What Can a Mosquito Do to an Elephant? (A)

Abstract

In 1999, Lesotho, a tiny African country about the size of Maryland or Belgium, faced a huge undertaking. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), one of the world's biggest engineering and infrastructure projects. Slated to benefit the country in many ways, it was beset by allegations of corruption. At the center of this scandal was Lesotho official Masupha Ephraim Sole, accused of taking bribes during the first years of the project from numerous companies involved in the construction. In addition to prosecuting Sole, Lesotho was considering the almost unthinkable: mounting a criminal prosecution against the multinational companies--in a Lesotho court--that allegedly had bribed Sole. This would, in every way, be a Sisyphean task. This is a four-case series, labeled A through D, UVA-E-0290 through UVA-E-0293.

Excerpt

UVA-E-0290

WHAT CAN A MOSQUITO DO TO AN ELEPHANT? (A)

Nketjoane o shoetse mohloling

(“The frog has died at the fountain source, thus polluting the whole stream.”)

—Sesotho saying

In 1999, Lesotho, a tiny African country about the size of Maryland or Belgium, faced a huge undertaking. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), one of the world's biggest engineering and infrastructure projects slated to benefit the country in many ways, was beset by allegations of corruption. At the center of the scandal was Lesotho official Masupha Ephraim Sole, the ex-chief executive of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), one of the agencies overseeing the project. Sole had been accused of taking bribes during the first years of the project from numerous companies involved in the construction. He had been dismissed from his position in 1994, was tried in civil proceedings, and was found guilty in October 1999; in addition, Lesotho had brought criminal charges against him and a second trial was imminent. Most important, however, Lesotho was considering the almost unthinkable: mounting a criminal prosecution against the multinational companies—in a Lesotho court—that allegedly had bribed Sole. Accomplishing the Sisyphean task of bringing those companies to justice would require a tremendous amount of money, which Lesotho did not have, as well as time and effort. (See Exhibit 1 for19th- and 20th-century history of Lesotho and timeline of LHWP.)

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Keywords: ethics, international ethics, developing countries, corruption, international business