Working with international development charity A4ID, we have helped to address some of the legal issues which have typically blocked the development of dams vital to a safe and secure water supply.

The challenge

The village of Luve in Swaziland suffers from low rain fall and high temperatures – a desperately unfortunate combination for local people, who frequently suffered water shortages.

A project was envisaged to support communities in the construction of sand dams which provide clean water for domestic and agricultural purposes. However, important questions around liability insurance, contracting and corporate governance were threatening to become a blocker to adoption.

The solution

Through A4ID, a team of lawyers from our commercial litigation, insurance and construction groups provided legal advice for the Luve Sand Dam project. This helped unblock the legal issues and create a blueprint for similar projects.

The result

Our work on the dam project in Swaziland has since been used in other essential dam construction projects in Kenya, including a conservation area in Laikipia, and a conflict area in Baringo. Competition over water and land resources is one of the key root causes of conflict and the development of dam infrastructure can play an important role in brokering peace.

Out-Law / Your daily need to know

We are processing your request. \n Thank you for your patience. An error occurred. This could be due to inactivity on the page - please try again.