Approximately 150 people from civil society protested in solidarity with the Amadiba Crisis Committee  (ACC) on the 25 May 2016. In order to let the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) know that they support the ACC and their call to never have mining in Amadiba.

They met outside the DMR regional office in Cape Town ~ the government department responsible for issuing mining rights in order to hand over the memorandum of demands to the Minister of Mineral Resources. From there they marched to parliament to see the Chair of the National Assembly Portfolio Committee on Police and the Chair of the National Assembly Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources.

On 3 March 2015, the Australian mining company – Mineral Commodities Limited (MRC), through its South African subsidiary Transworld Energy and Minerals Resources (TEM), applied to the South African government for a right to mine various minerals from the Xolobeni sand dunes. This application has not yet been decided. However, it is clear to the Amadiba community that the assassination of Radebe (former chairperson of the ACC) is directly linked to TEM’s application for a mining right.

Even though the broader community does not support mining, the MRC and the DMR are nonplussed because they see an opportunity to exploit and profiteer at any cost – human or environmental. They do this in the name of “development”.

NGO’s, community members affected by mining, community based organisations and the Amadiba Crisis Committee contest the idea that mining will bring development.

Development for what and for who – they ask? The ACC is very aware of the environmental and social destruction that mining causes in South Africa and globally. It is for these reasons that they do not want mining on their land. The land thay they use to grow crops, raise livestock and live on. They believe that mining equals death and not development.

This community has said “No to mining” and proposed alternatives to improve their well-being and livelihoods. But their voices are falling on deaf ears and the South African government is bent on mining as the only option to create jobs and improve the livelihoods of the community.

The Amadiba solidarity action was not the biggest of protests – few thought it would be, however the ultimate objectives was to create exposure for the Amadiba community and their struggles, to put pressure on government, the DMR  let the MRC shareholders know that the Amadiba community do not want mining on their land.

The Amadiba community want appropriate infrastructure such as roads, clinics, and schools and to improve their livelihoods in food production. They do not want projects designed to benefit construction companies and foreign mining companies that will have devastating impacts on local people to be imposed on them against their will.

If the majority of community members of Xolobeni together with the rest of South African people do not want this mine and toll road to go ahead then whose interest is the South African government representing?

Contacts for more information

Amadiba Crisis Committee: Mzamo Dlamini: +2772 194 0949 and ; Nonhle Mbuthuma: +2776 3592982 and ; Sbu Mqadi +2773 267 1079

For legal issues: The Umgungundlovu Traditional Authority and the ACC are represented in relation to the proposed mining by Richard Spoor Inc. in Johannesburg (Richard Spoor: , Johan Lorenzen ) and the Legal Resource Centre (LRC) in Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg (Henk Smith: , Thabiso Mbhense: ). Cullinan & Associates Inc. represents the affected communities in opposing the proposed N2 Wild Coast Toll Road (Cormac Cullinan: , Danjelle Midgley: and Siqhamo Ntola: )

On the film, ‘The Shore Break’: Odette Geldenhuys, the producer:

Key South African organisations and Solidarity Committees supporting the Amadiba Community:

Alternative Development Information Centre (AIDC) – Dominic Brown: & Dick Forslund:

Bench Marks Foundation – Hassen Lorgat:

The Right to Know Campaign (R2K) – Mark Weinberg:

Sustaining the Wild Coast – Sandy Heather:

Cape Town Amadiba Solidarity Committee – Dominic Brown:

Johannesburg Amadiba Solidarity Committee – Ahmed Mokgopo: