South African President Thabo Mbeki and King Letsie III of Lesotho on Tuesday inaugurated Phase 1B of the multiphased Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), the worlds largest water transfer operation, almost six years after construction began in 1998, reports IRIN..
– The inauguration marks the end, for the moment, of all LHWP construction, said Willie Croucamp, a senior official. Two enormous dams have been built. The goal is to channel water from the highlands to industries and cities in South Africa.
The four-phased water transfer project involves diverting about half the water flowing down the Senqu river (known as the Orange river in South Africa) into the Vaal river system to meet the demand of South Africas rapidly expanding Gauteng province.
Gauteng, South Africas economic powerhouse, is home to 40 percent of the population. Johannesburg is situated in the province.
Sections of Phase 1B had already become operational in 1998, with the transfer of water from a network of reservoirs at Mohales Hoek, Katse and Mulela in the Lesotho highlands since then.
The project was extended last year to include the construction of another tunnel from the Katse reservoir. Following completion of Phase 1B this year, the supply of water to the Vaal dam from the project has been boosted by 180 million cubic metres to 780 million cubic metres, Croucamp said.
The Vaal dam currently supplies 1.200 million cubic metres of water to Gauteng. – So the additional 780 million cubic metres from the LHWP is a sizeable contribution in supplementing the needs not only of Gauteng but portions of Mpumalanga, the North West, Free State and the Northern Cape provinces, Croucamp told IRIN.
In return, Lesotho receives R200 million (almost 30 million US dollar) from South Africa in annual royalties. The mountain kingdoms recurrent budget is about R261 million (39 million dollar). Water, called “white gold” in Lesotho, is the countrys largest single source of foreign exchange.
According to the Lesotho government, by the end of the fourth phase of the proposed scheme in 2015, six dams will have been constructed, including a 200 km network of transfer tunnels through the Maluti mountains, delivering 82 cubic metres of water per second.
– The LHWP Phase 1 solves Gautengs water problem for the immediate future, rejuvenates the Vaal River, and provides Lesotho with valuable income, job opportunities, electricity and infrastructure, on which tourism and industrial development can thrive, said Ronnie Mamoepa, South African foreign affairs spokesperson.
– The project not only sustains the development of both countries in significant ways, but provides a showpiece for the region and the rest of the continent of mutually beneficial cooperation, he added, according to IRIN.
BBC News Online reports, that the enormous project also has drawn attention to the corrupt practices of some Western companies working in Africa. A local official in charge of dam construction was sent to jail after he was discovered to have money in secret Swiss bank accounts.
The Lesotho government did not let the matter rest there. It took action against the Western construction companies which it believed were complicit in the corruption.
The government in Maseru has succesfully prosecuted Canadian and German companies and it is now investigating companies from Britain, France and other countries.
Whilst African leaders are often, and normally with good reason, accused of corruption, Lesothos government has made out a persuasive case, that Western companies are frequently involved, BBC Online reports from Johannesburg.
