Leemisa Thuseho
NTSOELENG Mohale, is not just an engineer, but one of the top engineers Lesotho has produced to lead top construction projects in Lesotho and outside the country.
Mohale is an example of the many Basotho who are holding positions of leadership and or special skills within Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) under implementation of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA).
He is currently the resident engineer at MSCK- the consultant that led the design and currently supervising the LHWP’s Polihali Transfer Tunnel construction.
Born (in 1967) and bred in Kolo, Mafeteng district, Mohale has extensive experience in construction supervision of large diameter drill and blast waterway tunnels. This includes commissioning and trial operation of pipeline schemes, supervision, and management of large and small-scale construction activities such as large diameter raw water welded steel pipelines, roller compacted concrete (RCC) dams, concrete arch dams, embankment dams, reinforced and mass concrete works, surface and underground excavations, quarrying, cement grouting, gravity water supply systems and sanitation works.
Mohale further has a rich background in monitoring of laboratory testing, concrete, and grout mix designs, including aggregates production at quarries, aggregates stockpile management and batch plant quality control.
His experience spans multiple geographies, having worked in Lesotho, Botswana, United Kingdom, and the Republic of South Africa.
Mohale holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Civil Engineering obtained from Salford University in UK 1997. He also holds a National Diploma in Civil Engineering from the Lerotholi Polytechnic in Lesotho, 1992.
His professional journey in engineering started back in 1993 at Katse Dam Construction where he worked as an Inspector of Works under the Lesotho Highlands Consultants (LHC).
Then, he was assigned to the dam foundations and specialized works section tasked with monitoring of the foundation (rock) excavations by drill & blast, including mucking of blast materials and carrying out trial grout mix preparations, sampling and testing amongst others.
He worked there until 1994 when the assignment was completed.
Thereafter he went to further his studies at Salford University in Manchester, UK where he obtained a BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering.
Upon return from the UK in 1997 Mohale worked as Graduate Engineer and then as Section Engineer at ‘Muela Underground Hydropower Station until 1999 when the project was completed.
He was attached to Lahmeyer MacDonald Consortium (LMC) where he started worked as an intern under the LHDA Young Professionals Programme, a flagship LHDA program for skills development and transfer.
“It took me only four months working as a Graduate Engineer before being promoted to Section Engineer, a role that I held until we commissioned the project,” Mohale said.
In October 1999 he was transferred to Mohale Dam under Phase 1B of the LHWP, where he worked as Assistant Materials Engineer, and later Materials and Instrumentation Engineer under Mohale Consultants Group (MCG). He worked there until May 2003.
“Soon after the completion of Mohale Dam, LHDA introduced In-House Special Projects, and I was recruited under that umbrella as a civil engineer until 2006.”
In search of a new challenge, he went to work in the UK as Sub-Agent/Section Engineer working at the Sellafield Nuclear Product and Residue Storage construction.
The project was based in Cumbria, and it involved the construction of nuclear product compartments, nuclear residue storage and the administration compartment.
“In 2006, in pursuit of a new challenge, I was fortunate enough to land a job in England where I once studied. I worked there for 14 months, before returning returning back home,” Mohale said.
Back from the UK, in 2007 he re-joined the LHDA In-house Civil Engineering projects team and this time as Deputy Special Projects Manager, where he stayed until 2009, before being seconded to BKS (Consulting Engineers) to work as Resident Engineer on the Mohale Dam Crack Repairs and Ancillary Works.
The end of that project saw him being tasked again under LHDA to be a Deputy Special Projects Manager of the LHDA Phase II Preparatory Works, looking after contracts drafting, tendering and administration until 2012.
It was in 2012 when he got a life changing opportunity and massive responsibility, being hired as Chief Engineer of the construction of the Spring Grove Dam in South Africa.
Spring Grove Dam is a 38m high roller compacted concrete dam located in the Mooi River near Rosetta in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
“The Spring Grove Dam was my biggest project in a leadership role, overseeing it from foundation until completion in 2013. Whilst I still had a way to go and a lot to learn in my engineering profession at that time, I was bold and ready for the challenge, and I was elated looking back, that I managed to deliver it.”
“My work made a huge impression, as I was recalled to lead the second phase of the same project- Mooi Mgeni Water Transfer Scheme Phase 2 (MMTS2) from 2014 to 2016.”
From 2016 to 17 he further worked as Chief Resident Engineer of the Olifants River Water Resources Development Project Phase 2D/2D1 in Limpopo, South Africa. And from 2017 to 2019 he became Specialist Assistance to Chief Resident Engineer at the Olifants River Water Resources Development Project Phase 2C/2H.
Since 2019 to date, Mohale is working as Resident Engineer at MSCK, the consultant that led the design and currently supervising the Polihali Transfer Tunnel construction.
Mohale is a product of the LHDA’s “on-the-job training” initiative, the Young Professionals Programme, which jump-started engineering careers for numerous young professionals during the first phase of the LHWP.
“I benefited immensely from the LHDA Young Professionals Programme and I think it is one of the best initiatives within the LHWP, which continues to shape the lives on many young Basotho and South Africans to date.”
“For people like me (who benefited from the programme) it is easy to continue the tradition here at MSCK to help other upcoming professionals in the field,” Mohale said.
