Mohloai Mpesi
THE government, through the Ministry of Energy, has embarked on a journey to construct Lesotho’s first National Strategic Fuel Reserve Facility in Maqhaka, Berea district.
The storage facility is intended to store large quantities of fuel, to come in handy when Lesotho experiences a shortage of petroleum products.
Construction of the structure is anticipated for the 2026-27 fiscal period.
Lesotho currently relies on petroleum imports from neighbouring South Africa.
Nthomeng Seephephe, the Head of Conventional Energies and Principal Energy Officer at the Ministry of Energy, said they were planning towards building a substantial fuel reserve facility there, in preparation for potential fuel supply challenges.
The project will be partially financed by the Petroleum Fund, a wing of the Ministry of Energy.
This initiative comes against the backdrop of numerous fuel shortages that Lesotho has faced, largely due to its reliance on petroleum products from South Africa.
Speaking to the Lesotho Times this week, on the fringes of the Petroleum Fund’s site visit to Maqhaka, Ms Seephephe said the ministry had compensated 35 owners of the land acquired for the facility for M4 million, distributed proportionally based on the acreage of each acquired property.
During her budget speech on 19 February 2025, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Dr Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane, said the government was constructing the national fuel reserve facility to mitigate the chances of fuel supply challenges that Lesotho had experienced in the past.
According to Ms Seephephe, the new facility would serve the central regions of Lesotho, including Maseru and Thaba-Tseka, as well as the Berea region. Additionally, two storage depots in Mohale’s Hoek and Leribe would serve the southern and northern regions, respectively.
The Petroleum Fund, she said, had provided the funding to compensate landowners whose fields will be used for the storage facilities.
“The Ministry of Energy is responsible for the construction of the fuel storage facility, with the Petroleum Fund providing the necessary financing, as it typically does for petroleum-related projects,” Ms Seephephe said.
She noted that since Lesotho did not produce its own fuel, the country entirely relied on imports from South Africa.
“Whenever there are issues in South Africa, such as truck protests or refinery problems, it negatively impacts Lesotho’s fuel supply,” she said.
To address this vulnerability, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) committee, which includes representatives from Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia, Eswatini, and Botswana, had advised member countries to build their own fuel storage facilities.
“Many countries, including Lesotho, are now preparing to have their own fuel storage to avoid challenges when South Africa faces problems,” she said.
Ms Seephephe confirmed that the initial site selection for the facility a decade ago had not involved the Department of Environment leading to delays.
“We had to stop and start again, ensuring all relevant stakeholders were consulted,” she added.
According to Ms Seephephe, the national fuel reserve project would involve three stages. First, a fuel reserve would be constructed at Maqhaka, followed by the construction of two distribution depots, one each in the Leribe and Mohale’s Hoek districts. The Maqhaka reserve would supply fuel to the entire country, while the Leribe and Mohale’s Hoek depots would serve the country’s northern and southern regions respectively.
The national fuel reserve project had not been included in the 2025-2026 fiscal budget, with Ms Seephephe explaining that it “would surely be included in the 2026-27 budget when construction commences.”
Ms Seephephe added that a lot of preparation was still needed before construction could start, including finalizing the site design.
The former owners of the fields at Maqhaka, where the fuel reserve would be built, had already been fully compensated, Ms Seephephe said.
On the day we interviewed her, the Petroleum Fund had visited Maqhaka to conduct a financial education excise for residents who had their land taken. The 35 affected residents had received between M22,000 and M400,000, depending on the size of their land.
“We have paid all the owners of the fields their compensation money. We are going to take the next step of making the design of this site in order to start advertising and then start construction work,” Ms Seephephe said.
The affected people, she said, included those with land along the access road leading to the main road, in addition to the 35 residents.
During her budget presentation, Dr Matlanyane announced that the government was working toward building a National Strategic Fuel Reserve Facility in Maqhaka. She stated that an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) had been completed, and that compensation was underway for affected individuals.
“This is a strategic intervention to secure a minimum level of fuel reserves and keep our economy functioning in the event of future supply disruptions,” she had said.
However, a Maqhaka resident named Mofana Matane, expressed concerns about the government’s approach.
“It is not good that the Ministry of Energy opted to give us money instead of establishing a project for the community,” he said.
Mr Matane argued that a community project would have provided more sustainable benefits compared to the one-time cash payments.
“That money is not sustainable. If it runs out, we will have problems,” he stated.
Mr Matane believes a community development project, would have been more beneficial in the long run.
Tukiso Nthebe, a financial advisor engaged by the Petroleum Fund, advised the beneficiaries to take time before spending their money. He cautioned them against making hasty financial decisions while their emotions were still heightened with joy.
Instead, Mr Nthebe recommended investing the money to sustain their lives long-term.
“It’s easy to spend money recklessly after receiving a lump sum, when emotions are running high,” Mr Nthebe said.
“The first step is to gather your emotions and carefully consider how to make that money work for you through investments.”
Maqhaka Councillor and Social Services Chairperson, Tumelo Leboto, also urged the compensated community members to start businesses that would benefit the local economy.
He encouraged the ministry to ensure the community could access employment and contract opportunities from the fuel reserve construction project.
“This community should not just become people who received money and spent it without starting any businesses,” Mr Leboto said.
“If M4 million was released into our community, we should see economic changes. The local people need to get involved in business ventures to grow our village’s economy, not just take labourer jobs.”
He challenged the Maqhaka community to similarly pursue subcontracting and other economic opportunities, rather than just seeking temporary jobs.