of the ESIA studies that cover the entire project.

The M380 was meant to assist the individual property owners in preparing their fields by removing vehicle tracks before the ploughing season started”. She insists the M380.00 was not imposed on the Tsinyane people but was agreed upon in consultations with the property owners, under the guidance of the local authorities.

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Botswana Water Transfer Project Abandons Injured Worker

A worker employed as a guard on a construction site is demanding compensation for loss of livelihood after he was injured at work. The South African company that was employing him as a guard on the Lesotho-Botswana Water Transfer Project in Tsinyane, Malealea, has refused to acknowledge responsibility saying that he did not get injured at work. But, they do not seem to have the full details, not even the correct date of the injury.

Seabata Monare (62) was hired by Geomechanics, which prides itself on being a leader in geotechnical investigations in Southern Africa, as a guard on the site being prepared for the Makhaleng Dam. 

In order to conduct feasibility studies prior to the construction of the Makhaleng Dam, which is intended to export water to South Africa, Botswana, and Lesotho, the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) hired Geomechanics to perform packer tests, piezometer installation, and rotary core drilling in Tsinyane.

Monare lives in the area earmarked for a dam. He told MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism that he was left disabled and unable to fend for himself after the injury he sustained while working at the Geomechanics site, along the Makhaleng river’s gravel surface.

Monare’s medical records from July 22 2023 show that Malealea Clinic referred him to Mafeteng District Hospital where an x-ray was done, which diagnosed a fracture on his right hand and wrist.

A cast was applied for six weeks but when he went for his check-up, the doctor ordered that the cast remain because his fracture had not healed enough.  Another x-ray was requested and it detected yet again poor healing and the cast had to be re-applied for another six weeks.

The cast eventually came off on its own, but Monare’s hand was never the same again. The aftermath of the accident has left Monare unable to continue his farming, his primary source of livelihood, plunging him and his family into food insufficiency.

Monare’s account is supported by three people, one also a guard who witnessed the incident and was with him at the time and another colleague who worked the night shift. A local councillor has also stated that she discovered Monare at the scene during routine inspections and inquired about his injuries.

Responding to MNN questions, Laura-Lee Rijsmus who is the Accounts and Marketing Director for Geogroup, which is Geomechanics’ parent company, insists that Monare arrived at work already injured. She distanced the company from any wrongdoing.

“There is a possibility of bias from an eyewitness who knows Monare”, said Rijsmus who does leave room for the possibility that Geomechanics could be accountable for Monare’s injury saying that the eyewitness accounts shouldn’t be dismissed entirely.

For them to conclude this matter, she says they would need “…a written statement from the witness detailing what they saw and see how the witness’s story aligns with Monare’s and any other available information.”

MNN declined to facilitate this process as it understands it is the responsibility of the company to acquire such statements from its former employees.

Speaking to MNN, Teboho Mokala, the eyewitness who was on the same shift with Monare making them the only two people who were on the site when the injury occurred, said he was not entirely shocked that Geomechanics was now claiming innocence.

“The manner in which the whole situation was handled left a lot to be desired,” he said.

Mokala and Monare’s both said during separate interviews that: “It was clear that they were trying to avoid taking responsibility.”

Monare, Mokala and another colleague Keresemese Mokala who worked the night shift were appalled at the insinuation that Monare did not get injured onsite. Mokala [Teboho] told MNN that he arrived for work with Monare that fateful day and he was still fine.

Nthabiseng Tlaleane, a local government councillor in Malealea at the time said she encountered Monare’s injury when she went to inspect work onsite. She says she noticed Monare’s casted hand and asked him what happened.

Tlaleane explained that Monare told her he fell on the gravel onsite [pointing to it] and hit his hand against a rock. She says the account surrounding his injury is the same report they received from the Human Rights Defenders committee, a committee formed by villagers on advice of Seinoli Legal Centre, a human rights organisation concerned with protecting rights of people in large development areas.

