15 September 2026
Lesotho Minister of Energy Lejone Mpotjoane and Convalt CEO Hari Achuthan. Photo from a US Embassy post about the deal.
Lesotho has signed the largest foreign investment deal in its history: a US$6.2-billion (about R100-billion) agreement with US-based Convalt Energy to build a hydropower plant and AI data centre. The Kobong Project promises to turn the country into a regional power exporter.
However, a potential conflict of interest has surfaced, raising questions about political influence for private gain and casting doubt on promises that citizens will benefit without bearing any costs.
Convalt will be completing a feasibility study over the next year, which will be followed by implementation agreements, including water-use plans. Construction will then go ahead.
Lesotho’s energy minister Lejone Mpotjoane confirmed in an August interview with the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism that a binding agreement had been signed, and the government would invite local partners to participate.
Mpotjoane also revealed that one of these local firms is Sekhametsi Investment Consortium, of which Minister of Public Works Matjato Moteane is a co-founder, former chairperson and shareholder.
Last year, three parliamentary committees called for Moteane’s removal over a conflict-of-interest and criminality investigation (see further down).
According to the Sekhametsi company’s register, Moteane holds 1,817 shares. Each share is worth M15,000 (M1=R1), making Moteane’s holding about M27-million at the current value.
When MNN asked Mpotjoane whether inviting Sekhametsi to participate in the Kobong Project would create a conflict of interest because of its political connections, he said, “I said Sekhametsi and others. Why do you keep asking about Sekhametsi?” Mpotjoane then ended the call and blocked this reporter on WhatsApp.
We asked Moteane about his potential conflict of interest. He said he had declared his interest in Sekhametsi to the cabinet.
We were unable to verify this. We could also not verify whether he had declared his interests to the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences as required by law. Declarations to this body are kept confidential.
Moteane said he would recuse himself when the cabinet discussed the Convalt Energy deal. He said that he had done so in other matters.
Sekhametsi CEO Thuso Green said the has not yet been approached to participate.
Although the Kobong Project has been presented as a privately financed initiative led by Convalt, the government’s intention to invite local firms to participate raises questions about how the government will select these investors and structure the project.
Mpotjoane has said previously that Lesotho was not putting any money into the project, and Convalt CEO Hari Achuthan told MNN that Lesotho faced no financial risk.
He said the Kobong Project would be privately financed without government guarantees and with Convalt taking on the risk. Financing arrangements would be formalised and disclosed once the feasibility study had been completed.
It remains unclear what equity local firms will get in the project.
Asked whether the government intends to hold an equity stake in Kobong, despite previous assurances that it would not, government spokesperson Boitelo Rabele said he was not yet in a position to answer on this or on the government’s role in facilitating and selecting local companies.
“After completion of the feasibility study, the government will advise itself on the implementation agreement,” said Rabele.
Last year, Moteane was at the centre of a parliamentary investigation into the M184-million refurbishment of Moshoeshoe I International Airport.
Moteane had previously been a shareholder in Khatleli Tomane Moteane Architects, which was included in LSP Construction’s winning bid for the airport contract.
He claimed that he had relinquished his shareholding before becoming a minister, but the committees raised concerns about his continuing association with the firm, noting that his name still appeared on some of its tender documents and that the company was involved in the airport project.
Three parliamentary committees had recommended that Moteane be removed as a minister and called for an investigation into the conflict of interest and possible criminality. However, the report was never adopted by Parliament.
“The House dismissed our report based on the fact that it involved the Natural Resource Committee members. They argued that signatures of the members [of the other two committees as well as the Natural Resources, Tourism and Land Cluster committee] need to be there,” said Public Accounts Committee chairperson Machabana Lemphane-Letsie. “We can’t hold Moteane accountable.”
Questions about the structure of the Kobong deal follow an earlier investigation by MNN, which raised concerns about the government’s due diligence before it signed the agreement with Convalt.
In July, MNN reported that Convalt’s flagship solar-panel manufacturing project in New York never materialised despite the company receiving a US$1.05-million public loan. The matter eventually ended in a settlement.
We also reported that Convalt Energy and Achuthan had been named in a 2022 US civil lawsuit in which two bitcoin-mining companies alleged there had been fraud and misappropriation of funds. The allegations were never tested in court.
Mpotjoane previously told MNN: “We noted that Convalt was involved in some litigations in the USA. This is not abnormal in businesses, and we asked him. He explained what transpired and that the issue is now closed.”
