Mohale FM A STORM is brewing after controversial construction company, Unik Construction Engineering, emerged as the preferred bidder for a huge tender to build replacement housing for communities displaced by the construction of the multi-billion-dollar Polihali Dam in Mokhotlong, the Lesotho Times can reveal.
The decision by project consultants, Lima Thaha Joint Venture, to recommend Unik Construction for the M500 million worth Construction of Resettlement Villages and Replacement Housing for the Polihali Inundation Area (6015C) tender, has stunned all and sundry considering the company’s poor performance and failure to timeously complete two other relatively small projects commissioned by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA). These were Construction of the Katse Village Upgrade (4018E) Lodge and The Construction of the Polihali Commercial Centre (4018B).
Unik’s alleged bungling of these projects resulted in it being levied with contractual penalties by the LHDA. In one project, the Katse Village upgrade, another local contractor was hired to complete the work requested by the LHDA.
Considering that these contracts were worth only M131 million and M11 million respectively, it is quite remarkable that the project consultants (Lima-Thaha JV) in the replacement housing tender (6015C) have now seen it fit to recommend Unik for the sizeable project worth about half a billion maloti.
“The direct consequence of appointing a proven incompetent contractor is that the poor communities affected by this project will have to suffer in the open rain if Unik is awarded this tender and the LHDA proceeds to conclude contract negotiations with this company.
Opening the Senqu Bridge in April 2026 in Mokhotlong, King Letsie III urged the LHDA to effectively compensate affected communities. The King stressed that livelihood restoration and environmental protection should remain top priorities of the LHDA. He lamented that some people affected during the first phase of the project more than 30 years ago were still awaiting compensation.
