Lesotho Highlands: Water Woes or Win–Wins?

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is a massive engineering effort to divert water from Lesotho to South Africa's Gauteng province while providing Lesotho with hydroelectric power. While technically successful and economically significant for diversifying Lesotho's revenue, the project has been marred by corruption, inadequate community compensation, and unforeseen environmental stresses. Recent droughts and climate change have increased risks of water scarcity and food insecurity in Lesotho, highlighting the need for adaptive management and better benefit-sharing between the two nations.

• The LHWP is one of the world's largest water transfer schemes, designed to divert water from the Senqu (Orange) river in Lesotho to the Gauteng province in South Africa at a maximum capacity of 70 cubic metres per second.
• A primary benefit for Lesotho is the reduction of its energy dependence on South Africa through the Muela hydropower station, which provides electricity without producing greenhouse gases.
• The project has caused significant social and environmental damage, including the endangerment of the Maloti minnow fish and the forced resettlement of thousands of people, many of whom have not received adequate compensation or seen improvements in their livelihoods.
• Climate change and recurrent droughts have created unforeseen risks, potentially leading Lesotho toward water scarcity and threatening food security, as up to 10% of arable land was flooded during construction.
• The project has been plagued by governance failures and corruption, including bribery charges dating back to 1994 and the World Bank sanctioning companies like Lahmeyer International GmbH and Acres International for fraud.
• Phase II of the project, involving the Polihali dam and additional infrastructure, was agreed upon in principle in May 2013 with an estimated cost to the South African government of ZAR 9.2 billion and a target completion date of August 2020.

APA

Wentworth, L. (2013). Lesotho Highlands: Water Woes or Win–Wins? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/REV_SAIIA_perisa_infr_wentworth_20131213.pdf

Chicago

Wentworth, Lesley. Lesotho Highlands: Water Woes or Win–Wins? South African Institute of International Affairs, 2013. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/REV_SAIIA_perisa_infr_wentworth_20131213.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wentworth |first1=Lesley |title=Lesotho Highlands: Water Woes or Win–Wins? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=August 2013 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/REV_SAIIA_perisa_infr_wentworth_20131213.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wentworth2013lesotho, author = {Wentworth, Lesley}, title = {{Lesotho Highlands: Water Woes or Win–Wins?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2013}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/REV_SAIIA_perisa_infr_wentworth_20131213.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }