Local fishers preparing their catch at Katse Dam: Photos by Sechaba Mokhethi Local fishers say they are arrested and beaten up but authorities deny this Sechaba Mokhethi Fishers at Katse Dam claim they have been beaten by officials policing the area on behalf of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA). The dam is part
Our Stories
Lesotho advances M800 million cancer facility amid legal battle
On 8 January 2025, hopes soared when Lesotho’s Health Minister Selibe Mochoboroane handed over a plot of land for the construction of a much-anticipated M800 million cancer treatment facility.
This government-funded facility in the capital, Maseru, would be the first of its kind in the country and would alleviate the suffering of Lesotho’s growing number of cancer patients who currently have no choice but to seek costly cancer treatment in neighbouring South Africa.
But things aren’t as exciting or straightforward as the politicians make them seem. The process of awarding the tender to build this facility is being challenged in court. The Malawian company, Plem Construction, was selected as the winning bidder in April 2024, but the rival bidder, Unik Construction Engineering Pty Ltd. believes the process was flawed and has asked the Constitutional Court to intervene.
Lesotho power consumers feel the brunt of drought
Sechaba Mokhethi This series was supported by Pulitzer Centre The irony of Lesotho’s energy crisis is striking: the country’s dams are full, thanks to a halt in water transfers to South Africa, allowing Lesotho to maintain its hydroelectric plant. However, the nation won’t benefit from the renewable energy potential the full dams offer,
The bitter cost of Mohale Dam resettlement
Billy Ntaote and Matiisetso Mosala Twenty years after being forcibly displaced to make way for Lesotho’s Mohale Dam, five households from the now submerged village of Ha Seotsa have found themselves trapped in an ongoing struggle to get the compensation funds they were entitled to when they moved. The compensation is valued
How dry spells cripple Lesotho’s hydropower generation
Text by Sechaba Mokhethi Dataviz by Joel Konopo This story was supported by Pulitzer Centre Persistent and severe droughts have drastically curtailed Lesotho’s capacity to produce its own hydropower, shoving the country into a perennial power crisis. The droughts have reduced the water levels at Katse Dam, Africa’s second-largest dam, which powers the turbines at
Dubious debt collection tender under scrutiny
Minister Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane challenges award of NMDS tender to SA company ©Picture supplied Relebohile Khutlang Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane has weighed in on a dubious government contract asking the High Court to set it aside. The minister’s critics are questioning her motives and many questions remain unanswered. The country’s
Plans to relocate stinking dumpsite cancelled
A pile of foul smelling waste at Tšosane dumpsite ©photo supplied Billy Ntaote Plans to relocate the foul-smelling Tšosane dumpsite to Tšoeneng were aborted after the Natural Resources and the Law Cluster instructed the Maseru City Council (MCC) to cancel ongoing processes to do so due to a lack of funds. Responding to
How the British company was awarded exclusive rights to Lesotho’s waste
Billy Ntaote Former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s administration awarded a British man, Peter Smith an exclusive 25-year all-waste project agreement for management and processing waste into energy and various products in 2018. The project is touted as a long-lasting solution to a protracted battle between Maseru city residents of areas of Ha
The business of waste and politics
Tšosane’s dumpsite is now fuller than ever © Retšelisitsoe Khabo Billy Ntaote A grand waste management plan for Lesotho is yet to get off the ground six years after a lucrative contract was awarded to a company that would clear Maseru’s foul-smelling Tšosane dumpsite, build a new processing plant, and then manage
WASCO mulls booting out a contractor for failure to complete M9.4 million project
Nteboheleng Thamae A M9.4 million project to connect rural homes in Sehlabeng-sa-Thuathe (Thuathe Plateau) to piped water has been abandoned by contractors who are demanding funds to complete the work which, they argue, was increased over the course of the 12-month contract. The government is having none of this saying no
