The completion of the first phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project was celebrated with a colourful shindig in the fresh mountain air of the Lesotho mountains in mid-March. Dignitaries including Lesotho’s King Letsie III, Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and South African President Thabo Mbeki were joined by crowds of local residents and brightly blanketed horse riders at the day-long celebration.
The celebration marked not only the completion of the first phase of Africa’s largest water-transfer project, but was an occasion for authorities to discuss embarking on the possible second phase of the mega-project. It was clear that most of the Lesotho contingent were keen to start on the second phase, while the South Africans followed a more cautious route of first evaluating the possible future phase.
Not many people in Gauteng realise the importance of the project to water security in South Africa’s economic powerhouse. To put it simply, the project captures Lesotho’s ‘white gold” – the term Mbeki used to refer to the abundant water in the mountain ranges – and transfers it to Gauteng consumers. More than three million cubic metres of water have flowed into the Vaal River system from the project since 1998.
In return, Lesotho receives royalties for the water used, jobs have been created, a hydro-electric scheme constructed during the process supplies the country with electricity, and large-scale infrastructure has been brought into the country.
Infrastructure
Phase 1A, centred around building the giant Katse Dam and an 86km tunnel delivery system to South Africa, resulted in the construction of two border crossings, 120km of tarred roads over mountains, three clinics and one trauma unit at an existing hospital, 145km of power lines, more than 200 houses in five construction villages and a microwave telecommunications system.
Phase 1B, which saw the completion of Mohale Dam and a 32km tunnel linking Mohale Dam to Katse Dam, resulted in the construction of three mountain passes, 72km of tarred roads, more than 100 construction houses and 75km of power lines. At the peak of construction, Phase IB created more than 8 000 jobs for local and regional workers.
At the celebration in March, King Letsie III said the Lesotho Highlands Water Project had helped his country upgrade its status from being one of the world’s least-developed countries. ‘Now we have the most beautiful roads. We also have the royalties paid to us by South Africa,” the king said.
Like most huge development projects, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project has come in for its fair share of criticism from environmentalists. Large-scale dams and water transfer projects are also unpopular among human rights activists, because they usually result in the movement of indigent communities.
Building of the Katse Dam meant that 78 families had to be relocated. An additional 110 households were resettled due to development of advanced infrastructure and possible hazardous locations.
Phase 1B resettlements were affected in different stages. Before construction 99 families were resettled from their villages near Mohale Dam and at least a further 226 families were relocated as a result of impoundment of the dam.
Families relocated by the building of Mohale Dam had the option of either moving within the Highlands, or to rural lowlands villages or moving to Maseru, Lesotho’s capital. They were compensated financially for their resettlement, as well as receiving their new home for free. The resettled household head also received a disturbance or settling-in allowance over a period of three years.
Resettlement
Relocated families got a brand-new home built to their specifications. ‘They are allowed to choose the design of replacement houses equal in surface area to their original homes. The new location is determined through negotiation with village chiefs in the desired host communities,” according to a senior project official in Maseru.
Most of the resettled families are happy where they have settled. They said moving had given them a better way of life, especially when it came to more easily accessible health care.
Subsistence farming is the way of life in the Lesotho Highlands. Loss of arable land for maize production and other farming activities impacts heavily on household food security. The affected families are compensated for loss of arable land either in kind, through cash grants or through investment options offered by a compensation fund.
According to George van der Merwe, communications manager for the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), the project’s liability managers, dialogue between affected communities and their compensators is an ongoing process. The displaced communities will be compensated by South Africa for a period of at least 50 years after completion of the resettlement.
TCTA takes care of the delivery tunnel transporting the ‘white gold” to South Africa, as well as all structures required to deliver and control the flow of water to the Vaal River system. TCTA is responsible for the liability management of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
Martie Janse van Rensburg, TCTA’s chief executive officer, said the compensation policy implemented by the project authorities has been hailed as the most progressive in the world.
Better off than before?
The stated socio-developmental aim of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is to leave affected households better off than before the disturbance of their lives by the project. Obviously, this has to be monitored on an ongoing basis to determine whether the aim is achieved or not.
This in itself poses a problem, because the income of affected households differed substantially at the start of the project and the impact on each household and their living standards that required compensation was also different in kind and degree. In addition, the compensation measures affect the various households in different ways.
Since the early 1980s a number of socio-economic surveys have been undertaken to obtain baseline data. The latest survey took place from November 2000 to March 2001, covering 1 098 households in Phase 1A and 1B areas (population = 6 981). The control group consisted of 892 persons (428 males and 464 females), while 35% of those surveyed were below 15 years old.
The study showed the importance of health facilities provided as a result of the project, as well as the benefit of the rural access roads that provide regular transport. At the same time, the prevalence of HIV-positive persons had risen from 21% to 29%, with its highest prevalence among business people and wage earners.
