In the shadow of the dam. The Lesotho Highlands Development Project. Lesotho, April 2008
- The 185-metre-high Katse dam in the Lesotho Highlands. Two large dams (Katse and Mohale) were built in the Lesotho Highlands between 1986 and 2002 as part of the Lesotho Highlands Development Project (LHDP). The construction of three further dams is foreseen. The primary purpose of the project is to supplement the water supply of South Africa while generating financial revenues for Lesotho through the water transfer. Photo: Asa Elfstrom
- The street leading to the Katse dam and reservoir. One of the most important benefits for the people affected by the Lesotho Highlands Development Project has been the construction of better roads to access the project area. Photo: Asa Elfstrom
- Besides this, promises of a better life have not been fulfilled for many of those affected by the dam. People’s homes, fertile fields and grazing lands, places of historical and cultural importance, had to be given up to make place for access roads, construction camps, as well as for the dams themselves. Photo: Asa Elfstrom
- Overlooking Katse reservoir from the village of Ha Mallani. Photo: Christian Johannessen
- People from Ha Mallani meeting with participants of the EWN conference "Let justice flow down like waters". Many communities feel deceived by the project authorities. They are still waiting for the promised roads, water supplies, health facilities, schools, and electricity. Compensation payments are often delayed and insufficient to make up for the lost livelihoods. Photo: Christian Johannessen
- The people living in the 80 household village of Ha Mallani, situated on the hillside of the Katse dam were also promised tap water when they were told of the project. Over ten years after the dam was completed they still have to rely on a few natural, unprotected springs. Photo: Christian Johannessen
- Children fetching water in Ha Mallani. Photo: Asa Elfstrom
- As part of the resettlement and compensation programme and in order to protect the quality of the water reservoirs, almost every single house now has a concrete toilet next to it. Inhabitants say that their health has improved, especially for children, after these toilets were built. Photo: Asa Elfstrom
- Malethibela Lits’esane (35) and her husband had to move from Lamapong Ha Koporala to Ha Makhalanyane five years ago. During the drought season, the village does not have water and Malethibela has to walk for four to five hours to bring water back home. Photo: Christian Johannessen
- Malethibela Lits’esane in front of the house that the authorities built for her when she was resettled. It is solid, made of concrete, just as the toilet placed next to the house. But it is also very cold during the nights, and there is no firewood to collect to heat the house. Photo: Christian Johannessen
Feature-Artikel: Im Schatten des Staudamms: Dörfer ohne Wasser
Let justice roll down like waters. Faith-based advocacy and water for all. ÖWN-Konferenz, Maseru, Lesotho. 21.-25. April 2008