Jama community chased away SANRAL’s Mtentu mega bridge contractors Aveng and Strabag in October 2018. The R4-billion bridge project was restarted in August 2023 by a Chinese contractor, CCCC, and a South African partner, MECSA. (Photo: ACC)
Since 2017, the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) has been leading a significant environmental and community-driven campaign. Their mission is to convince the government and South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) to move the new N2 Wild Coast Toll Highway route 12km inland in Amadiba after the Mtentu mega bridge.
The ACC’s persistence and commitment to preserve the Wild Coast environment and the coastal economy of agricultural and ecotourism have led them to propose an Alternative Inland Route, bringing the issue into the public eye once again.
ACC is assisted by road engineers, spatial planners and other experts. A proposal has been on the table since 2022. The community Terms of Reference for the technical proposal was: “Move the N2 to the center of Amadiba and Fix our local roads”.
Since 2022, the Alternative Inland Route (AIR) has been presented at half a dozen Amadiba community meetings and imbizos, three meetings with SANRAL, and meetings with the Treasury, the Department of Environment Affairs, and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
Imbizo at inland Dangeni Komkhulu (Great Place) on 7 November 2023 about the Alternative Inland Route proposal for the N2 in Amadiba (Photo: ACC).
The Amadiba Coast: A Precious Ecosystem
The Amadiba coast on the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape is renowned for its stunning natural beauty and rich biodiversity. This region is not only home to unique flora and fauna but also holds significant cultural, economic and historical value for the local communities.
The proposed N2 highway will inevitably disrupt the delicate ecosystem on the coast. Based on the experience of other road projects, it will lead to irreversible environmental damage and loss of heritage. Ribbon development along the whole highway will follow, like along other national and provincial roads in Eastern Cape.
Illegal sand mining has increased massively in Amadiba after the restart of the building of the Mtentu mega bridge. It is a constant item on the agenda of government N2WCTH oversight committees. Sand mining will come closer and closer to the coast with new unplanned settlements.
Biodiversity is regarded by science as a condition for long-term human survival.
ACC was invited to the United Nations’ 2024 Biodiversity Conference in Colombia. The threat to the Wild Coast from a coastal highway and the Alternative Inland Route was presented to the delegates at hearings. The problem with the current plans were started to be known outside South Africa.
But in a 2004 letter to the EC Director of Biodiversity & Coastal Management, Dr Div de Villiers at the Eastern Cape Department of Environmental Affairs suggested to the Manager of Biodiversity in the province that the new N2 should be moved inland. De Villiers warned of “an international outcry” if the plan in Amadiba wasn’t changed.
Coincidentally, he suggested an alignment similar to the AIR proposal of today.
The Origins of the Conflict
The highway, intended to improve connectivity and stimulate economic development, was early on set to cut through the heart of the Amadiba region. There were reactions to this in the early 2000s, unknown to a rural community, which at the time was only resisting mining plans.
The route for the new N2 had been changed from a long considered inland ‘Red Route’. Environmental organisations like the WWF reacted with inland route proposals but without success.
The conflict between the ACC and SANRAL began in 2010. Now the community started to be aware of the coastal N2 alignment. In a speech at Xolobeni traditional court (Komkhulu), late chair of the ACC, Sikhosiphi Bazooka Radebe, argued that the N2 must be moved from the coast. It had been regarded as a good project, but now it was placed to support opencast mining. It was not acceptable to a community that had stopped the mining plans a first time in 2008.
Indeed, in 2008, the community stopped the ‘Xolobeni Mining Project’ again in 2018, and it is now in court.
That there is a link between a coastal highway and opencast mining in Xolobeni sometimes comes out in the open. In a SANRAL propaganda video from October 2024, the Minister of EC COGTA, Mr Williams, in the same sentence, criticised ACC for being a “problem” for both the N2 project and “Xolobeni mining”.
ACC wrote to the MEC that it only wants to change the route and that they can come and explain the alternative alignment of N2 to him, too, as they have already done to other government officials.
The Role of the Amadiba Crisis Committee
In this way, the Amadiba Crisis Committee, established in 2007 by villagers of Xolobeni to fight opencast titanium mining in their area, has become a vocal, well informed and organised force against the proposed N2 route, demanding it to be changed.
They have tirelessly campaigned to protect their land, are engaging in legal battles, organising protests, and raising awareness locally and internationally.
They have not least engaged with SANRAL and the government, bringing their own experts to the table to have rational and fact based discussions.
The ACC’s efforts highlight the importance of community-led advocacy in environmental and social justice issues.
Proposing an Alternative Inland Route
From 2023, the ACC has gone public with a proposal for an Alternative Inland Route for the N2 highway. This new route aims to balance the need for infrastructure development with the protection of the Amadiba coast. With an inland alignment, the ACC hopes to achieve several key objectives:
- Environmental Preservation: The Alternative Inland Route would minimise the highway’s ecological footprint, preserving the coastal environment and its biodiversity. This is in the national and international interest.
- Community protection and development: By rerouting the highway inland, the ACC aims to protect local communities from displacement, the loss of their cultural heritage, functioning customary land governance and to achieve balanced development in the whole of Amadiba, including in the impoverished Lurholweni township, where the AIR would pass through.
- Sustainable Development: The inland route presents an opportunity for sustainable development that aligns with the long-term interests of both the local population and the broader region. The AIR preserves 90 percent of the gains to freight transports and long distance traffic from the N2 short cut in Eastern Cape.
Public Support and Awareness
After much community discussions and SANRAL abandoning local engagements, the ACC’s proposal has majority support in Amadiba. One reason is that AIR gives more local jobs and promises better communications in the area: An inland N2 can connect better to the local road network. It is in a very bad state like everywhere else in Eastern Cape.
The proposal has of course also garnered significant attention and support from environmental organisations, human rights groups, and concerned citizens. It is simply not right to route a 120km/h freeway through environmentally classified areas.
ACC’s campaign emphasizes the need for responsible development that respects both the environment, the social rights of indigenous and rural communities when trying to reach national economic goals.
Public awareness and pressure are crucial in convincing SANRAL and government authorities to consider the inland route seriously.
Conclusion
The Amadiba Crisis Committee’s dedication to protecting their land and way of life serves as a powerful example of community resilience and environmental stewardship. Their proposal for an Alternative Inland Route for the N2 highway is a call for a balanced approach to development – one that values both progress of the local economy and preservation of the life environment, which cannot be valued in rand.
As the ACC continues to advocate for their cause, it is imperative for the broader public to support its efforts and recognise the importance of sustainable and inclusive infrastructure planning.
Call to Action
Supporting the ACC’s campaign can take many forms, from raising awareness on social media to participating in advocacy events and engaging with policymakers. By standing with the Amadiba Crisis Committee, we can help ensure that development projects respect and protect the invaluable natural and cultural heritage of regions like the Amadiba coast.
Communities who face the same problems with national projects as in Amadiba can learn a lot from the struggle of this community and its quest.
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