…rejects allegations it has short-changed poor communities displaced by its Phase II project…
…promises to compensate everyone and every community involved…
Mohalenyane Phakela
THE Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) says it is committed to ensuring that compensation for various communities affected by the construction of the Polihali Dam under Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is fully realised.
LHDA Public Relations Manager, Mpho Brown, said this in a recent exclusive interview with the Lesotho Times, in reaction to protests staged by communities in Malingoaneng, Mokhotlong, where the Polihali Dam is located, during the recent official sod turning ceremony for the project
His Majesty King Letsie III and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa conducted the sod turning ceremony for the multi-billion projects on 23 May 2023. The construction of the dam is expected to run for five years and employ over 11 000 people, mostly Basotho.
Applaudable as the project may be, there were unhappy communities from the Malingoaneng area who allege they have been short-changed after they lost their land for the dam construction with no compensation paid hitherto. The communities attempted to stage a protest during the official launch ceremony but King Letsie 111 and President Cyril Ramaphosa never got to see their placards carrying messages demanding a fair deal. The placards were confiscated by the police officers and soldiers, responsible for security at the event, and the attempts to protest were immediately subdued.
The move by the police and army did not go down well with human rights bodies working closely with the aggrieved communities.
The Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (Southern Defenders) and Seinoli Legal Centre perceived the incident as a violation of basic human rights to protest and harassment of those who intended to fight for their rights.
The two NGOs issued a joint statement on 31 May 2023 in which they condemned the incident and further called for the Lesotho authorities to investigate and act against those responsible for thwarting the protests.
“We strongly condemn any actions that hinder the work of Human Rights Defenders (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,” read the statement.
“We call upon the authorities in Lesotho to conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into the incident, holding those responsible for the unlawful confiscation of…. placards accountable for their actions; take immediate steps to guarantee the safety and protection of HRDs in Lesotho, ensuring an environment conducive to their work without fear of reprisals or intimidation; uphold the right to freedom of expression, assembly, and peaceful protest as enshrined in the national laws of Lesotho and international human rights standards; engage in dialogue with HRDs and civil society organizations to address their concerns, promote a culture of respect for human rights, and strengthen the democratic principles of Lesotho.
“The Southern Defenders and Seinoli Legal Centre stand in solidarity with the HRDs in Lesotho and reiterate our commitment to supporting their important work in defending and promoting human rights. We urge the authorities to take immediate action to address these violations and create an enabling environment where HRDs can continue their vital contributions to society.”
However, Mr Brown, told this publication in a wide-ranging one-on-one interview that the LHDA was “doing all in its power to ensure that all affected communities are fully compensated”.
“It is important to clarify recent misinformation that the LHDA does not consult affected individuals and households sufficiently on compensation issues. Before any movement on compensation, extensive consultations occur with those affected both at household level and at community level. Any insinuation that it doesn’t happen is factually incorrect,” Mr Brown said.
“Secondly it is crucial to explain that households have the freedom to select between cash based and in-kind (grain) compensation for their assets, and for cash compensation they have the option to select an upfront lump sum payment for all assets, or annual payments for their assets for a period of 50 years. Grain compensation is paid annually. The misconception here has been that LHDA decides what kind of compensation to pay households and for how much, which is not correct. Compensation rates are gazetted as part of an extensive library of documents that govern the LHWP, and those were developed with consultations and guidance from the relevant government authorities, expert bodies, and communities impacted by the project.”
He added: “Under Phase II, consultations with affected households on compensation options have largely been completed. Compensation for those affected does not happen at the same time and all at once. It occurs based on the stage at which the work under the project is occurring, and those who are due for compensation at that time are the ones whose payments are prioritized. This early and rigorous consultation process for all communities and households that will eventually be affected, may be giving the impression that all payments are due to be paid all together at the same time, but the LHDA has gone through great lengths to help communities understand when they are likely to be directly impacted, and that their specific compensations will be handled at the requisite times.”
Mr Brown added that the LHDA had consulted specific owners of the affected properties and an agreement was reached with them allowing the LHDA access to their lands whilst payments were being processed.
“Households affected by the LHWP II are compensated for various asset types such as arable land (fields), gardens, residential plots and houses, business plots and structures, fruit trees, medicinal plant, kraals, sheds and thickets. Communities get communal compensation for rangelands and useful natural resources. Compensation for community assets is calculated based on the size of the loss and the number of affected households. Communal compensation for entire communities, is handled differently than individual household compensation,” Mr Brown said.
“Once the amount of community assets and the value of those assets is agreed upon between the project and the affected community, and relevant authorities, the community is required to decide for themselves what kind of development project they would like to invest that money on, that will benefit the whole community. These developments can include, building of roads, electrification projects, bulk water supply/access projects, and other developments that the communities deem fit for their context. Once such agreement is reached, the LHDA is notified through community leadership and only then the LHDA can mobilize the money due to that community to pay the developers of those community improvement projects.”
Furthermore, Mr Brown said the LHDA in the past used to negotiate with community representatives but later on realised that the process was not effective because community leaders would fail to account for the monies paid to beneficiaries and in return the Authority would receive backlash from the communities.
“This is why the new approach of paying directly the developers of those community development projects from the LHDA was adopted, and it has been an effective way of managing communal compensation. What can lead to delays in this process is when the community itself cannot reach agreement through its leadership, on the priority projects that the community should invest the money in,” Mr Brown said.
“For communities that require relocation, these developmental project negotiations also include negotiations with the host communities as to where they will be relocated to, to ensure that the communal compensation can also benefit the host communities, and sometimes those can take some time to agree on the same developmental projects.
“It is important to note that compensation is an ongoing process and does not happen simultaneously for all affected households overnight. And so, we acknowledge the responsibility to ensure that all assets that are due for compensatory payment at any given point, are paid off before they are impacted, and we further commit to ensuring that adequate consultations and agreements are in place where that condition is not met.”
It would also be helpful if stakeholders sought to understand the empirical facts about the LHDA’s processes with the project and communities to avoid issuing statements that could be erroneous.
