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Event Details
Date Range
26 Feb 2026 14:00 - 26 Feb 2026 15:15
Location
Virtual
MEDIA ADVISORY -  Press Briefing on the Media & Accountability Campaign on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II – Polihali 

Thursday, 26 February 2026 
14:00–14:15 SAST 
Live translation into French will be provided 

Spotlighting harms and accountability gaps in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II (Polihali) 

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, a historic transnational project, produced in Phase 1, Africa’s second largest double-curvature arch dams and one of the ten largest concrete dams in the world. However, the project caused displacement, unfair resettlement, delayed and disputed compensation as well as exacerbation of HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence. The second phase has generated significant social, economic, environmental and gendered impacts on communities in Mokhotlong District, including loss of land and livelihoods, damage to homes and water infrastructure, inadequate and delayed compensation, cultural disruption, and heightened vulnerabilities for women and girls. Despite longstanding community engagement with project authorities and complaints lodged with development finance institutions, communities report that meaningful response and remedy remain limited. Meanwhile, public narratives often present LHWP Phase II as a development and climate‑adaptation success, sidelining lived experiences of affected communities.

The African Forum and Network on Debt and Development and the Civil Society Forum on the New Development Bank (CSF‑NDB) is convening a press briefing as part of a Media & Accountability Campaign on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II, with a focus on the Polihali Dam and associated infrastructure.

What: Media & Accountability Campaign on LHWP Phase II (Polihali) — Press briefing sharing findings from a recent site visit to affected communities in Mokhotlong District, and discussing safeguarding, redress, and accountability in development finance–backed mega-infrastructure projects.

When: 26 February 2026, 1400 – 1515 SAST

Where: Zoom (virtual) - Register here 

Who: Speakers at the briefing will include: 

  • Kizito Cudjoe, Business, Mining & Economic Journalist, B&FT Ghana
  • Riska Koopman, Policy Research & Advocacy Officer, Int. Public & Private Finance, AFRODAD
  • Marianne Buenaventura-Goldman, Project Coordinator, development finance, FORUS
  • Mosa Letsie, lawyer, Seinoli Legal Center 

Why: Between 26–28 January, the Civil Society Forum on the New Development Bank (CSF NDB) and members undertook a site visit to affected communities in Mokhotlong District, accompanied by a small group of journalists who conducted interviews and gathered photos and video. This briefing will share reflections and findings from the visit to amplify the lived experiences of affected communities; catalyse broader African and Global South media; interrogate accountability, safeguarding, and grievance-redress gaps in development finance–supported mega-projects; and sustain pressure on duty bearers and financiers to respond, engage, and take corrective action. We will also use this opportunity to launch the fact sheet and a documentary on the same.

 

For interview requests and follow ups: Riska Koopman riska@afrodad.org