SWC ~ Sustaining the Wild Coast ~

Setting the Boundaries of a Social Licence for Mining in South Africa: The Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project

Daniel — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:40:35 +0000

The years 2003 to 2008 witnessed community conflict over mining in the AmaDiba area of the Eastern Cape. This was a result of the government’s decision to license a mining initiative of an Australian mining company through its South African subsidiary. Conflict emanated from two claims by community members.

The first was that the government supported the mining initiative as the best route for development in the area. The majority of community members, however, favoured a continuation of a grassroots ecotourism business, which had at the time been in operation for several years. The second was that the community, as interested and affected parties, had not been consulted adequately in the run-up to the government’s decision to grant the mining rights.

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LOOK SOUTH COP 17

Daniel — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:11:54 +0000

“We must be the change we want to see in the world” – Gandhi. These profound words are by a man who cut his teeth in Durban, South Africa, and seem appropriate for the next global climate change conference which is being held in Durban this week.

It is interesting to observe the state of climate consciousness in the area holding such an important meeting of minds. Obviously, there is a clear escalation of climate change related topics and stories in South African papers leading up to this event…sort of like how people all of a sudden become Curling fans during the winter Olympics. The question however is what is the grassroots interest in Climate Change.

To find out I headed south of Durban to a rural area in the Eastern Cape, known as Pondoland. Visually, this one of the most beautiful areas of South Africa with its rolling green hills, one might mistake it for the Scottish highlands. Adding in some thick jungle along the river valleys where one might expect to run into fairies, trolls and perhaps a known as the wild coast because of its rough seas which are renowned for swallowing ships, but the term is quite apt for the whole package. Within this beautiful land live the Pondo people who are a tribe within the Xhosa nation. You would think that these people have it made considering the land they live in which sounds like its full of milk and honey. Well they sort of do, but just like the rest of us they have their struggles.

And those include a very passionate defense of their land. In the 1960s they revolted against an apartheid law, not so much because of human rights, but more so the resulting over population would cause soil erosion and over grazing. They won that battle. More recently they won another battle, which was to prevent an Australian company from mining titanium in the area. The latest battle to prevent the construction of a toll highway through the middle of their land is being waged in the shadow of the climate conference. This battle is being lost, but is not over.

The Pondo understand well the sensitive balance between human activity and nature’s survival. They will stop at nothing to prevent outsiders from tipping that balance. But they also realize that their own activities must be kept in check. They realize that using wood for cooking fires is not sustainable for the local forests. Since they live off the grid, and as they patiently wait for the national electricity provider to plug them in, they realize that alternative power sources might be the best way to go, and they are willing to pay. The latter is staggering since they make little to no money.

So, in the midst of corporate South Africa scrambling to show how Eco friendly they are as the magnifying glass of the world descends on Durban, there is a group of people who have not lost touch with nature. This is inspirational, and hopefully COP17 will look a few hundred kilometers beyond their conference rooms for answers.

Tim Thomas grew up in the Eastern Cape and has since lived in New York where he worked in the financial services industry. In recent years he has worked for a tree planting foundation and last year raised money to install solar power on clinics in Lesotho by cycling from Cairo to Cape Town.

The Toll Road To PERDITION?

Daniel — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:12:22 +0000

INDHRANNIE PILLAY investigates why so many interest groups are opposed to the plan to put a toll road through the wild coast.

Click Here To Read Full Report

Source : www.witness.co.za

Invitation Too Great a Toll Wild Coast Calendar launch

Daniel — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 06:54:42 +0000

Sustaining the Wild Coast, in collaboration with AVIS Rent-a-car, Ramsgate Stationers, Ramsgate Conservancy and Margate Furnishers wish to invite media and members of the public to the launch of the “Too Great a Toll” 2012 Calendar starting at 11.00 sharp at the South Coast Mall, Shelley Beach, KZN, on 5th November 2011.

SWC has produced the calendar for the AmaDiba community of the Wild Coast to raise funds for their court challenge to compel the Minister of Environment to withdraw the environmental authorization she gave for a short cut in the N2 route between Durban and East London along the Pondoland Wild Coast.

Click here for more details

Minister puts brakes on toll roads

Daniel — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:13:28 +0000

Source : The Mercury E-dition

TRANSPORT Minister S’bu Ndebele has called a halt to the further tolling of national roads, including the controversial proposal for the N2 Wild Coast road, which would have resulted in the construction of a toll gate at Isipingo.

A statement released by the Transport Ministry yesterday stated that Ndebele believed that consultative processes should be allowed to take place to offer concerned parties the opportunity to share their views on toll road programmes.

“All spheres of the government should be part of a consultative process with all affected parties, consumers in the main. Good infrastructure is a necessity for a better future for our country, but this requirement must not leave our people even poorer,” Ndebele said.

Transport Ministry spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso said the consultative process was intended to result in suggestions and a solution regarding the tolling of roads.

“We are allowing for all views to be heard because it has become an overwhelming issue,” he said.

Rikhotso said there was no deadline for the consultative processes to begin, but the department was dealing with the matter “as a matter of urgency”.

SA National Roads Agency Limited CEO Nazir Ali said Ndebele’s statement meant that all future toll road proposals had been halted.

Cormac Cullinan, an attorney representing South Coast residents opposed to the Wild Coast toll road, was delighted to hear of the minister’s move.

“It is a very sensible move because the government would be spending billions of taxpayers’ money for these projects. Tolling is also an extremely inefficient way of raising money for the upkeep and maintenance of roads. They are building a high speed but limited access road in the Wild Coast area without considering the option of upgrading existing roads,” he said.

Cullinan said that the area’s natural biodiversity could also be threatened by roadworks.“The construction of the toll road is like driving a knife in the heart of the wildlife in the area. Previously, the government was not properly committed to discussing tolling with concerned parties. I am delighted with the move… it is in the interests of the country to inquire and rethink the issue,” he said.Ted Holden, chairman of the Upper South Coast Anti-Toll Focus Group, said more than 500 000 residents of the area were opposed to the construction of the toll road.“The construction of a toll road would cause blockages to a major arterial route and will divert traffic and heavy goods vehicles into suburban areas, which will contribute to the deterioration of roads and cost the municipality more money for maintenance,” he said.

“The toll road on the Wild Coast will not be financially viable. It is a good decision for the minister to halt all process with regards to toll roads; he needs to engage with us because no one in our area wants the toll road to be built.”

The Wild Coast toll road was proposed in 2000, sparking opposition from businesses, residents and conservationists in and around the area.

In July this year, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa gave the go-ahead for construction of the road from Durban to East London.

She rejected 50 legal appeals against the proposal, setting the stage for construction of several new cash-collection points on the N2, including a major toll plaza near Isipingo.

The cabinet recently appointed a task team including Ndebele and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to look into the toll roads issue.

Also now on hold is the R10 billion Winelands toll in the Western Cape, while legal challenges to Gauteng’s R22bn toll network are outstanding.

Proposed toll roads is bad for the tourism industry in the Western Cape

Daniel — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 06:53:52 +0000

While plans to contest the proposed tolling of the N2 are not yet on the eThekwini municipality’s agenda, environmental and economic activist organisations are mobilising members to work out their next move.
City manager Michael Sutcliffe said the city council and the KZN legislature remained opposed to the development, but obtaining an interdict to prevent Sanral from implementing the plan had yet to be discussed.

Andrew Layman, chief executive of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said some time had elapsed since the chamber made representations in respect of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.
“These representations reflected strong opposition to the establishment of a toll road in such a way that commuters would be seriously affected.

“While there is a need for the N2 to be upgraded to improve the link with the Eastern Cape, it is unsupportable that the cost should be borne by local people who use the road on a daily basis.”
The impact assessment pro-cess, he said, had been completed and permission granted for the road to be built – objections lodged by the chamber, mainly on the basis of the economic impact, had been overruled.
“The chamber is engaging with its members to prepare for (the public comment process) and, perhaps, contest the decision for the EIA approval. We do not have a new mandate yet, but it appears that the opinions of member companies, especially those in the south area who will be most directly affected, have not changed since the chamber lodged its previous objections.”

Wildlife and Environmental Society of SA conservation manager Chris Galliers said the organisation had just received a response from Molewa to requests for more information to validate her decision to authorise the highway and tolls, and would discuss the outcome at a later stage.

Ndabezinhle Sibiya, spokes-man for Premier Zweli Mkhize, said the position of the KZN government had also not changed. ”(The premier) and his government are opposed to the tolling of roads as this will hamper socio-economic development,” he said.
The City of Cape Town has applied for an interim interdict to stop the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) from implementing proposed tolls on the N1 and N2. Mayor Patricia de Lille said poorer areas would be hardest hit by the proposed toll roads.

Sanral, in response to queries made by the Daily News, said that following the decision to approve the construction of the proposed project made by Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa, there would follow, among other things, the intent to toll process, which would provide the public with further opportunity to voice their views. It said the public were urged to make their views heard. “As with all the other steps in the project proposal, the intent to toll will be publicised in national and regional media for public knowledge.”
Sanral was not able to say when this process would begin.
Albi Modise, the chief director of communications of the Department of Environmental Affairs, confirmed that Molewa remained committed to her initial decision.

