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Eighteen rural settlements in the Mountain Kingdom have lodged a complaint with the African Development Bank over its financial backing of a multibillion-pound hydraulic scheme whose development phase they allege has ruined fields, polluted water sources and damaged homes.

Demands for Transparency and Payment

Approximately 1,600 residents based in the villages in the Mokhotlong region in north-east Lesotho are calling for transparency over proposed evictions and reparations they state they have not been informed about.

The LHWP is scheduled for completion by 2029, a ten years later than initially scheduled. It will deliver water from mountainous Lesotho to a region containing the Republic of South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, at an estimated cost of R54 billion (2.28 billion pounds).

Official Grievance Submitted

Last week, the Lesotho communities, assisted by the Lesotho-based Seinoli Legal Centre and the American nonprofit Accountability Counsel, filed a complaint with the bank’s IRM. They asked the IRM to recommend that the AfDB board halt the project until their concerns are resolved.

The complaint said that explosive excavation had caused cracks in house walls, while landslides and flooding had blocked entry to some fields. It claimed that dust and debris had tainted water sources.

“They take our fields [and] they didn’t pay in a fair way,” commented a community representative, seeking anonymity due to fears of reprisals from authorities.

Official Responses

Spokespeople for the African Development Bank, which loaned R1.3 billion to the project in 2021, indicated they would respond to written inquiries, but had not responded by the deadline.

The Lesotho Highland Development Authority, which manages the project, stated: “Not a single family has been, or will be, relocated without prior and comprehensive consultation … Our commitment is to transparency, availability, and prompt communication across all levels of engagement.”

The authority continued: “To date, no dwellings have been declared as unsafe due to detonations. However, where households have experienced damage such as cracks or other structural issues, construction firms are required to carry out repairs to the approval of the affected family, or reimbursement is provided in line with policy.”

It said that rockfall problems had been resolved, claims of field access being impeded had not been verified and “overall water quality remains within acceptable standards for its designated purposes”.

Allegations of Security Abuse

The residents also asserted they had experienced arbitrary detentions, detention and mistreatment by security services and police for peacefully protesting.

A police representative, a spokesperson for the Lesotho Mounted Police Service, said: “Officers acted within the legal framework … Demonstrations are controlled, therefore illegal protest cannot be peaceful. We are directed by tenets of human rights as enshrined in the national charter of 1993.”

A representative for Lesotho’s defense force did not respond to a request for statement.

Other Funders

The project’s financial supporters also comprise the BRICS alliance’s NDB and the Development Bank of South Africa, neither of which replied to inquiries for comment.