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Eighteen rural communities in Lesotho have filed a complaint with the African Development Bank over its financial backing of a multi-billion rand hydraulic scheme whose development phase they claim has damaged farmland, polluted water sources and damaged houses.

Demands for Transparency and Compensation

Approximately 1,600 residents based in the villages in the Mokhotlong region in north-east Lesotho are calling for transparency over planned forced relocations and compensation they say they have not been informed about.

The LHWP is scheduled for completion by 2029, a decade later than originally planned. It will transport water from mountainous Lesotho to a area containing the Republic of South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, at an estimated cost of 54bn rand (£2.28bn).

Official Grievance Filed

Last week, the local residents, represented by the local Seinoli Legal Centre and the American nonprofit Accountability Counsel, filed a formal appeal with the AfDB’s IRM. They requested the IRM to recommend that the AfDB board suspend the project until their concerns are resolved.

The complaint stated that explosive excavation had caused fissures in residential structures, while rockfalls and water accumulation had blocked access to some fields. It claimed that dust and debris had polluted water sources.

“Our land is being taken [and] they didn’t pay in a fair way,” said a community representative, requesting anonymity due to concerns of backlash from officials.

Institutional Reactions

Representatives for AfDB, which loaned R1.3 billion 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 manages the project, said: “Not a single family has been, or will be, displaced without advance and comprehensive consultation … Our commitment is to transparency, accessibility, and prompt feedback across all levels of interaction.”

The authority continued: “To date, no dwellings have been reported as unsafe due to detonations. However, where residences have experienced damage such as fractures or other integrity problems, construction firms are obligated to perform repairs to the approval of the impacted household, or compensation is offered in accordance to policy.”

It said that rockfall issues had been resolved, allegations of farm entry being blocked had not been verified and “general water quality remains within permissible limits for its intended uses”.

Allegations of Security Misconduct

The communities also alleged they had suffered arbitrary detentions, detention and mistreatment by security services and law enforcement for demonstrating calmly.

A police representative, a spokesperson for the Lesotho Mounted Police Service, said: “Police operated within the rule of law … Demonstrations are controlled, therefore illegal assembly cannot be peaceful. We are directed by tenets of civil liberties as enshrined in the Lesotho Constitution Act of 1993.”

A spokesperson for the country’s national security services did not respond to a request for statement.

Other Funders

The initiative’s funders also include the Brics bloc’s New Development Bank and the Development Bank of South Africa, both of whom responded to requests for input.