While the company denies responsibility over Monare’s injury, it kept him, even changed shifts and allocated him lighter duties as he was using one hand. Asked why they didn’t replace him if he was injured elsewhere, Rijsmus said they considered it unjustified to cancel his contract and render him unemployed.

As MNN has established, Monare was injured on July 22, 2023, but Rijsmus told MNN that Monare arrived at work already injured five days later.

“Mr. Monare reported for work on July 27, 2023, with an injury from before the shift. Our Site Manager had kept him aside, he did not work that day,” she said.

Presented with the information from Monare’s medical records proving that he was injured on July 22, the day he reported to the Malealea Clinic, Rijsmus said they had made an error with the dates.

Copies of Geomechanics’ workman’s compensation that MNN managed to get do not state the exact criteria. They only said associated costs are covered if an injury takes places on duty and is documented.

Because only the guards were onsite when he got injured, Monare says he had to wait for the company officers to arrive but instead of getting immediate medical attention, he waited seven hours as offloading materials from a truck was more important for his supervisors.

He says he sat on the sidelines and waited for them to knock-off.

Geomechanics dismissed the wait and neglect, stating “although the injury happened off duty, our Site Manager, Mr Luthuli got the drilling teams going in the morning and then took Mr Monare to a clinic as a kind gesture to assist him.”

However, Monare’s colleague Mokala [Teboho] corroborated Monare’s ordeal, that their superiors waited to knock-off that Saturday before taking him to the clinic. But even then, Mokala says the supervisors left Monare at the Malealea Lodge gate where they stayed, leaving him to walk to the clinic in his bruised, bandaged hand.

MNN heard from Mokala [Keresemese] how an accident was bound to happen, describing the site as sloppy and slippery due to the gravel-like particles that formed when the excavator was paving way into the Makhaleng River where the dam would possibly be built.

Efforts by advocacy groups, such as the Malealea Human Rights Defenders, to seek help for Monare have been met with challenges as the contractor packed up and left for South Africa as they were trying to address his situation.

ORASECOM’s communication and knowledge management specialist Elita Banda told MNN that they were not aware of Monare’s injury but their office has since launched investigations into the matter.

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IMPACT STORY RELATING TO GBV


IMPACT STORY RELATING TO GBV

Intentionally holding women back from accessing financial resources such as compensation for affected land is a form of Gender-Based Violence. Thirty-five-year-old woman (name withheld) from the village of Masakong which is currently being affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II says her father received money amounting to M200,000.00 as compensation for their fields, which have been affected by the projects. In an interview with Seinoli, she mentions that when this money was issued, her father did not inform her and her four siblings about the money. Instead, he used the money to build a single-room brick house and purchased furniture for the house.

Figure 2 The house which was built with the money issued for compensation of affected fields.

She continued to mention that she squabbles with her father whenever she requests him to give her money for her late sister’ daughter who is unable to go to school. She furthered to say her father willingly gives his lover this money who occasionally comes to their home.

Mamokoma (not real name) is a single parent to three children, one is disabled, whom because of her predicament, is forced to live with their father. She indicated that the severity of this has mostly been felt by her, her children and her late sister’s daughter as they are assisted by neighboring relatives, with food and other basic needs. When asked how the affected fields contributed towards their means of livelihood, she responded to say they never went hungry as the fields provided them with various foods such as five large bags of maize meal, sugar beans, sorghum, and also grew potatoes.

Figure 1 Victim with her disabled daughter and son photographed above.

In the attempt to get help, she claims to have involved some of the relatives and also reported this matter to the police but there hasn’t been any resolution. The family is yet to receive compensation for affected trees, which she hopes will be allocated accordingly amongst her and her siblings as they did not benefit at all from the money given to his father.

This case is a typical example of Gender-based violence resulting from poor allocation of compensation for affected land, which increases women’s dependency and vulnerability.

