THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO COMBINED SECOND TO EIGHTH PERIODIC REPORT UNDER THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS AND INITIAL REPORT UNDER THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA However argue that public participation was orchestrated by the nature of governments which concluded the treaty as Lesotho was under the military rule while South Africa was under the apartheid regime. Because the governments were not democratic, everything around the LHWP was conducted in secrecy and under an information black out. 53 Therefore, under democratic dispensation, and with the new phase which involves construction of Polihali Dam, the government of Lesotho is working closely with the affected communities to ensure that they do not suffer like the previously resettled communities. 262. According to the Mines and Minerals Act of 2005, the government has set itself a minimum of 20 percent shares in any proposed mining venture. There has been increased calls for more inclusion and greater share for the benefit of the locals from the government itself in the mining sector. Foreign investors gain at least between 70 to 80 percent accruing from natural resources primarily diamonds. Judicial Measures 263. In order to ensure that Lesotho enjoys the right to dispose of its wealth and natural resources without hindrance from outside companies and countries, in the case of Lahmeyer International GmbH v The Crown,54 a conviction was upheld by the Lesotho Court of Appeal and the company fined R12 million. The case arose out of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which is one of the biggest and most ambitious dam projects in the world, which entailed inter alia the construction of the Katse Dam in a remote and inaccessible part of the highlands of Lesotho. The High Court of Lesotho had found Masupha Ephraim Sole, chief executive of the Lesotho Highlands Development Agency, 53 54 Tsikoane 1990: 109 and Hoover 2001: 07 C of A (CRI) 6 OF 2002 (April 7, 2004) 97

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