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Lesotho villagers file complaint over Bank-Funded water project
Eighteen rural communities in Lesotho have filed a formal complaint with the African Development Bank (AfDB) over the construction of a major water project, claiming that it has caused extensive damage to farmland, polluted water sources, and harmed local homes.
Approximately 1,600 residents of villages in the Mokhotlong district of northeastern Lesotho are seeking transparency on planned relocations and compensation, asserting that they were not consulted. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, aimed at supplying water to South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, is now expected to be completed by 2029, a decade later than originally planned, at a projected cost of 54 billion rand (£2.28 billion).
Represented by the Seinoli Legal Centre and the US NGO Accountability Counsel, the communities filed their complaint with the AfDB’s independent recourse mechanism (IRM) last week, requesting that the bank suspend the project until their concerns are addressed. The complaint describes house cracks caused by rock blasting, blocked access to fields due to rockfalls and flooding, and contamination of water sources from dust and debris.
“They take our fields and did not compensate us properly,” said a local representative, who requested anonymity due to fears of retaliation.
AfDB officials, who provided a 1.3 billion rand loan in 2021, had not responded to questions by the time of publication. The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, managing the project, insisted that no household would be relocated without consultation and that any structural damages would be repaired or compensated.
Communities also reported arbitrary arrests and mistreatment by security forces for peaceful protests. Police representatives defended their actions, citing the Lesotho Constitution’s regulations on protest and human rights.
Other funders, including the New Development Bank and the Development Bank of South Africa, did not respond to requests for comment.