GOL CONTINUES TO PURSUE CORRUPTION CASES: FORMER HIGHLANDS

UNCLAS MASERU 000099 SIPDIS SIPDIS MCC FOR D. FAIR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EINV LT SUBJECT: GOL CONTINUES TO PURSUE CORRUPTION CASES: FORMER HIGHLANDS WATER PROJECT OFFICIALS CHARGED WITH BRIBERY ¶1. The former chief delegate of the Lesotho government on the joint Lesotho Highlands Water Commission (LHWC) with South Africa has been charged with receiving bribes of over USD 1 million from the German construction company, Lahmeyer International between 1998 and 2001. Mr. Keabile Mochebelele now serves as advisor on issues of infrastructure with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). His former deputy, Letlafua Molapo, who still works at the commission, has also been charged with accepting bribes from Lahmeyer. ¶2. The two appeared for preliminary hearing before a Maseru magistrate in February, and were granted bail of Maloti 3,000.00 ( USD 500.00 at 6.00 Malolti/USD) each on condition that they did not contact several Lahmeyer officials who appear as state witnesses in the case. They were also asked to report any international travel outside South Africa. The case was postponed until April 4, when it is expected to be referred to the High Court for hearing. ¶3. Mochebelele's alleged involvement in bribery surrounding the Highlands Water Project, a multi-phase project to collect and then transfer water here to the populous Gauteng Province of South Africa, first surfaced in November 2004, when Lahmeyer International appeared before a Maseru magistrate's court charged with bribing him between 1996 and 1999 "as a consideration for action or inaction by the said Mochebelele in the context of work done or to be done by the accused on the highlands water project." He is reported to have acquired property in the exclusive area of Sandton in Johannesburg, Umhlanga Rocks outside Durban, and Bloemfontein. ¶4. The state has withdraw its case against Lahmenyer International. ¶5. Mochebelele holds an M.Sc. degree from the University of Nebraska. He has worked in the Lesotho government for twenty years, during which he held senior positions in both the ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources. ¶6. Lahmeyer International is one of more than ten international construction companies that were charged with the bribery of a former Chief Executive of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Masupha Sole, who is serving a fifteen-year jail sentence for the crime. The company's High Court conviction for bribery was confirmed by the Lesotho Appeal Court in 2004, which raised its fine from Maloti 10.6 million to Maloti 12 million ( USD 1.7 million and USD 2 million at the then prevailing rate of Maloti 6.30 to the dollar). ¶7. COMMENT: The indictment of Mochebelele and Molapo confirms what the Director General for the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences Mr. Borotho Matsoso and many in Lesotho have always maintained - that Sole could not have been the only person who received bribes around the project. The decision of the state to withdraw charges against Lahmeyer suggests that officials of the company have now decided to testify against Mochebelele and Molapo. This will enable the case to be completed within a shorter time, and reduce the cost of prosecution to government. It is ironical that Mr. Mochebelele now works for NEPAD, an African renaissance initiative that aims at promoting good governance and weeding out corrupt practices in public life. While the charges against Mochebelele and Malapo raise deep concerns about LHWC's leadership during a certain period, the GOL's continued pursuit of wrongdoers confirms its commitment to fighting corruption, whether by Basotho or by foreign companies. END COMMENT. ALBRECHT