Lesotho: Dispute Stalls Closure of Hazardous Dumpsite in Maseru

Court ordered shut down of the Tšosane dumpsite delayed after council cancels M27.3-million contract

A dispute between the Maseru City Council and its consultant has halted a project to close the Tšosane dumpsite and move waste disposal to Tšoeneng.

Ha Tšosane residents, who have complained for years about pollution, fires and health risks, won a High Court order in February requiring the site to be closed and rehabilitated.

The council has cancelled the M27.3-million contract, citing concerns that it may be unlawful, while the consultant says the agreement was properly awarded and may challenge the decision in court.

A project meant to shut down and rehabilitate the Tšosane dumpsite in Maseru has stalled due to a dispute between the Maseru City Council and the consulting firm appointed to oversee the project.

The delay threatens to prolong years of environmental and public health concerns raised by the residents of Ha Tšosane, who successfully took legal action to force the authorities to address conditions at the dumpsite.

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The project is meant to shift waste to a proposed landfill at Tšoeneng and to rehabilitate the Tšosane dumpsite.

Tšosane residents have complained for years about pollution and health risks associated with the site. In September, residents suffered from days of smoke exposure as fires smouldered at the dump.

Legal action by residents started in 2022. In February this year, the High Court ordered the stabilisation, rehabilitation and closure of the dumpsite under a defined programme.

But documents seen by GroundUp show that the project has since become mired in allegations of delays, contractual breaches, non-payment, and questions about the legality of the contract itself between the city council and the consultant.

Consultants defend contract

In a lawyers' letter to Lesotho ombudsman advocate Tlotliso Polaki on 8 June, the consultant - SSL Joint Venture - defended its contract, saying it was appointed through a procurement process completed in 2025 to provide professional services for both the closure of Tšosane and the development of the Tšoeneng landfill. The contract was valued at M27.3-million (M1 = R1).

The lawyers, Tharollo Chambers, outline a chronology of events stretching back to November 2025, when the city council issued a letter of award to SSL Joint Venture. It signed the agreement on 8 December 2025, while the City only signed on 30 January 2026, a delay, which the consultant says pushed back the project's start by 38 working days.

SSL says it subsequently submitted a draft status quo report on 5 February, a preliminary operations plan on 20 February, and a final status quo report on 23 February. It says the council later raised concerns about project uptake and that disputes emerged over approvals, work plans and implementation.

In the Ombudsman complaint, SSL Joint Venture accuses the city council of failing to acknowledge key submissions, approve project documents, provide an approved work plan, and pay for work already completed.

They claimed it had fulfilled its first-stage obligations and was entitled to payment amounting to 10% of the contract value.

SSL further argues that council actions delayed implementation of the project, which directly affects surrounding communities and compliance with the High Court order. The court had set out strict timelines to be followed for the dumpsite to be closed and relocated to Tšoeneng.

Maseru council unhappy with SSL

However, the Maseru City Council presented a sharply different picture during its session on 31 March. According to the council's health and environment report, issued that day, the project had stalled because of "ongoing challenges with the consultant's conduct and performance".

The council accused SSL of failing to attend important project meetings, delaying the deployment of key personnel, and pushing for preliminary operations that exceeded the agreed contract value.

The report also alleged poor participation by members of the joint venture, claiming that some were absent from site and scheduled engagements.

The council also accused the consultancy of conducting stakeholder and media engagements without authorisation.

According to the report, the council acknowledged that delays were affecting residents of Ha Tšosane, who continue to live alongside unhealthy and environmentally unsafe conditions at the dumpsite.

The council said it had attempted to resolve the impasse through meetings and formal instructions but ultimately recommended termination of the contract "in the public interest".

Dispute escalates

On 9 June, acting Town Clerk Moea Makhakhe wrote to SSL informing the company that the council had become aware that the contract "may very well be illegal or unlawful", saying it exceeded the council's monetary ceiling and jurisdiction for contracts of that nature.

In the letter, Makhakhe invited the consultant to make representations. The council said that if the concern proved valid, the contract could be unlawful and therefore unenforceable.

SSL responded three days later through its lawyers, rejecting the council's position as "belated, vague, speculative, and unsubstantiated". In a letter dated 12 June, SSL's lawyers argued that the contract had passed through a full public procurement process, including technical and financial evaluations, negotiations and the issuance of a formal letter of award before both parties signed the agreement.

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The lawyers argued that the council had never raised concerns about monetary limits during the tender, evaluation or contract-signing stages, and could not now rely on those arguments months later.

They further warned that any attempt to cancel the contract could trigger legal action seeking a declaration that the agreement remained valid and binding.

The council, however, has remained unconvinced. In a second letter, signed by Makhakhe on 19 June, the council concluded that the contract "could not legally be entered into as doing so contravenes legislative provisions governing contracts of this nature and magnitude".

The letter formally cancelled the contract and invited the consultant to discuss payment for any work already completed.

The council indicated that compensation would be considered only for work that could be verified as having been performed.

The cancellation leaves the future of one of Maseru's most important environmental projects uncertain.

For residents of Ha Tšosane, the site's closure was meant to bring relief to a community that has spent years fighting for action through the courts.

Instead, the project now faces possible litigation, competing claims of contractual breach and uncertainty over when, or whether, the long-promised closure of the Tšosane dumpsite will finally happen.