- To
-
Stephen James Moore
- From
-
mike muller
- Subject
- LHWP2 cost increase
- Date
- May 8, 2025, 5:53 p.m.
Just a quick one - I was caught by Cape Talk at short notice to comment on your statement re this cost increase. I looked at the numbers and couldn't see where you were taking your base cost from - and it seemed that you were adding in costs that may not be for SA to pay. To save me digging through (the very detailed) LHDA info, could you let me have the reference to what you were using.
I'm long past being partisan about who is messing up but like to be clear the factual base and would be happy to correct myself if I was wrong.
Also a little sad that DA engages with what is one of the most important projects in the country at the moment (and probably the largest water project in Africa now that Ethiopia's GERD is complete) and the planning, organisation and execution deserves more substantive scrutiny. It's remarkable, frankly, that it's working so well and we should be giving credit to the LHDA and the joint Lesotho-SA team that oversees execution.
I reminded Cape Talk that, 20 or so years ago, Lesotho Phase 1B was remarkable for coming in BELOW its cost estimate - the World Bank was quite embarrassed. The reasons for that were also interesting, but that's a topic for another day.
Best
Mike Muller
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