Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MASERU99
2006-02-22 14:59:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Maseru
Cable title:  

GOL CONTINUES TO PURSUE CORRUPTION CASES: FORMER HIGHLANDS

Tags:  PGOV PREL EINV LT 
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R 221459Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1908
INFO RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 2164
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


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