AFRICA: Orange River dammed to bring water to industrial heartland of South Africa despite protests from environment activists

By Pratap Chatterjee Reprint | | Print |

Pratap Chatterjee

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 1995 (IPS) - Officials from the tiny enclave of the Kingdom of Lesotho, South Africa, and the World Bank have come under fire for shutting a sluice gate at the bottom of a partly- constructed dam on the Orange River.

The 185-metre-high Katse Dam is intended to divert water from the Orange River, known locally as the Senqu, to the industrial heartland of South Africa. It is the centre-piece of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which is ultimately expected to cost eight billion dollars, part of which is being provided by the Bank.

South Africa, which completely surrounds Lesotho, is eagerly waiting for the dam reservoir to fill up, as it is the only viable future source of water for the thirsty factories and mines of the region. But activists in Lesotho complain that the project has brought nothing but misery to the 20,000 people who live nearby.

Khauhelo Raditapole, Lesotho’s water minister, waxed lyrical at the televised ceremony to shut the gate in late October. “The people of South Africa will look at this dam and be filled with hope that its contents will flow into their country for the sake of development. On the other hand, (Lesotho) will look at the dam and say: at last the waters of our rivers have turned into the proverbial white gold.”

But activists disagree. “People do not believe that anything good will come from this project; they see it as a monster which will swallow them up,” says Moea Ramokoatsi, an activist with the Highlands Church Action Group, who lives near Katse.

The major beneficiary of the project will be the Transvaal region, home to a quarter of South Africa’s population and half of its industries. Until recently, this region has depended for its water on the Vaal Dam.

But regional demand for water has risen by 66 percent over the past decade. This demand, coupled with eight years of drought, has caused water in the Vaal reservoir to drop to just 16 percent of capacity.

The Lesotho project, which is expected to come on stream in 1998, will alleviate this by delivering 18 cubic metres of water per second via a complex system of 82 kilometres of new tunnels to South Africa, together with 72 megawatts of power.

As the major beneficiary, South Africa has shouldered much of the project’s cost since construction began in 1986. The Bank, which was banned from lending to Pretoria at the time, skirted that obstacle by giving money to Lesotho.