Lowland districts face water shortages

The Lesotho Highlands scheme supplies South Africa with millions of cubic metres of water per year, while people living in the lowlands of the tiny mountain kingdom struggle to find water for domestic consumption. Young women and children queuing with containers, waiting to draw water from boreholes or public taps, are a common sight in many parts of the country. "Life is difficult because we always have to travel for long distances to get water, and when we finally find a place that has water, there are many people waiting to get a turn," said Makemohele Koetle, from Lithabaneng district, southeast of the capital, Maseru. Maseru and other lowland districts of Lesotho suffer serious water shortages. In a bid to address this, the Lesotho Lowlands Water Supply Scheme (LLWSS) plans to build the Metolong dam along the Phuthitsana river on the outskirts of the city. An LLWSS spokesman said an environmental impact assessment needed to be completed before international organisations could be approached for funding. "We have started with the assessments and hope that the final report will be out by October and, hopefully, by then we will find a sponsor. Dams like Metolong cannot be constructed on a loan because, in order to refund the money, we will have to [raise] the cost of water from its current price [thus making it less affordable]," the spokesman noted. After completion of the first feasability study in 2003, the cost of the dam was estimated at around R950 million (US $154 million), "but with inflation and the rand gaining on the dollar, we are expecting to need about R1.2 billion [$192 million] to put the project in place". Once built, the Metolong dam could provide water to six lowland districts - Butha Buthe, Berea, Maseru, Mafeteng, Mohale's Hoek and Quthing - for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes. "I cannot wait for the construction of the dam because every morning I have to wake up at 4am and walk to the hilltop to collect water. Even when I get there I still have to wait in long queues for my turn to come before returning home. The time I use to get water, I could use it to do other things," said Mathabiso Pelea of Ha Leqele, five kilometres outside Maseru. With her baby on her back, the young woman has to carry a 20-litre bucket of water on her head every morning and evening. "I was born here and I grew up doing this, and now that I am sick the situation is even worse," she said. Mathabiso, a married mother of four, suffers from tuberculosis. Water is Lesotho's largest single source of foreign exchange. The country, one of the poorest in the world, earns almost $30 million in annual royalties from South Africa - roughly 75 percent of its budget. The kingdom has an unemployment rate of 45 percent, with 49 percent of people living below the poverty line.