Minister says Authority must prioritise local livelihoods — as landmark project marks 40 years
Seithati Motšoeneng
NATURAL Resources Minister, Mohlomi Moleko, has challenged the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) to match its engineering achievements with tangible improvements in the lives of communities affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP).
Mr Moleko made the remarks yesterday at the ongoing LHDA Annual Stakeholder Conference held at the ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre to commemorate the project’s 40th anniversary.
The seminar, which started yesterday, ends tomorrow.
He challenged the Authority to address criticism over the perceived lack of visible progress in its social development initiatives, saying it had an opportunity to become a symbol of community empowerment and improved livelihoods in the highlands.
“As a dedicated vehicle for development in the highlands of Lesotho, the LHDA has the power to reshape its narrative. It can transform itself from a target of criticism over lack of visible social development into a powerful symbol of genuine community empowerment and livelihood improvement,” he said.
“While I am confident the LHDA will execute its technical mandates with excellence, my core concern and question to the LHWP leadership is why the same passion and tenacity are not being applied to community-centric issues,” Mr Moleko added.
He stressed that sustainable development depended on giving affected communities a meaningful voice in decisions shaping their future.
While acknowledging the project’s engineering milestones, economic opportunities, social investments and environmental initiatives, Mr Moleko said its achievements had been made possible through partnerships between the governments of Lesotho and South Africa, local communities and other stakeholders.
LHDA Chief Executive Officer, Tente Tente, said the Authority needed to confront its shortcomings transparently and work closely with stakeholders to address them.
“When we revived this conference in 2024, our mission was clear: to establish a dynamic platform where we listen to our stakeholders, co-create our development initiatives, and, above all, empower stakeholders to hold us accountable,” Mr Tente said.
He described the conference as an important opportunity to assess the Authority’s performance honestly, identify areas where it had fallen short and build consensus on the way forward.
Mr Tente said the LHDA’s 10-year strategy, launched in 2023, was anchored on three pillars: people, planet and prosperity. Achieving that vision, he said, required the active participation of local communities.
The conference brought together key insights and feedback from previous stakeholder engagements at major project sites, including ‘Muela, Katse and Mohale. Mr Tente said communities had raised important concerns and made recommendations during those engagements.
Meanwhile, LHDA Division Manager for Operations and Development, Reentseng Molapo, said the Authority was studying ways to supply water directly from the dams to nearby villages in response to longstanding concerns from communities affected by the project.
Mr Molapo acknowledged that communities living near the dams had legitimate reasons to demand reliable access to water.
“The need for water by communities close to the project is indeed reasonable,” he said.
He explained that the Authority had initially responded to the demand through a dedicated community water and sanitation initiative targeting villages near the project sites.
However, the initiative proved inadequate during droughts, when some wells used by communities dried up, leaving residents without reliable water supplies.
“This project revealed that some water collected from wells, when there is drought, they run out, which caused an outcry from the communities,” Mr Molapo said.
He said the Authority had recognised the limitations of the existing arrangements and was now exploring a more sustainable solution.
“Hence currently they are doing a study on how they can supply water adequately straight from the dam,” he said.
