ONE of the most water-rich nations in Africa faces famine as parched crops wither in the fields. The tiny southern African country of Lesotho has the tallest dam in Africa and enough reservoir capacity to give its 2 million citizens 1500 cubic metres of water each 鈥� 30 times more per head than Ethiopia and almost as much as the US. But last week its prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili declared a state of emergency and appealed for food aid.
Why? Because almost all the water stored in the mountain kingdom鈥檚 two giant reservoirs is earmarked for sale to its neighbour, South Africa. The dams, across the headwaters of the Orange river, feed South Africa鈥檚 industrial heartland around Johannesburg and irrigate South African fields. Meanwhile, half the population in Lesotho鈥檚 capital, Maseru, has no running water, and the country鈥檚 farmers depend on fickle rains.