By Neo Kolane
The Lesotho Generation Company (LEGCO) will today finally pay compensation to villagers who lost their land to the multi-million Ha Ramarothole Solar Power Plant in the Mafeteng district.
LEGCO is mandated to promote generation of electricity in the country and ensure security of supply.
Officially handed over to the Lesotho government in June this year, the project is set to improve access to electricity in Mafeteng and the whole country.
It is financed by a soft loan from Exim Bank of China which injected USD70 million (about M1.3 billion). The government pledged M220 million to cover the costs of land compensations totalling around M7 million, tax obligations as well as operating costs of LEGCO under the ministry of natural resources.
The facility occupies 220-hectare plot of land in Ha Ramarothole village, leaving 150 households without enough land to produce their own food. The households are from Ha Ramarothole, Ha Sebusi, Ha Ramohapi, Ha Raliemere, Ha Qobete and Ha Rankabi.
The villagers have been receiving monetary compensation depending on the size of their land, since the project started in 2021. They received 40 percent of the agreed compensation in 2021 and also in 2022. The remaining 20 percent was expected to be paid in the last week of June, although the date initially set for the payment was May 26, 2023.
But now, the villagers say that although they are grateful for the various (undisclosed) amounts they received in compensation during the first phase of the rest of the money was still due.
Chief of Ha Ramarothole Konyane Ramarothole told theReporter, on the two occasions that they were expecting to be paid, all that LEGCO did was show up only to inspect the lists of beneficiaries and promising to make payments ‘after two weeks’.
“I do not know for sure what went wrong exactly, but LEGCO met with the land owners last month.
“We were told that a ‘system’ that was experiencing problems and that the money was now stuck at the ministry of finance and development planning,” he said.
This was echoed by one of the land owners, Leseme Mohapi who said on May 26, they were summoned to the office of principal chief Lerotholi Seeiso to verify the lists.
Mohapi said they were promised to be paid ‘after two weeks’, but that time has since come and passed.
He recalled that in the past when payment of compensation money was delayed villagers would resort to barricading roads leading to the facility with rocks.
In response, LEGCO managing director ‘Mathabo Mahahabisa told theReporter that the land owners would paid their overdue compensation money today.
Mahahabisa, who during the interview yesterday said she was at the ministry of finance and development planning, noted that she was seeing to it that the money was sent to the Central Bank of Lesotho to be transferred to the accounts of the recipients.
She indicated that the delay was caused by the hacking of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) infrastructure in June, which slowed down the processing of payments.
According to the compensation agreement between the ministry of natural resources and the communities of Likhoele in Mafeteng, owners of the affected land will be compensated in line with the Land sAct of 2010 Section 56.
