“The environment belongs to all of us who live in it.” -Unknown

I just got back from a meeting at Semonkong's stadium which the community council's secretary called. He wanted many of the major interests in town to come together so he could announce his new plan for the waterfalls area.

Ntate Mapeka's idea is to start charging everyone a fee to view/be near the falls area. Though this is primarily targeting the tourist traffic that comes to Semonkong, this scheme will also charge locals who pass by the falls on their way to somewhere else, school children that come on field trips, or other Basotho who would also be 'tourists' in the area. The cost for a tourist would be R50 per person per visit. After being asked about locals being charged the same amount he notedly reascended the original cost instead favoring R25 for locals.

Ntate Mapeka's desire is to fund several major initiatives in the area. A resource center and other service facilities, a botanical garden, and a sports programs for the whole town are just a few of his projects.

Jonathan, the owner of the only major tourist lodge in town, was also present to give his perspective. Because of the high competitiveness of tourism in Africa and even in the few lodges scattered about Lesotho, Jonathan remarked that “This charge would therefore put the entire tourism industry in Semonkong at risk.” Being out priced is one thing but even the location of Semonkong hours down a bad road and off the easy path makes it an already challenging business feat. To counter Mapeka's plan, Jonathan suggested a community trust organized to manage the development and protection of Semonkong's interests and environment.

I didn't want to bore you guys but I couldn't help but be impressed in many ways but this situation. I learned a lot just from watching this meeting and listening where I could, though it was in Sesotho.

I saw how a public official can get a wild hair and his decisions could completely alter a community. Preparedness overwhelmingly favored one side. It was also evident how much the community is unsure whether to trust the council. The underlining question and answer seemed to be 'how have you helped us thus far and why should the community not think the council will simply picket this money'.

The lodge, just this past month of December saw over R25000 go directly out into the community through pony trekking and guided tours. The lodge's impact in numbers is staggering. All guided tour and trek money goes directly to the local guides that work. That money then stays within Semonkong and is used in town to support other businesses.

This is a perfect example of policy administrators' common disconnect from the community they serve. The national government's directive to create local community councils to get people involved in their community is an excellent plan. Unfortunately, policy administrators can get a strong head for their own personal plans. Stubbornly they fail to consult and collectively implement community initiatives. Policy and project administrators Become disconnected so much from their community that when developing their plans they can forget the many stakeholders and influences that are shared in the community.

I hope this doesn't affect the integration of the community council concept into Basotho's political and cultural framework. Seeing the way people openly discussed their views of this falls payment scheme is a hopeful cry in favor of continued community input.