Water For Justice

Affected communities want to sue LHDA for unfulfilled promises

Communities affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project have made a great decision to go beyond Ombudsman recommendations. Communities are considering going to court to sue LHDA on a number of unfulfilled promises, which extend as far back as November 2006 .

In the Katse area, for example, LHDA have worked on 44 grievances all of which have been rejected.

This comes after three years since the communities have put their complaints before the Ombudsman.

The complaints that were put before the Ombudsman in Katse were over 700; only 44 have been worked and rejected by the LHDA.

The communities from Katse catchement to Mohale catchment are considering a dramatic move to have a peace march to Parliament to ask for the intervention of this august body.

As if the painful issues in Katse were not enough, the Ombudsman said he was deeply disturbed by the callousness of the LHDA and the LHWC.

In his words the Ombudsman states his disatisfaction: " I regret to have to state that once again LHDA, and I dare say the Commission too, has manifested its true colours towards the problems it created for the people affected by its operations- cold insensitivity and callousness."

After nearly seven years(2003-2009) since the ruling of the Ombudsman, very little has been done to compensate communities in the Mohale area.

In a second round of talks between the Ombudsman and the LHDA, the latter made an undertaking to resolve some of the community issues, which include the resettlement of Sekhebetlela Mojakhomo, a citizen of Ha Mohale, who had been denied resettlement by LHDA. Thanks for the breakthrough.

After TRC went on air through Radio Lesotho program Seboping, we hear that 7 cooperatives are going to be compensated and given their communal compensation which is in millions. Thanks to the TRC pressure.

There are a number of issues which need to be reported about communities affected by the LHWP, but a few need tabling: At Katse Mapeleng there are houses which have no gutters, while others have; there is no water provided by the LHDA at Mapeleng, yet there is piped water for Ha Nts'eli community, which is very close to Mapeleng. Ha Suoane and Kostabole still have people with no toilets.

The Kolo community with a 13 strong representation have this week decided to see the Ministry of Natural Resources , particularly the Principal Secretary , Mr. Bataung Leleka. The issues range from asking clarification about the expired mining lease of the Angel Diamonds. Other issues will include asking government through the Ministry of Natural Resources to sign up a memorandum of understanding before their graves could be resettled as well as their houses.

A long pending issue affecting the community of Ha Noha, in which the police brutalized the residents, seems to have finally reached the Minister of Home Affairs after a long time of procrastination by officials at the Police Directorate. This dramatic move comes after TRC injected yet another pressure to ask the police directorate to work on this human rights issue.

The community of Ha Noha demand the following from authorities:

* Compensation for assault and murder

* The station commander at Marakabei to resign immediately

* Government to appologize publicly for that terrible manhandling

* Legal measures to be taken against the policy perpetrators