[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
DAM-L Man Drowns in LHWP Quarry/LS (fwd)
----- Forwarded message from Lori Pottinger -----
From owner-irn-safrica@netvista.net Mon Jan 29 12:51:21 2001
X-UIDL: 3443a991f53cd0b2a8a04bd78ccebd08
Return-Path: <owner-irn-safrica@netvista.net>
Received: from DaVinci.NetVista.net (mjdomo@mail.netvista.net [206.170.46.10])
by lox.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca (8.8.7/8.8.8) with ESMTP id MAA13538
for <dianne@sandelman.ottawa.on.ca>; Mon, 29 Jan 2001 12:51:20 -0500 (EST)
Received: [(from mjdomo@localhost)
by DaVinci.NetVista.net (8.10.0/8.8.8) id f0THkAr06775
for irn-safrica-list; Mon, 29 Jan 2001 09:46:10 -0800 (PST)
(envelope-from owner-irn-safrica@netvista.net)]
Received: [from [192.168.1.99] ([205.178.127.217])
by DaVinci.NetVista.net (8.10.0/8.8.8) with ESMTP id f0THjxk06626
for <irn-safrica@netvista.net>; Mon, 29 Jan 2001 09:45:59 -0800 (PST)
(envelope-from lori@irn.org)]
X-Sender: lori@pop3.netvista.net
Message-Id: <p05010406b69b5be9e86f@[192.168.1.99]>
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 09:42:29 -0800
To: irn-safrica@netvista.net
From: Lori Pottinger <lori@irn.org>
Subject: Man Drowns in LHWP Quarry/LS
Sender: owner-irn-safrica@netvista.net
Precedence: bulk
Community Condemn LHDA for Drowning of Villager
Mopheme/The Survivor (Maseru)
January 23, 2001
Posted to the web January 24, 2001
Sofonea Shale
Maseru
When Francis Mohapi, a young married man died after
drowning in a left-idling quarry which has gathered
water, Ha Ntsi community condemned the Lesotho
Highlands Development Authority (LHDA).
The young man went to the quarry where he found
village children swimming and jumped into the water
fully clothed, paying no attention to the warning from
the nearby children. After some two careless dives, he
sank into the deep unrehabilitated crasher quarry full
of water. Despite several local initiatives including
a trial by one Lesotho Mounted Police Service member
who has been trained in water rescue, the young
hard-worker employed in one of the LHWP contractors in
Matsoku remained under water until he suddenly floated
after four days.
When the Matela police station was called to assist,
the police members called Maseru for help, only to
learn that the police trained water rescue crew has
been disbanded. As the community did not know why they
fumed with anger at the LHDA for its failure to
rehabilitate the land after it was used a crusher site
during a construction of LHDA funded mountain road to
Mohale tunnel.
The people accused the LHDA for leaving the area
dangerous to the community. When the issue of
rehabilitation was raised in parliament, the LHDA
claimed that no compensation was due to Ha Ntsi
community. While there is an environmental
secretariat, giant projects like the highlands water
project go untouched when they fail to rehabilitate
the destroyed areas. Is the environmental secretariat
incapable of ensuring that all massive construction
projects which destroy the environment are dealt with
legally? It would be a miracle for LHDA to
rehabilitate the quarry while it is so dilly-dallying
when it has to repair houses damaged by blasting,
commented Cosmas Rabotepe Matekane.
This is the third time since 1997 when the LHDA left
unrehabilitated area which has placed the lives of
many people in danger. In the first incident, an
unnamed man was found dead at the area while a girl
was rescued by the now deceased.
It became clear that the young man had gone to the
quarry by himself. It is still a puzzle whether the
incident was suicidal. Some people suspect witchcraft.
In another incident the villagers rescued a man who
wanted to drown himself in the quarry. He had earlier
been accused of having been at large with another
man's wife. He was handed to Matela police.
So far, the LHDA has been invited by the Ha Ntsi
community to deliberate on possible ways to
rehabilitate the quarry. Will it heed the community's
voice this time? Minister of Natural Resources Monyane
Moleleki, a Member of Parliament for Machache has been
at the core of community solution seeking efforts
throughout. After consultation with community, he
organised to pump out the water to clear the way for
rescuers. He was in the village when the man drowned
and he acted promptly.
--
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to majordomo@netvista.net
with no subject and the following text in the body of the message
"unsubscribe irn-safrica".
----- End of forwarded message from Lori Pottinger -----