The prevalence of stunting (height by age) was higher among affected households than control groups, especially among children below the age of three years. This indicated poor maternal nutrition or poor weaning practices, but was also an indicator of household food insecurity.
Due to the rural water supply projects to affected communities, they were more dependent on standpipes than the control group. VIP latrines were more widely used in affected households; no households used flush latrines.
The overall improvement in living standards in affected communities was minimal, showing the need for faster service delivery by the project authorities. The key challenge was identified as retaining the necessary skills, expertise and commitment in the implementing organisations involved in the project.
In both affected households and control groups, the largest employment category was ‘seeking employment”. The majority of heads of households from affected communities were involved in local production activities, with low wage employment.
It was clear that resettled households relied heavily on compensation for their basic needs, making it difficult to wean them of this entitlement and to re-establish their integration in normal village life. The goal of sustainable food security had not been attained, which increased the pressure on the project authorities to facilitate a better life for the affected Highlands communities.
In 2002 a World Bank evaluation regarded the Lesotho Highlands Water Project as ‘a very successful project that has met its major goals, although it is not yet close to meeting its social goals”, adding, ‘ —vigorous action is being taken (by the project authorities) to address problems”.
Is this sustainable development?
As far as South Africa is concerned, droughts have had negative impacts on the country’s economy. The impact of water restrictions, depending on their timing and severity, could cost the economy R1,5-billion to R3,8-billion a year for first-tier restrictions, and between R3-billion and R8-billion a year for more severe restrictions. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project offers South Africa water security to mitigate these effects on the economy.
The bulk of South Africa’s energy is generated by water-cooled, coal-fired power stations situated in the central plateau, known as the Highveld. This region also relies on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project-augmented Vaal River system for its water supply.
In addition, the industrial development of Gauteng would not be sustainable without the project. Gauteng is home to 70% of South Africa’s workforce, accounts for some 40% of its GDP and 9% of the GDP of Africa.
As the mandated agent of the South African government, TCTA manages and services the outstanding debt, and identifies and manages the concomitant risk involved in the project. It is also in charge of the project’s social and environmental responsibilities in the eastern Free State, while ensuring the ongoing operation and maintenance of the project structures in South Africa.
Repayment of the water transfer debt relies on the revenue stream from water sales to the Vaal River system water users. Revenue is derived from a portion of the bulk raw water tariff charged by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. This income is sufficient for TCTA to repay all water transfer costs 20 years from completion of each sub-phase.
TCTA says that, insofar as the continued delivery of water from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is crucial for development in South Africa, the funding to implement, operate and meet the associated socio-environmental obligations is sustainable.
Lesotho ecotourism
The infrastructure created by the project in Lesotho is impressive and substantial, but there is some concern about retaining the skills, capacities and capabilities as it downsizes. The process of transferring facilities and human resources to other institutions in Lesotho is under way, but often capacity and skills are major limitations
The World Bank said in its 2002 report on the project that the institutional developments were substantial, on the basis that the various institutional arrangements, including the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), ‘performed in excellent fashion”. It concluded that the project was sustainable, ‘assuming the continued sound performance of the LHDA”.
The most significant growth industry in Southern Africa is tourism. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project infrastructure has provided the backbone for ecotourism development in the Highlands. Already, scores of tourists drive up to Katse Dam from the eastern Free State towns, but often return the same day due to insufficient accommodation in the project area. (The hospitality industry in the eastern Free State reports consistent growth and high occupancy rates.)
The disposal of project assets to facilitate additional accommodation is has faltered in Lesotho. If it was pursued successfully, it could have a marked positive effect on tourist volumes as the private sector develops the market. The influx of tourists should be even more marked with the impoundment of Mohale Dam, due to its proximity to Maseru and Bloemfontein.
A new ski resort in the northern Maloti is set to draw tourists during winter, while the large bodies of unimpeded open water entice boating, water sport and recreational fishing in summer. However the TCTA still has to clarify its boating regulations.
Project areas are important development nodes in the new Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Development initiative, and are favoured destinations on the Maloti Route, a transfrontier tourism route that includes the Lesotho Highlands, Lowlands and the South African provinces of Eastern Cape and Free State. International funding, expertise and initiatives have been made available to ensure the viability of these developments.
A 2000 study undertaken for the Lesotho Ministry of Tourism, Sport and Culture acknowledged the ‘immense achievement” in constructing the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, but cautioned that it would take ‘as much or more” effort to reap the benefits of ecotourism in the Highlands.
However, the study showed that the potential of tourism in the Highlands is of a similar order of magnitude to the benefits generated by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
The challenges of sustainable development will continue to face the project as construction winds down. These challenges cannot be met in isolation. Not only will they require the concerted and continued cooperation of the various authorities, but also the active participation of the communities concerned in the ongoing design, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the myriad projects that have transformed the Highlands of Lesotho.