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Police Accused Of Bungling Minor’s Case

By Matiisetso Mosala  LESCIJ LESCIJ

A young girl, who became pregnant while still a minor, has been charged with getting an abortion, which is illegal in Lesotho. But, the family is questioning why the man who made her pregnant has not been charged as an accomplice to this crime and for having sex with a minor, which is also illegal.

*Mpho Sempe [pseudonym] of Ha-Ramonakalali in the Malingoaneng ward of Mokhotlong was charged with illegal termination of pregnancy after her father took her to the Tlokoeng Police Station in Mapholaneng to report that a contractor, Bahlakoana Kenela, had sexually offended her. Kenela was an employee of Rumdel AC Joint Venture, which includes South African firm Rumdel Construction and Lesotho-based A&C Holdings which is busy constructing a 32.86km road connecting the Semenanyane River to the Polihali Dam site.

Lesotho criminalises abortion under Section 45 of the Penal Code Act of 2012, which provides that “A person who does any act bringing about the premature termination of pregnancy in a female person to procure a miscarriage, commits the offence of abortion.”

It also criminalises sex with a minor. Penal Code of 2012 states that anyone under the age of 18 is regarded as a child and therefore unable to consent.

Mpho, who was 15 years old when she had the abortion, told MNN how she missed her period in August 2023. She informed Kenela, her married lover, who then gave her pills to abort the pregnancy because he did not “want the news to reach her family”. She says that she consented without realising that she was committing a crime. 

When Mpho’s family took her to the police station on August 22, 2023 to report the matter, her father, *Lehlohonolo Sempe [pseudonym] says the police took his daughter to the hospital, and he was told: “We will take it from here and see how we deal with it,”  a statement that should have set off alarm bells for the Sempe family considering they were not even given a case number.

When they left the police station, Mpho’s family say that they did not know that their daughter had been criminally charged. Police at the Tlokoeng police station, they argue, did not inform them that they charged Mpho with illegal abortion or give them a case number to confirm this. Sempe told MNN that no one told them that Mpho was charged. Station manager, Mphelehetse Khatleli swore on his officers’ competence, saying they must have informed the family.

Mpho’s family want to know why Kenela was not charged alongside their daughter for helping her with the abortion. Kenela told MNN that it was Mpho’s choice to terminate the pregnancy, he did not force her. 

He also does not deny having sex with Mpho but argues that he was unaware she was a minor.

Kenela also told MNN that he was called in for questioning by the police who casually asked him if he and Mpho were dating, and let him go upon his confirmation that they were.  While Mpho’s family is demanding answers as to why Kenela was not charged with having sex with a minor, police officers at Tlokoeng police station who refused to identify themselves because they didn’t have the authority to comment, admitted to MNN that Kenela should have been charged but could not explain why that had not happened eight months later.

But, station manager Khatleli’s response to this to MNN was different.  Khatleli said that police would not take any action until they received Mpho’s birth certificate proving her minor status. When MNN asked Khatleli why the police had not taken the initiative to gather this evidence since August 2023, he said it was because Mpho’s parents were not available when the officers went to her home.

The official police comment also stated to MNN that they had charged Mpho but not Kenela at the time because they were only made aware of Mpho’s case when she had already terminated her pregnancy.  They did not consider that she had an accomplice when charging the young woman.

Mpho’s family is surprised by the claim that police are waiting for Mpho’s documents proving her age. The family say that, they have been waiting for a police update but have not heard anything yet. Local residents in the area told MNN that they have not seen any law enforcement officers carrying out this investigation. MNN has uncovered another layer of mystery surrounding this case. The Tlokoeng police initially told MNN that there was no record of Mpho’s reported case, that it did not appear in the sexual offences and gender-based-violence cases between 2018 and 2023 statistics that MNN had requested. 

