Lesotho’s Polihali Dam Reaches 56.7% as Claimants Lose Court Round
Key Facts
- What happened. Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2 reached 56.7% completion, with Polihali Dam at 53% and the 38 km transfer tunnel at 58%. South Africa’s water minister Pemmy Majodina declared herself satisfied with progress after a September visit.
- How big. Phase 2 is expected to create around 6,000 jobs over five years and will increase the water Lesotho exports to South Africa’s Gauteng region, the economic heart of the neighbour that surrounds it.
- The catch. More than 3,000 individuals and 889 businesses demanding compensation for lost land and livelihoods failed before Lesotho’s Constitutional Court. The court declined to hear their case and sent them back to the ordinary High Court track.
- Who it hits. Highland communities around the dam sites in Mokhotlong district, construction workers, and every South African household downstream that will drink Lesotho’s water.
- What comes next. The claimants can pursue compensation through the High Court under existing legislation. Construction continues toward completion, and communities are pressing for a larger share of the project’s benefits.
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is more than half built and will send water and jobs downhill for decades. The people who lived where the water will be are still fighting for compensation.
The second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, one of Africa’s largest infrastructure schemes, has passed the halfway mark. The project reports 56.7% completion, with the Polihali Dam at 53% and the 38-kilometre transfer tunnel at 58%. In the same month, thousands of people displaced by the project lost a round in court.
A dam that is also a national economy
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is the country’s single biggest asset. It moves water from the Maluti mountains through dams and tunnels into South Africa’s Gauteng province, and Lesotho earns royalties from every cubic metre. Phase 1 built the Katse and Mohale dams in the 1990s and 2000s. Phase 2 adds the Polihali Dam and a 38-kilometre transfer tunnel, with a hydropower component that will also supply Lesotho’s own grid.
Progress has been steady. The Polihali dam wall was about 50% complete by early July, with the rockfill and the upstream concrete curb rising past 2,020 metres above sea level, according to Engineering News. South Africa’s water and sanitation minister, Pemmy Majodina, visited in September and said she was satisfied with the construction pace and with the resettlement programme for affected communities. The project is expected to sustain around 6,000 jobs over five years — significant employment in a small mountain economy.
The other side of the ledger
The water that flows south leaves flooded valleys behind. More than 3,000 individuals and 889 businesses have been seeking fuller compensation for land and livelihoods lost to the Katse, Mohale and Polihali dams. They are organised in the Mokhotlong Business Forum Development Trust, the Community Resources Development Trust and a group of community members. They asked Lesotho’s High Court, sitting as the Constitutional Court, to take their case directly.
In a judgment delivered in May and released in writing this month, the full Bench declined. The court held that the claimants have adequate remedies under existing legislation and must pursue them through the ordinary High Court route. It is a procedural defeat, not a final one — but it means years of additional litigation for communities that have already waited decades, as Moneyweb reports. Local media in Lesotho report growing pressure from highland communities for a greater share of the project’s benefits.
What this means for expats and investors
For engineers, contractors and development professionals, Phase 2 remains one of the few megaprojects in the region that is genuinely on schedule, and its procurement and employment will run for years. For anyone assessing Lesotho’s stability, the compensation dispute is the variable to watch: the project is the country’s fiscal backbone, and the communities hosting it are its most organised critics.
What Is Not Known
The final cost and completion date of Phase 2 have slipped before and are not firmly public. The eventual compensation package for displaced communities is unresolved. The timeline for the hydropower component, and how much of the project’s revenue will reach the highland districts beyond wages, are likewise open questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Lesotho Highlands Water Project?
A binational scheme that dams and tunnels water from Lesotho’s mountains to South Africa’s Gauteng region in exchange for royalties. Phase 2 adds the Polihali Dam and a 38-kilometre transfer tunnel, plus hydropower for Lesotho.
How far along is the Polihali Dam?
The project reports Phase 2 at 56.7% completion, with the Polihali Dam at 53% and the transfer tunnel at 58%. The dam wall passed the halfway mark in mid-2026.
What did the court decide about compensation?
Lesotho’s Constitutional Court declined to hear the case of more than 3,000 individuals and 889 businesses directly, ruling they must pursue compensation through the ordinary High Court under existing laws. The claims themselves remain open.
Connected Coverage
Sources
Engineering News — Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II · Legalbrief / Moneyweb — Setback for Lesotho Highlands dam claimants
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