The main Contractor of the two bridges to be constructed in the district under the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) II was introduced to the Heads of Departments at a meeting held in Mokhotlong on Tuesday.
The contractor called “Concor – Nthane Brothers M&K Bridges Joint Venture will construct the Mabunyane and Khubelu bridges which are smaller than the Senqu bridge.
Mr. Maile Maile, the Field Coordinator at the Polihali Branch under the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) said this in the introductory remarks, adding that the first meeting for the Contractor and the Consultants was held on Friday last week.
He said they will also be introduced to the Community Councillors as well as the communities that will be affected by the construction of the two bridges.
Mr. Maile said the affected communities are those from the areas of Mapholaneng with the Mabunyane bridge and those from Ha ‘Meta as they will be affected by the Khubelu bridge.
In his brief remarks after the introductions, the Administration Manager, Mr. Khau Maseru welcomed the Contractor and consultants, saying they should consider the issue of recruitment vital as it is the major cause of many protests done by the Mokhotlong community on other project activities being implemented in the district.
He said, “We have had many strikes by the community and please take the issue of recruitment into account to avoid what has already been experienced.”
Mr. Maseru promised the newly introduced Contractor and his team that they will be supported to make their work successful.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Mabunyane and Khubelu bridges is expected to be completed after 26 months.
Heads of Departments also expressed concern over the protests made by the local community over issues such as recruitment and catering, saying they should stop embarking on unlawful strikes when they have grievances.
They said the local community should bear in mind that the project involves the two countries, Lesotho and South Africa adding that recruitment should be advertised, transparent and fair to all and not the Mokhotlong community alone as they perceive.
Source: LENA 05/09/2023