Did the police only choose to open an abortion case, and not a sexual offence case; hence, it was untraceable? Khatleli explains that sexual offence cases are sensitive by nature, and because people are always trying to make them disappear, dockets are locked away in a cabinet and the officer in charge was unavailable when compiling the data.

Sempe revealed that he was not surprised that the police claimed there was no trace of their case considering the treatment that they received when they went to report the case. He told MNN that when they arrived at the police station, an unidentified police officer remarked “we know that with such situations, we are expected to go and arrest someone” a statement that he says was a clear sign that no thorough investigations would be conducted. The station manager subtly brushed this off saying, “you know how people are”.

Sempe states: “We are told to report a crime to the police, but when we do, there is no use because nothing ever comes of it, no updates are made months later”.

Asked if he is aware he crossed legal boundaries and as a result, ought to face the might of the law, Kenela said “Yes, I do realise”. Nonetheless, while Mpho has a criminal case hanging over her head, Kenela is still a free man. While the police have not charged Kenela, they admit that considering Mpho’s age, they are convinced she was aided in terminating her pregnancy as “she could not have executed it on her own”.

Khatleli revealed that the abortion case has gone cold due to insufficient evidence, and “it is not easy to prosecute a minor, but we are still waiting on her family to provide us with documents proving she is underage so that we can investigate the matter and find those who were involved”.

Sempe says seeing his daughter’s perpetrator almost daily is hard and triggering for him because he was advised by the same police who are not investigating the case thoroughly not to have any interaction with him, as it was now in police custody.

Since August when he reported the matter to the police, Sempe told MNN that he has not followed up on the progress of the case because the reception at police stations is never welcoming.

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Gender and Development

Gender-based violence is a prominent plague in the fabric of Lesotho. Large infrastructure development projects such as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II where operations are ongoing, are breeding grounds for more cases of GBV and other human violations within communities living in the project areas. This has increased women’s dependency and vulnerability to sexual exploitation for financial gain. The following story is one of the many cases of women who are left vulnerable and destitute in the name of development.

Mamothepane Thita (not her real name) narrates her predicament, who lives in one of the communities being affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II.

“I got married to a Mr. Khapane Thita (names withheld for victim’s protection) in 1992 under customary law and was blessed with three children, currently aged 30, 27, and 23 respectively. To sustain our living, my family ploughed 5 fields, from which we harvested five large bags of maize,
four bags of sorghum, and one bag of sugar beans. This yield was sufficient to sustain my family for a year or more. Things, however, took a turn, when the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II began implementation in my community. All the five fields from which my family and I sustained a living were affected and as such lost to the project.

Our fears were however allayed when we were informed by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHWP’s implementing authority) that our household will be duly compensated. Indeed, we got the first tranche of compensation which was issued by cheque. The compensation is however insufficient to cover all basic needs. That is when I decided to go work at the Factories in Maputsoe. As I was working there, my husband called me informing me that LHDA had issued a lump sum of
about M263,500.00 as final compensation for our fields. I instructed him to use some of that money to buy food for our children and other essentials.

Instead, he went and brought his mistress into our home neglecting our children’s needs. I also immediately got a call from my oldest son saying I should come home immediately, there’s a problem. I left work and found my husband living with this woman in our home. I got rid of this
woman, who previously had an affair with my husband but dismissed for the sake of our family.

My mother-in-law then gave my husband a house for him to freely live with this woman. Because we live very close to my in-laws, I was exposed to seeing everything they did with this woman and so I decided to leave and go live with my mother. After some time, I decided to go back to work and this is when I was told that my husband had built a house for himself and this woman, with the same money which was supposed to be of benefit to our family. I left work and came home and discovered that my husband had taken all our furniture with him to the new house. I reported the matter to the Chief, which he called the LHDA to be a part of. We were both taken to open a joint account, but this was
all in vain as nothing was left of the money. My husband was instructed to release the furniture which was destroyed during his violent rage. I took the furniture as is and went to live with my children, who do not have any source of income, and my four grandchildren.

