‘Mantšali Phakoana
Scores of villagers of Ha Mphahama and Ha Tlali in the Qacha’s Nek district have accused a Chinese-owned construction company of reneging on a promise to construct two roads linking the two villages as compensation for taking concrete from their area.
The firm, Qingjian Group (CNQC), is constructing a 91-kilometre a M1.8 billion (US$84.5 million) road from Mpiti to Sehlabathebe. The project is one of the key infrastructure projects being undertaken jointly by the governments of Lesotho and China. It is facilitated through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
The Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China provided a concessional loan of M1.3 billion while the Lesotho government injected an additional M500 million.
In an interview with theReporter this week, Ha Mphahama chief, Mpiti Mathealira said when CNQC started its operations in 2019, it had asked to take concrete around their area. In return, it promised to construct gravel roads from the main tarred road to Ha Mphahama and Ha Tlali villages as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.
Chief Mathealira said following this agreement, the community had established a committee comprising him, four villagers, and Qanya community Councillor, Tšepiso Sejojo, to mobilise meetings between the villagers and CNQC.
He noted that the committee had on several occasions tried to engage the company regarding its promise but to no avail, as it kept avoiding them.
“It was only this month when they informed us that they were no longer going to fulfill their promise because their machines were busy.
“They also told us that since they don’t have enough time, they would give the villagers M20 000 to spend on a programme on their own choice. Some villagers agreed while others insisted they needed the promised roads,” he said.
Chief Mathealira further indicated that they had lost hope because of the way the company kept avoiding to meet them.
The villagers argued that they needed infrastructure developments in their area that were non-comparable to money.
They also complained that most Chinese companies operating in the country always take advantage of communities affected by their projects by damaging the environment and leaving them worse off.
“They believe that they can just offer us money without putting up infrastructure developments that will benefit us in future when they’re gone,” Chief Mathealira said, adding that the villagers ended up agreeing on the M20 000 offer because they had no choice.
He also pointed out that the villagers had planned to construct an office for him to serve, as he was currently using his own house. However, this fell off as the M20 000 is way too little.
Chief Mathealira further confirmed to theReporter on Wednesday this week that the M20 000 compensation had been paid into his account.
What was now left was for him to call for another public gathering to decide how the money would be used by the community.
Despite resistance by the majority of the villagers, Councillor Sejojo and Chief Mathealira believe the M20 000 offer was better than them being left with nothing.
Sejojo said prior to starting its operations, CNQC had consulted the council seeking approval to take concrete from the Mphahama electoral division under Qanya community council.
He noted that the villagers were later consulted through a public gathering to submit their requests on what projects they wanted the company to compensate them with. They had listed construction of two roads and a football playground, but the company failed to fulfill any of these, Sejojo indicated.
He added that they had hoped that the company would not only hire local youth, but also construct roads in the area.
Sejojo further noted that the community committee ended up agreeing on the M20 000 offer to avoid “more stress considering that CNQC was already playing hide and seek with us.”
“We’ve been cheated; M20 000 is nothing compared to the concrete that the company is taking and how much it makes. But because these people were always playing seek and hide with us, we thought this was our best option,” he said.
Contacted for comment this week before paying the M20 000 compensation, CNQC coordinator Mosehle Motosi said the company had not totally failed to fulfil its promise as it was still dealing with the project.
However, he said it would be wrong to label what they had with the community prior to construction of the road an ‘agreement’ because it was not binding.
“It was not a ‘must’ contract for CNQC to fulfil what they had promised; it was a just wish list which we’re hoping to deliver as part of our corporate social responsibility initiative,” Motosi told this publication in an interview on Wednesday.
He claimed that the company did not have to pay anything for taking concrete from that area because it was part of the resources they had paid for when they acquired a mining licence from the department of mining.
“We asked the community to submit their wish list but it does not mean we were doing that in return for the concrete because we had already paid for it in the mining license.”
Motosi added that it would not be correct for the villagers to claim CNQC had promised to construct road because it was not buying the concrete.
“We don’t owe them anything for that concrete. Social responsibilities are not a must; we do them out of good will to give back to the community,” he pointed out.
Motosi said even though CNQC was not obliged to construct roads into the villages, the company felt cornered by the community which hindered their operations through illegal protests.
They blocked roads and vandalised our equipment twice this year, he alleged, adding the protests would have led to the company losing millions of maloti or even missing its deadline.
He said they were therefore, under duress because of the community’s behaviour hence CNQC offered the M20 000 so its employees could continue with their work peacefully.
Motosi said it was challenging for them to satisfy all the villagers within the scope of the project’s operations because each of them had a list of their own demands.
It would not be easy for a company aiming for profits to compensate each of the villagers, he cited, adding the road passes through about 40 villages which all have their demands, some impossible to meet.
Some of the demands made by the villagers include construction of play grounds, roads into the villages, and schools, he claimed.
Qacha’s Nek District Administrator (DA) Mantsi Tseane said he had witnessed the signing of M20 000 compensation deal between the Councillor Sejojo, Chief Mathealira and Motosi.
“I cannot however, confirm whether the community had been consulted prior to the signing of the deal or if they had sent the Chief and the Councillor to sign for the M20 000 offer, but I was told that was the case,” he said, adding he would never comment further lest he is misquoted.
Public relations officer in the department of mining in the ministry of natural resources, ‘Makananelo Motseko, this week said there was no law forcing the construction and mining companies to meet their corporate social responsibilities (CSR) pledges.
However, Motseko said under the Mineral and Mining Policy, 2015 CRS is one of the obligations.
Motseko stated that if companies fail to undertake their CSRs, the ministry approaches and urges them to comply but there was no legal route to take to force them to do so.
“However, it is unfortunate that we cannot do anything if companies fail to comply, other than mediating and encouraging them to comply,” she noted. Motseko added that due to many similar challenges brought before the ministry, they were planning to prepare guidelines to regulate CSRs for companies.
