Lesotho: Lesotho Dam Authority Must Pay M90-Million in Long-Overdue Compensation

What the report says

Lesotho’s High Court has ordered the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) to pay nearly M90-million to 20 community associations within 90 days, according to GroundUp, in a case tied to compensation for losses linked to the Katse and Mohale dams. The communities, mostly in Thaba-Tseka district, say the dams and the wider Lesotho Highlands Water Project damaged grazing land and natural resources such as firewood, fish, wild vegetables and medicinal plants. The settlement follows years of delay after the second round of compensation was paused in 2013.

GroundUp reported that the order, issued on 20 October and later made a court order, resolves a dispute that gained momentum after a landmark appeal judgment in favor of Bobete villagers in another compensation case against LHDA. Those villagers had challenged the authority’s decision to stop payments without consulting affected residents. The court found that move unlawful and unfair. The new settlement covers arrears owed since 2013 and brings the total to M89.9-million, with individual community awards ranging from M848,000 to M16.2-million.

The article said the associations first sought talks late last year, then filed suit after months without a response. A lawyer for the communities said LHDA eventually agreed to settle out of court. More broadly, the report places this case within a wider pattern of compensation disputes around the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, including separate legal challenges by residents and businesses over alleged underpayment, delay and consultation failures. The developments matter because the project supplies water to South Africa and has long been a source of conflict over land, livelihoods and resettlement.