The Thita family home where she lives with her three children and four grandchildren.

As a mother, I felt it was my obligation to provide for my family, which meant seeking other means of income. I eventually met a man who worked at one of the construction companies with the LHWP and we got into a romantic relationship. I was finally able to provide for my family through what this man was offering me. However, the relationship did not prolong as it originated because of the financial benefits it provided. This man had been retrenched and was no longer able to provide for me.
I now must work in other people’s fields to earn an income. Just this month, I was paid with a large bag of maize meal. I have grown vegetables in a small garden so we can have something to eat with that.

Mamothepane (not real name) grows vegetables in her small garden to feed her children and grandchildren.

Rightfully, the LHDA ought to have assisted my husband and me with opening a joint account which gives both of us authority over the compensation money. But this came after my husband had consumed all the money. The LHDA must review its policy or put in place a safeguarding policy to avoid such issues.

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Resettlement and Relocation: The psychosocial traumas that come with large infrastructure development projects.

Dam constructions have wide-ranging effects such as displacement, resettlement, relocation and rehabilitation which involves physical transfer of communities to a new location. One of the rarely acknowledged impacts of projects such as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is the psychological trauma experienced by communities.

Community members of the village of Ha Phohla, in the Polihali Dam area in Mokhotlong, were informed as far back as 2012 that they would be resettled as a result of construction of the Dam. In 2018 the community was informed by the project implementing authority, the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), that the village would not be resettled after all. Two years later the community was told that the village would, in fact, be partially resettled.

The community has since not received any development initiatives that other communities get because of the impending resettlement. They were discouraged from undertaking any developments for themselves such as building of houses. The community not only lives in anxiety of facing partial relocation but also experience the frustration of not having any developments been effected in the village.

Involuntary resettlement should be conceived as an opportunity for improving the livelihoods of the affected people and undertaken accordingly. All people affected by involuntary resettlement should be consulted and involved in resettlement planning to ensure that the mitigation of adverse effects as well as the benefits of resettlement are appropriate and sustainable. This should incorporate psychosocial support to communities, especially those facing involuntary resettlement.

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Groups hold training for human rights defenders

By The Reporter.

Seinoli Legal Centre in collaboration with the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network this week conducted a three-day workshop for grass-roots human rights defenders (HRDs) in Mokhotlong.

Program Lawyer at Seinoli Legal Centre, Moeketsi Lepeli told theReporter on Wednesday this week that the purpose of the training was to equip human rights defenders with the knowledge and skills to be powerful advocates for their rights and for those communities they defend.

The workshop brought together HRDs from several villages including Masakong, Maluba-lube, Mapholaneng, Tlooa-Re-Buoe, and Ha-Ramonakalali. Police, community councilors and local chiefs also attended.

“The workshop sought to capacitate HRDs on human rights and laws protecting those rights, as well as how to engage with project implementers on community issues. We believe in empowering communities to fight for their rights,” he said.

According to Lepeli, the participants were working on a wide range of human rights issues and disputes affecting communities such as land compensation and displacement or relocation of households affected by Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP).

He indicated that they had realised that disputes between projects implementers – in this case the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) which is overseeing the water project – and the communities affected by the water project led to harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders in Lesotho.

“Such acts prompted us as rights groups to capacitate the HRDs so that they know legal routes to take when their rights are being intimidated. They need to understand legal ways of fighting or protecting their rights.  We believe that together, we can bring about positive change,” Lepeli said.

The rights groups had also realised that human rights defenders encounter a lot of challenges in defending the environment and the rights of local communities owing to the lack of laws that provide protection for defenders.

“Many of them are unaware of the laws designed to protect them from such injustices. Limited access to legal assistance further marginalises these communities. That’s why our goal is to enhance oversight and strengthen the role of HRDs in monitoring and responding to human rights violations,” Lepeli explained.