Source: Daily News

Author: Kamcilla Pillay

Proposed toll roads is bad for the tourism industry in the Western Cape

Daniel — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:46:30 +0000

“Proposed toll roads is bad for the tourism industry in the Western Cape”

says Cape Town Routes Unlimited CEO Calvyn Gilfellan

The Chief Executive Officer of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, Calvyn Gilfellan, says tourism in the Western Cape will be adversely affected if the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) goes ahead with plans to introduce toll roads in the region.

In a statement released today, Mr Gilfellan, head of the Western Cape’s official tourism marketing authority, called on SANRAL to reconsider its plans to toll the N1 and N2.

Mr Gilfellan said: “Tourism has become the biggest growth industry in the Western Cape. The industry relies heavily on tourists from abroad and the rest of our country to keep it healthy and growing strongly.

“The worldwide economic situation is putting this sensitive industry under pressure. Toll roads will have a negative impact on those tourists, particularly South Africans, using the N1 and N2 to reach holiday destinations.

“For many of them more toll roads will mean cutting back on vacations. We urge SANRAL to reconsider its plans to toll these highways.”

He said that the tourism industry is a R25 billion a year business. “Thousands of people are employed directly or indirectly. More toll roads in the Western Cape may put many livelihoods at risk.”

Source : BusinessDay

Wild Coast toll road decision shameful

Louis — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:18:32 +0000

Sill, silly me. All these years I have laboured under the illusion that the prime duty of the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs and its minister was to protect our water resources and be the steward of our environment.

Read more….

Another Controversial African Highway

Louis — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:09:51 +0000

You’ve probably heard of the Tanzanian government’s recent decision to cancel plans for the construction of a new highway that would have bisected the Serengeti National Park, threatening the integrity of the site of one of the world’s largest, most famous and most important annual wildlife migrations. That was great news.

You’re less likely to have heard of another, perhaps less significant, but equally controversial plan to build a new highway on South Africa’s Wild Coast. The bad news: this one looks like it’s going ahead.

Last week, South Africa’s Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, gave the go-ahead for the new N2 Wild Coast toll road project which will involve the upgrading of existing smaller roads and building of some 90 kilometers of new road through the Pondoland area. Government believes that the road will help create job opportunities, increase tourism and accelerate investment and development in this rural and largely impoverished region. Significantly, it will also provide for easier access to potential mining prospects along the spectacularly beautiful and relatively untouched coastline.

The fight over this road, which in 2007 was estimated to cost R6.4 billion (about $950 million), has been going on for more than a decade. Support has come largely from the national government level and the South African National Roads Agency. Very vocal opposition has been provided by local communities on the Wild Coast, environmentalists, concerned citizens and even the provincial government of KwaZulu Natal.

The project was shelved in 2004 after it was discovered that the supposedly independent environmental consultants tasked with conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA) had financial links with the companies hoping to build the new road. Molewa’s recent announcement comes after another EIA gave the green light for the project.

The new EIA acknowledges that there will be a “loss of sensitive habitats” and “faunal impacts with loss of faunal diversity and loss of species of special concern.” Opponents charge that the road will endanger sensitive forests and waterways and threaten the traditional way of life of local communities.

Of particular concern is the new section of road which is slated to cut through and destroy some 16% of a fragile region known as the Pondoland Centre of Endemism which is of special value because of its great biodiversity and the presence of many plant species that are found nowhere else on the planet. It also represents the cultural homeland of the AmaPondo people. This new section of road would include construction of no fewer than nine new high-level bridges across river gorges.

Adversaries of the new road argue that a truly sustainable development path for the region would help to uplift the local population while protecting the unique environment at the same time. They have vowed to fight government’s intention to go ahead with construction in the country’s courts.

Visitors to the Wild Coast have long appreciated it as one of the most beautiful parts of South Africa and one that has remained largely undisturbed by human development and environmental degradation. It would be unforgivable if it was devastated by something as mundane as a road. In the words of one local commentator, Fred Orban, “the surest and quickest way to destroy a world renowned wilderness area is to cut a highway through its heart.”

Source: care2.com/

Wild Coast community to fight toll road

Louis — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:53:09 +0000

Community to oppose 90km of road to be built between Ntafufu and Ndwalane, and between Lusikisiki and the Mthamvuna River

COMMUNITIES in the AmaDiba Tribal Administrative area, which succeeded in pressuring Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu to withdraw Wild Coast mining rights, now plan legal action to stop the N2 toll road being built.

Read More….

Source: businessday.co.za