Human rights defender, Lebohang Lengoasa said the workshop had provided them with an opportunity to share their experiences with the police.

This was moreso because when they peacefully fight for their rights, especially through placards delivering messages, security agencies are the first group to harass them.

In a recent joint statement dated 31 May 2023, the two human rights groups strongly condemned any actions that hinder the work of HRDs and undermine their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

“These rights are enshrined in section 14 of the Constitution of Lesotho as well as under international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Lesotho is a party,” the organisations noted.

They also expressed concern over the recent acts of harassment and intimidation against HRDs in Lesotho.

“We strongly condemn any actions that hinder the work of HRDs and undermine their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. These rights are enshrined in section 14 of the Constitution of Lesotho as well as under international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Lesotho is a party,” the statement added.

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Calling all advocates for human rights!

We are thrilled to inform you about the ongoing Human Rights Defenders Training Workshop in Mokhotlong, Lesotho. 🌍

The displacement of rural communities and the violation of their land rights due to projects like the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) have prompted us to take action. We believe in empowering communities to fight for their rights! 💪✊

Did you know that many people are unaware of the laws designed to protect them from such injustices? Limited access to legal assistance further marginalizes these communities. Together, we can make a difference! 🌟

That’s why the Seinoli Legal Centre, in collaboration with the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, is hosting the first-ever local community HRDs training for those affected by LHWP Phase II. Our goal is to enhance oversight and strengthen the role of HRDs in monitoring and responding to human rights violations.

From June 12th to 14th, 2023, community members will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to be powerful advocates for their rights. Together, we can bring about positive change! 🤝

Join us in raising awareness and supporting these courageous individuals fighting for justice. Together, we can build a better future!

#HumanRightsDefenders #CommunityEmpowerment 

#LesothoHighlandsWaterProject #Advocacy #JusticeForAll

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Dear President Ramaphosa, as you visit Lesotho, listen to the cries of the displaced

By Reitumetse Nkoti Mabula on behalf of Seinoli Legal Centre, Survivors of Lesotho Dams, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, and Southern Africa Litigation Centre

The next phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, marked by your visit on 23 May 2023, will lead to the renewed physical and economic displacement of thousands. The result is imminent food insecurity, impoverishment, and the breakdown of social networks and culture.

Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa,

Your visit to Polihali, Mokhotlong, to officially launch full-scale construction work of Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP II) on 23 May 2023, is highly welcomed.

Mr President, when this project was concluded under the 1986 LHWP Treaty, it was celebrated for the immense economic returns that would accrue to both Lesotho and South Africa, including sustainable development for local affected communities.

South Africa and Lesotho made an undertaking in the LHWP Treaty, “to take all reasonable measures to ensure that the implementation, operation and maintenance of the Project are compatible with the protection of the existing quality of the environment and, in particular, shall pay due regard to the maintenance of the welfare of persons and communities immediately affected by the project”.

The reality for communities, however, is in stark contrast to this undertaking.

As you know, Phase I of this project, which involved construction of the Katse Dam (under Phase IA) and Mohale Dam (under Phase IB) was inaugurated in 2004. More than 20,000 people were directly affected by this first phase of LHWP.

Thousands remain without compensation for the adverse impacts of the project on their lives and no efforts have been made to actively ensure that communities get direct economic benefits. People living in the vicinity of the Katse and Mohale dams endure consistent violation of their right to access clean water, since access to natural springs and other sources have been affected by the dams.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Report raises alarm over mines’ pollution of rivers critical to Lesotho Highlands Water Project

Mr President, residents are not allowed to access water from the dams to water their animals and irrigate their crops. Women within LHWP Phase II-affected communities are already marginalised as a result of cultural stereotypes which prevent them from owning land and benefiting from compensation for land rights which are affected by the LHWP. Lack of access to water further marginalises them and exacerbates their inability to break free from poverty.

Land and other natural resources which are the basis of the communities’ livelihoods have been expropriated by the project without payment and compensation.

While there is a responsibility by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority to uphold the agreement, there is a significant perception among affected communities that impacts negatively on the image of South Africa. This fundamentally detracts from South Africa’s Africa Agenda and desire to be a partner to Africans.

Moreover, affected communities are likely to seek further economic opportunities in South Africa.

Apartheid origin

Mr President, you may recall that the LHWP Treaty was signed between the apartheid government in South Africa and a military regime in Lesotho. It was concluded during a period when both governments had no regard for human rights and the dictates of democracy and good governance.

In fact, no consultations were undertaken at all with the people of Lesotho in general and the affected communities in particular. Any dissent expressed against this project was thwarted with threats and violence. It is therefore not surprising, Mr President, that the treaty has failed to promote, respect and protect the human rights of people immediately affected by the project.

Thousands will be economically displaced as a result of acquisition and inundation of their agricultural land, grazing land, including natural resources.

When South Africa decided to implement Phase II following prolonged negotiations and signed the agreement to that effect in 2011, it was in the context of these residual issues which remain outstanding to date. This occasion of your visit to the Polihali Dam project site presents an opportunity to ensure that this phase does not repeat those mistakes, and guarantee that the communities who have given way for this dam are placed at the centre of this project.

Mr President, the further implementation of advanced infrastructure works to pave the way for construction of LHWP II, known as the Polihali Dam, has already had an adverse impact on the livelihoods of communities affected by this component of the project.

The Katse Dam is part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and supplies water to Gauteng. (Photo: Deaan Vivier / Beeld / Gallo Images)

Land and other natural resources which are the basis of the communities’ livelihoods have been expropriated by the project without payment and compensation.

The transition into the next component of LHWP II, marked by the occasion of your visit on 23 May 2023, will lead to renewed physical and economic displacement of families. The LHWP Phase II feasibility studies have estimated that about 16 villages will need to be relocated or resettled due to close proximity to the dam and/or significantly impeded access in the event of floods.

And again, thousands will be economically displaced as a result of acquisition and inundation of their agricultural land, grazing land, including natural resources. The result is imminent food insecurity, impoverishment and the breakdown of social networks and culture.

Climate change and the growing South African population and economy dictate that South Africa will increasingly rely on water from Lesotho. The role and importance of the LHWP and the anticipated phases beyond the Polihali Dam necessitate that great care be taken to secure ownership and buy-in of communities who have hitherto remained dissatisfied with this project.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Can anyone hear the socioeconomic and environmental alarm bells on Lesotho Highlands Water Project?

The challenge, Mr President, for this occasion and for the government of South Africa is to address South Africa’s interests in keeping this bilateral project more significant to both countries without losing sight of the longer-term sustainable development of local communities.

We therefore call upon you to:

  1. Review, as a matter of urgency, the LHWP Treaty to align it with the international human rights standards for better protection and promotion of the rights of affected communities;
  2. Devote your time in Lesotho to meet civil society organisations and the communities affected to hear their concerns regarding implementation of the LHWP Phase II first-hand;
  3. Engage the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho and the LHWP’s implementation authorities on the challenges facing communities affected by Phase I and Phase II of the LHWP, address human rights violations of communities, and ensure their right to development and restore their livelihoods;
  4. Assist the Kingdom of Lesotho and Lesotho Highlands Development Authority to overhaul the entire LHWP Legal and Compensation Framework, to ensure fair and adequate compensation for communities;
  5. Support the Kingdom of Lesotho and Lesotho Highlands Development Authority to formulate, as a matter of urgency, the Livelihoods Restoration Policy, which is in line with best international standards, to ensure that affected communities’ livelihoods are improved; and
  6. Undertake, as a matter of urgency, a forensic audit of all compensation funds intended for the affected people. DM

Reitumetse Nkoti Mabula is Executive Director of the Seinoli Legal Centre in Maseru, Lesotho.

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